Build Pc or Buy Server for Virtualization Study, Server 2008/2012

[EspiOne]

I am looking at getting Certified in Server 2008/2012 within the next year, 2014. I am Certified in WIN7 and looking to get Certified in WIN8 by the end of the month.

I have been running a PC with Server 2008 Trial Verision for the last year, for my study of WIN7 and WIN8. An Asus 975X with Q6600 and 8GB of RAM, 2 500GB Drives, ram limitation has been an issue with speed of Host PC and VMs.

I am looking to set up a virtual network with multiple Servers and Clients. I have been considering building another PC with a MAXIMUM Ram of 32Gb to run more VMs.

If I purchased a Server, I am looking to pay roughly, $600, but then have to get the ram, another $300, most DELL and LENOVO come with 3 year warranty.

Or I build it myself, $600, basically, M-ATX, 32RAM and CPU, (i5). I support it myself.

So any suggestions,

XEON, i5, ??

Motherboard??

Built Servers I am looking at

ThinkServers, TS140, i3 @ $300, Xeon @ $550, TS130, Xeon @ 550 all with 4Gb Ram.

Dell Servers, T1700, running at $900+ with 8GB of Ram and Xeon.

My overall budget, I would like to stay under $600 -$700

*as an additional note, I am looking to get Certified in Desktop Virtualization also.

 

[Transmaniacon]

This is the best I can do, but it will be much better than any of the pre-built offerings. Obviously you don't get the warranty, but if you hardware arrives in working condition, chances are it will stay that way. That Antec PSU is very good, and likely much better than anything Dell or Lenovo will use.

The E3 XEONs are great for this purpose, you get the hyper-threaded quad core, but at a much lower cost. The tradeoff is you can't OC, but I don't think that's relevant anyway with a server.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($203.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($265.02 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $733.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-18 09:09 EST-0500)

Edit: Totally forgot the XEON's don't have integrated graphics, tacked on a HD5450 simply for display purposes. You could also reuse your current hard drives and save a little money.

 

[EspiOne]

This is the best I can do, but it will be much better than any of the pre-built offerings. Obviously you don't get the warranty, but if you hardware arrives in working condition, chances are it will stay that way. That Antec PSU is very good, and likely much better than anything Dell or Lenovo will use.

The E3 XEONs are great for this purpose, you get the hyper-threaded quad core, but at a much lower cost. The tradeoff is you can't OC, but I don't think that's relevant anyway with a server.

[
Edit: Totally forgot the XEON's don't have integrated graphics, tacked on a HD5450 simply for display purposes. You could also reuse your current hard drives and save a little money.

I am gonna look into this, cost is really high, I just build my oldest son a new gaming PC for $400, I will take this list into consideration. and evaluate my budget.

Thanks, I will post my findings.

 

[Transmaniacon]

You could also go with an AMD build, it won't perform as well but would still be an upgrade over your current machine:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($253.94 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $648.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-18 13:21 EST-0500)

 

[EspiOne]

2 Silicon Power Xpower 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $259.98 ($129.99 each)


GIGABYTE GA-Z87-DS3H LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

-$10.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card $109.99 $99.99

Intel Intel Xeon E3-1220V3 Haswell 3.1GHz LGA 1150 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31220V3 Intel
-$15.00 Instant
$219.99 $204.99

Total cost: $564.96 Free Shipping.

I don't need a case, psu or hard drives. I am using a Radeon HD 6350 for dual monitors, just the core components.
I kept the same chipset, Z87, but went to lower cost board. I need to order from Newegg to charge it and pay later.

Any thoughts.

Now, your gonna kick me for this, but my other choice, is to simply dual boot my gaming system.

i5-4670K
Asus Z87-A
32GB Kingston Hyper-X DDR-3 1600
MSI 660 GTX in SLI, Moving to 760 GTX, (did evga step up from 650 ti(s).

I am just not sure about whether this system would be better or worse then just building another machine.

 

[Transmaniacon]

I think the XEON is better suited for your needs, with double the threads. Also you can keep the server running all the time while you are doing other things. Since you aren't overclocking, you can drop down to the H87 chipset, I should have mentioned this before. The only real difference between H87 and Z87 is the ability to overclock. Seeing as you just need the core, I think it would be a good choice.

 

[EspiOne]

Just looking back the motherboards.

Changing MOBO, drops by $27.. $537.

ASRock H87M Pro4
Model
BrandASRockModelH87M Pro4
Supported CPU
CPU Socket TypeLGA 1150CPU Type4th Generation Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Xeon / Pentium / Celeron (LGA1150)Supported CPU TechnologiesTurbo Boost Technology 2.0
Chipsets
North BridgeIntel H87
Memory
Number of Memory Slots4×240pinMemory StandardDDR3 1600/1333/1066Maximum Memory Supported32GB

I might look at this within the next few months. Thanks for your advise.

 

[EspiOne]

Was putting together a server this morning, (price on DDR3 2X8GB was at $109), so I look around and place my order:

Intel Xeon E3-1220V3 Haswell 3.1Ghz, $204.99
AsRock H87M Pro4 MicroATX (open box) $62.54
Team Elite Plus 32GB $219.98
WD Green 1TB Intellipower $59.00

Shipping, $3.19

Total Cost $550.69

I was debating about a new case, but would have added $70... I figured a new hard drive would be good.

What are your thoughts on placing the OS (server 2012) on a SSD, I have a 64GB, just lying around, and all other files on the 1TB. Would the 64GB be too small??

 

[EspiOne]

I was able to find a Manufacturer Recertified OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX100G 2.5" 100GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for $49. Any thoughts on running Server 2008 R2 Eval on this drive??

 

[Transmaniacon]

For another $30 you can probably find a Kingston Hyper X or Samsung EVO SSD, both would be a nice upgrade in terms of performance. It should work fine for running the OS though.