Friend wants to build a rig for toying with windows server 2003

[coolred]

So my coworker/friend wants to build a rig for messing around with windows server 2003. He is studying for his MCSE and would like the added help that a test lab would provide. He asked me for help in picking parts since he doesn't know much about hardware. I could do this myself, but figured I would seek out some additional advice.

He unfortunately would not nail down a specific budget. He said minimal, but doesn't want something built with parts that are 7 years old either.

My main concerns are processor and motherboard. I am an AMD guy myself, mainly because they offered great performance at a cheap price. But with intels recent price cuts, they are looking pretty cheap. He doesn't need a powerhouse rig, just something that works.

Whats a good CPU, P4 with HT, Celeron D, or should I go with AMD? If AMD is still the best choice, then I can probably handle the motherboard selection. But if you recommend intel, that I would probably need help with choosing the MB. He said integrated video is fine. Must support 1GB minimum of ram, but that should cover just about every board.

Other then that feel free to opinionate away, or ask questions, i will try to answer any I can.

 

[Gautama2]

I recommend the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537

 

[DaveSimmons]

Getting 1 GB RAM is more important than a fast processor, especially for trying out SQL Server, Exchange, etc.

An X2 will run faster of course but for one person that's probably a waste of money.

939 is much more mature than AM2, without any of the memory compatibility hassles.

Using an IDE hard drive will also make server installs a little more foolproof, but SATA could be more educational

A $38 nvidia 6200 video card is more than enough, and is fanless so quiet. Or get one of the Biostar TForce mATX boards with onboard 6100 video and no whiny chipset fan.

 

[cleverhandle]

Just go with whatever's inexpensive - you don't need any kind of serious performance considerations for a test machine. I built my lab machines several years ago - 1.7 GHz P4 Celerons, 256MB RAM on MSI "integrated everything" type boards - and they work fine for 2003R2. Something built out of today's cheap parts would be much more powerful.

 

[WobbleWobble]

What about the virtual machine route? Virtual PC and Virtual Server are both free now. I like that route because you can play with several machines simultaneously, get 2 domain controllers going, have servers join domains etc. Modern CPUs are fast enough to accommodate multiple virtual machines because most of the time, they'll be sitting idle. You just need enough RAM and disk space.

 

[DaveSimmons]

^ true but performance of database-driven applications can be pretty slow in VPC.

You'd definitely want 1 GB to use VPC or VMWare.

 

[coolred]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
Just go with whatever's inexpensive - you don't need any kind of serious performance considerations for a test machine. I built my lab machines several years ago - 1.7 GHz P4 Celerons, 256MB RAM on MSI "integrated everything" type boards - and they work fine for 2003R2. Something built out of today's cheap parts would be much more powerful.

Yeah thats what i would normally recommend, but I just thought maybe the intel route would be cheaper, especially considering he could get a dual core celeron for under 100 bucks. Although admitedly, i have no idea how a dual core celeron performs against a single core A64

I too may begin playing with my NFR copy of windows server 2003 SBE. I have a biostar IDEQ 200N with an Athlon XP 2100+, it only has 512MB of ram at the moment, but I could always upgrade that. But I was planning on putting linux on that machine. I do think I have a copy of vmware running around that i got somehow, maybe I could use that on my main machine instead. Although that would require soem learning. I have tinkered with it to run an OS, but have never actually tried running more then one at a time.