Making a Server out of Old Stuff

[cjermyn]

Hi all,

Well, it's a been a long, loooong time since I've been on the AT Forums, and, conveniently my nickname has now been taken by somebody else. Ah well... good to be back!

Anyway, I'm trying, more as a hobby than anything else, to build myself a 4-way or (preferably) 8-way server, mainly as a file and print server, possibly as a gameserver, though I understand this requires significant processing power, and maybe even to control the lighting in the house and things like that if I work out how to do that.

Here's the catch - I only want to spend a few hundred bucks... as I said, it's pretty much for the wank factor.

From how I see it, I have a few options - but help and advice would be much appreciated.


Firstly, I can use P4 Xeons - the 1700Mhz ones are cheap as anything now ($35-40). Apparently, though, they're only able to be used in DP configurations and not Quad or more.

I could probably use PII/P3 Xeons, but would this sacrifice any possibility of this being used as a gameserver?

Am I able to use non-Xeon processors in more than a DP setup, as they are significantly cheaper.

Is clustering multiple DP systems possible on the cheap?

Any other suggestions at all?

Thanks in advance guys - I'm down with the flu at the moment and this project should keep me occupied till it all passes!

 

[bendixG15]

all i can do is bump.....

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
all i can do is bump.....

Same here...... bump.

I wish I had your "Old Stuff." I just had an XP1800 to work with. I don't use it for gaming but as a file\print\whatever server it does the job. I mostly use it for storage and converting my VHS tapes to DVD.