DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

(For my analysis of the needs that provided the basis for this specification, see the mail-order server, I: the problem.)

In an attempt to avoid hardware gremlins, I decided to stick with reputable vendors. Such hardware costs more, but for me, a few hundred dollars in hardware is cheap compared to the cost of stability problems in the future.

I think both AMD and Intel make reliable CPUs, but AMD units have a reputation for running hotter. While there may be exceptions to this general statement, I decided to focus on Intel products. I found a CPU that intrigued me: the “Tualatin” series of Pentium IIIs. These chips are built on a smaller process than most: .13-micron rather than .18 or .25. The smaller scale translates to a lower voltage requirement and/or higher clock speeds. The 1.13GHz/512k cache model, considered by Intel to be a “server” CPU, can be had for about $225.

Sticking with Intel, the motherboard choice was easy, because Intel only makes one affordable board that is certified for use with the PIII-S: the S815EMB1 — about $150. Note that this is a micro-ATX board, with integrated video and Ethernet, designed to fit into a 1U rackmount case.

I purchased a near-silent power supply from quietpc. These units run at about 26dB(A), as compared to the better-known “Silencer” series (34 dB(A)) from PC Power & Cooling. (As of this writing, Enermax has not published noise measurements for its “Whisper” series.)

System cooling presents a problem, as there is a tradeoff between cooling efficiency and noise. I will not be running this system very hard, so I opted for a CPU cooler that seems to offer the best passive cooling, the Zalman 3100-Plus. The reviews of this cooler were mixed, but I believe it will work best for me.

Be sure to read this 46-way shootout of CPU coolers.

RAM is somewhat easier to select, as it is more of a commodity item. I opted for Mushkin’s “high-performance” variety.

The storage system consists of an Adaptec ASC-29160 and a pair of Quantum Atlas V 9.1db drives, purchased from Hyper Microsystems. I picked those drives because I’ve had good luck with them before, and because Hyper Micro had a great deal on them ($90 per). Subsequently I was pleased to see these drives rated very highly at StorageReview.com.

All together I spent about $1400. The result will be a quiet 1.1 GHz PIII-S with 9Gb of fast, mirrored storage, in a desktop case.

After all the parts were ordered I checked out what a comparable Dell solution would have looked like. Dell happens to offer something similar: the PowerEdge 1400 with a single 1.13 GHz PIII-S, onboard ethernet, onboard SCSI controller, 2x18 Gb U160 SCSI… for about $1400. This machine would have twice the storage space as mine, which is a plus, but the drives are 10K RPM units, so they would run hotter than mine. Also the case is a tower, which I don’t want. And this machine is likely to be louder than mine.

On the positive side, I wouldn’t have to build it.

I was surprised to see the near-parity in price, though.

This concludes what must be the driest pair of journal entries I have ever written. Tune in tomorrow for something altogether more interesting. (Note to self: postpone that thermal-grease performance comparison you’ve been planning.)