My desktop PC gets bogged down as a web server, database, code repository and file server. I would like to buy a small PC to offload these duties and have it on 24/7. I was thinking of buying an ASUS EEE Box when they come out. I wouldn't mind building my own but most low power PCs seem quite pricey. Any suggestions?
+11
A:
Our own Jeff Atwood has a nice post about building your own low power pc on Coding Horror.
Jarrod Dixon
2008-08-08 05:57:46
A:
I think that might be a pretty good idea. I've got an old castoff box which works well but unfortunately sounds like a jet getting ready for takeoff.
Mark Harrison
2008-08-08 06:00:35
+2
A:
I use a Linksys NSLU2 for some of these duties. It does DNS/DHCP for me, and when I had a larger drive installed it did svn repo and file server duties.
It'll also do minor web duties, but doesn't cope so well with MySQL, for instance. Wordpress was a bit beyond it. Static web pages serve up okay though.
Matthew Schinckel
2008-08-08 06:56:26
+5
A:
How about a Mac Mini?
It would seem a standard mac mini runs at between 20 -37 watts depending on the cpu load
Guy C
2008-09-05 07:43:27
A:
You probably don't need a very fast or powerful machine. Try finding a used system from the Pentium III era.
Joel Coehoorn
2008-09-05 17:16:27
A:
Windows Home Server works very well with any x86 compatible CPU that is roughly equivalent to a 900MHz Pentium III. Turns out that the VIA Eden C7 chips meet this bar very well. But so do the Intel Atom etc... chips.
We have been playing with a bunch of VIA and Atom small-form-factor PCs here and found that most work great.
The only ding I really have against VIA is their CPUs are not yet x64 capable, and Microsoft has made it clear from the beginning that future versions of Windows Home Server will be 64 bit only. So if you want more than a few years of use out of your box, an x64 CPU is probably the way to go.
cek
2008-09-15 16:01:34
This is absolutely pointless. There's no need to go to 64bit only if you don't need to.
Chris Kaminski
2009-08-20 13:35:25
A:
- Celeron 4xx Series CPU
- 945GC µ-ATX motherboard
- 8GB Compact Flash Card
Not the most power efficient, but you can't beat the price/performance/availability of parts.
Imran
2008-09-15 16:09:04
+4
A:
Here's a great article on building a low-power Windows Home Server box. The author claims 37 watts:
Building a Green Windows Home Server: The 37 Watt Server
(Updated URL)
cek
2008-09-15 18:53:18
It's now running Subversion too:http://www.ademiller.com/blogs/tech/2008/11/setting-up-subversion-on-windows-home-server/
Ade Miller
2008-11-22 21:27:30
+3
A:
I love my slug.
Admittedly, it can't compete with a full fledged PC, but it needs just a few watts and runs a complete Debian.
Thorsten79
2008-09-30 08:10:08
A:
We have our office right next to the guys making a neat little something called BUBBA, it's a low powered pc about the size of a larger external harddrive. It runs linux and is basically made to be fiddled with. It's obviously more expensive than buying a "regular" box and personally I have my own "fullsize" computer doing the work so I wouldn't need one. But if you're more about space/low noise than saving that last buck it might be worth considering.
grapefrukt
2008-10-18 14:21:56
A:
Unless you need a lot of storage, my suggestion is to find a cheap used laptop. I have one in my basement running Linux and it works well enough. It even has a built-in battery backup so if the power flickers it doesn't have to reboot.
Kyle Cronin
2008-10-18 14:35:12
A:
The Asus EEE is already available. I've seen it, looks like a great low-power system. It won't be a speed demon, both the disk and the processor will be slower than a higher power PC.
Mark Ransom
2008-10-18 15:23:21
A:
I just built Home Music Server. It is Asus Eee PC + 2Tb DLink NAS
less than $300 and ~30-50w of power depending on load. No sound at all.
More info here: My Home Music Server
Zepplock
2009-06-27 01:46:03