Building a computer

Ben McKinlay

Solid State Member
Messages
9
Location
United Kingdom
Hello.

I am planning on building a computer to use as a web/file server and am hoping for some advice. I want the build to be as cheap as possible while still delivering a decent performance. The website I'm planning on hosting isn't expected to get much traffic, so I don't need huge amounts of RAM and a really fast multi-core processor.

I was thinking of using these parts:
Akasa Genesis M Micro ATX Tower Case Black
AMD Sempron 145 2.8GHz 1MB AM3 45W
Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 Socket AM3 Motherboard
Kingston 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR3 1333MHz HyperX Blu CL9
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 7200prm 32MB Cache 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Desktop Hard Drive
OR
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 64MB SATA 5900 RPM Hard Drive

For the hard drive I wasn't sure whether to get a faster drive with less capacity or a larger drive that's slower. Also, for the operating system, is FreeNAS a good choice?

Are all these parts compatible with each other? Are these good choices for hardware or are there better options?

Thanks,
Ben

EDIT: I've just realised the case doesn't seem to have a built in PSU. I found another case for the same price but with a built in power supply: Best Value KE-110B Ezcool Black Midi-Tower + 500W PSU. Is that case/PSU any good?
 
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It all looks good but I've just got a few things to point out;

I'm sure the CPU will be fine but I'd need someone that knows more about AMD processors to help me out, as I'm clueless when it comes to them
Youd be better upgrading the ram from 1333mhz to 1600mhz; it won't cost much more but the performance should be noticeably better
Go for the faster HDD, you can always get more further down the line
Imo, you should never buy a case with an in built psu, always buy them separately. That way you'll get a decent case and a psu (go for a well known brand) which won't mean risking other expensive components every time you turn it on
 
OK. I won't be using this computer as a day to day computer so I wasn't sure if I needed the better RAM or not.
Thanks for the advice on the hard drive.
For the PSU, would something like the Corsair 430 Watt CX430 V2 Builder Series 80 Plus Power Supply work?
 
Yes, that would be brilliant, it's a good series of psu! :)

Edit - RAM is quite cheap atm (compared to other components) so the price/performance ratio of the 1600 over 1333 is great
 
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Cool :).
It's just a shame it puts me about £30 over-budget, which since I only get £5 pocket money a week, puts me back a bit :(.

As an alternative, can you host a website from a NAS and would that be better more my needs (which is basically hosting a small website)? I think you can using FreeNAS, but I've no idea how to get that only a NAS you buy from a store...
 
Don't worry, I only get £5 pocket money a week, but somehow managed to save £1000 and get my current pc, which I'm loving btw.

However I'm sorry but I can't help you with you're problem, I know nothing but web hosting (I'll really need to get round to learning that sometime :S )
 
That chip natively supports 1333. Upgrading the RAM to 1600 would be a waste unless you plan on overclocking it.
 
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