build me a sever.

[proffit]

here is the deal i need a new server.
i got about 8k australian to spend about 6k US or there abouts. will be used for the mass amounts of movies photos and other junk i accumulate aswell as hosting game servers like BF2 etc on the week ends.

cpu
i want to use some amd X2's (i was thinking 2x 4600+ if i cant get a mobo that will take 2 then 1x 4800+ will have to do)

motherboard.
once again not to sure about this if any one knows a mobo that will allow me to use 2x socket 939 X2's great if not id like some thing ASUS as i have never had a problem with them. if not asus then MSI is my second choice

case.
i have already decided to get a thermaltake armour

ram.
depends on the mobo but it will either be 4gig ( if its only one cpu) or 8gig ( two cpu's) of corsair xms 3200 ( 2 gig packs)

hard drives
due to the nature of this server going to be used for file storage aswell as hosting a BF2 / CSS/ far cry / FEAR server i think im going to max out the storage capacity and be safe for the future so there will be 4x 400gig hard drives ( not sure how to set up the raid tho)

monitor
i have a nice samsung 19" lcd picked out for a monitor already

graphics card
im not to sure about this since this will be my first game server would i need to have a graphics card ?

powersupply
i was looking at a OCZ 600 watt powerstream psu but not to sure i was told by a friend that servers some times requir a differen type of PSU and if so how do i tell which one i need?

readers
most likely i will include 2x sony dual layer dvd burners and 2x normal dvd reader's as well as a floppy drive ( man i hate the amd sata driver thing messes me up every time)

operating system
since i have never used any type of linux before id like to stick to windows if possible is there a windows verson for servers? or would a normal xp pro be more then enough?

any way please put up your thoughts cause this will be my first server so im new to it.
oh jsut so you know ill be buying most gear from http://www.gamedude.com.au/ all tho if you find a mobo that will take 2 cpu's then ill probly run around hunting for it.

thanks for you time
chris

[asma123]

that site is very expensive, and i would not buy my stuff there.

[filipino]

get a Dual Intel Xeon 64bit 3.2GHZ "Nocona" CPUs and Western Digital Raptor 10,000rpm Hard Drives.

[[Neo770]]

Its an aussie site, all prices are in AU$, gamedude are one of the cheapest in the gold coast / Brisbane area.

[proffit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by filipino

get a Dual Intel Xeon 64bit 3.2GHZ "Nocona" CPUs and Western Digital Raptor 10,000rpm Hard Drives.

i need storage space so raptors wont cut it unfortunitly.

also amd X2's are faster then the intel's or so i have read and seen.

[Ultima]

The AMD dual cores spank the Intels silly and they do it at a lower price.

I'd go for dual opteron 244 or 246, or get a nice Asus A8N-SLI deluxe with a dualcore opteron socket 939, so ya won't need registered ram.
The board can take at least 4Gb, maybe even 8Gb, so.....
And it is loaded with SATA connectors and a few IDE ports for old times sake.

And no, if you're gonna use it as a dedicated game server, you won't need a heavy gamers card, since all server versions of games are textbased, or at least for as far as I've seen them.
You can get 4 x 400, but I'd get that 4 x 400 on SATA and a 80Gb startup disk on IDE.

[proffit]

thanks for that ultima so if i jsut got a graphics card like a 6800 gt ( dual monitor) it would be more then enough for what id ever need?

also yeah thats what i thought the amd duel cores own the intel ones.

[EXreaction]

You don't need an expensive graphics card...unless you want to game on it also...I could get away with a $50 card if you wanted to...

I will check some stuff out on that site.

[EXreaction]

Well, I don't think you can get a dual socket 939...you should look into a dual socket 940, and go with 2x dual core opterons...this is a good one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813151120

And these are awsome cpus...but they are quite expensive!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103574

[#43 fan]

I'd go AMD. If going server, I'd go SCSI, faster with more storage space.