Building a server

[iLock]

Hi guys, I built a gaming computer several months ago and it all went well thanks to the help of some experts here Right now I'm thinking of building a server computer for basic file transfer, printing and streaming, nothing too fancy.

I've done some research and I've chosen Ubuntu Server as the OS, mainly cause it's free. (Any other better recommendations?)

The problem I have now is that I don't know what components I need. Some sites say you can use an old PC since it doesn't require much power for a server, but just for fun, I want to buy separate parts and just build one. Any recommendations on parts?

My budget is: $300-$500

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[PP Mguire]

Do you plan on having a lot of drives in it?

 

[iLock]

I'm thinking 4 would be enough.

 

[PP Mguire]

For low power I would go with an IB Pentium, and an mATX 1155 board in an mATX case.

 

[iLock]

So a normal pc motherboard will work as well? How does it compare with a server mobo?

 

[PP Mguire]

Server motherboards are literally the same thing until you get into the higher end systems. You can even run Xeon chips on some desktop boards. That's why people were telling you that old PC parts will be fine because a personal file server is literally a regular computer sitting there with shared drives with the possibility of running a different OS like Unix or Linux.

If you want to make it look "kind" of like a server you can buy rack mountable cases that utilize ATX standards. But that's kind of a waste of money.

 

[iLock]

So a mobo, case, chip and RAMs are all I need? Am I missing anything else?

 

[PP Mguire]

Power supply and your drives. An optical drive if you need one.

CPU:
Newegg.com - Intel Pentium G2020 Ivy Bridge 2.9GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80637G2020

Motherboard:
Newegg.com - ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0 LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM:
CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C11 - Newegg.com

Case:
Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w/ 1 x 120mm fan - Newegg.com

PSU:
SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com

Fan for rear of case:
Newegg.com - Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm Case Fan

$270

Cheap, fast, reliable CPU, small light case, and a super reliable PSU with room left over for HDDs. Possibly a BD too.

 

[iLock]

Thank you very much! You helped me twice now! My gaming pc is working perfectly fine!

 

[PP Mguire]

No problem, and that's good to hear.