- Feb 18, 2007
- 3,892
- 33
- 91
I recently wanted to build a server to host my own website and fileserver, but I was on a tight budget. I wanted a full server, but not enough money. I thought about getting a MSI Fuzzy board but again, a no go at $200 (I have a T7200 laying around). Until I found the D945GCLF.
The D945GCLF is a mini-ITX board with an Atom Diamondville Z530 1.6GHz soldered on. I figured I'd give it a try.
It's a nice board for the $80 it costs. Sure, it doesn't have the features of the MSI Fuzzy boards, but it has a processor already and costs less than half the price. It supports SATA II and has a single PATA port. No gigabit ethernet, but that's only a small con. Even with a PCI RAID card on, nothing on the board is blocked. It uses a 20pin MB power and 4pin CPU so an old PSU can work. Very low power (haven't stuck my Kill-A-Watt on it yet, but I've heard around 44W for the board.) Very cool running. Everything is cool to touch.
In Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, it is surprisingly zippy. Full effects of compiz-fuzion can be enabled. Pretty quick around the OS. However, cannot play HD movies very well (GMA 950). Ethernet cannot be used with linux kernels yet. It crashes modprobe and sends you into ash. So I had to ditch the PCI RAID Card for a PCI NIC. Hyperthreading works, but the BIOS recognizes the Z530 as being EM64T, but it is not.
Overall, I am very pleased with it. It is a useful small, low powered board that is capable and is perfect for small servers.
The D945GCLF is a mini-ITX board with an Atom Diamondville Z530 1.6GHz soldered on. I figured I'd give it a try.
It's a nice board for the $80 it costs. Sure, it doesn't have the features of the MSI Fuzzy boards, but it has a processor already and costs less than half the price. It supports SATA II and has a single PATA port. No gigabit ethernet, but that's only a small con. Even with a PCI RAID card on, nothing on the board is blocked. It uses a 20pin MB power and 4pin CPU so an old PSU can work. Very low power (haven't stuck my Kill-A-Watt on it yet, but I've heard around 44W for the board.) Very cool running. Everything is cool to touch.
In Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, it is surprisingly zippy. Full effects of compiz-fuzion can be enabled. Pretty quick around the OS. However, cannot play HD movies very well (GMA 950). Ethernet cannot be used with linux kernels yet. It crashes modprobe and sends you into ash. So I had to ditch the PCI RAID Card for a PCI NIC. Hyperthreading works, but the BIOS recognizes the Z530 as being EM64T, but it is not.
Overall, I am very pleased with it. It is a useful small, low powered board that is capable and is perfect for small servers.
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