F1A55-V FM1 and AMD without radeon, does it need a graphics card

[Ron AF Greve]

Hi,

I am planning to build a new server. On some motherboards it says it has VGA but if I install an AMD chip without integrated graphics will the board still output VGA or do I need a separate video card in that case?

In the past I had boards that explicitly specified there was a video chip on the board, but I can't find anything about it in the manual. Note that it is going to be a sever no a gaming PC. So I only need text base graphics (during installation/troubleshooting).

Board:
F1A55-V FM1
Processor (AMD without Radeon)
AMD Athlon II X4 651

Regards, Ron

 

[JKatwyopc]

If the processor does not include graphics then you will need a separate graphics card.

I suggest that you change your CPU to one that has it built-in such as this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103943

For what exactly are you using your server? There may be a better sloution that is still inexpensive.

Please fill this out and maybe we can help you design it: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[Ron AF Greve]

Hi,

Thanks for the comment, especially about the graphics card, the manual is not very clear on that.


Approximate Purchase Date: From now to a few months
Budget Range: Would like to keep it cheap at least below 500€
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Web/Mail server (Personal web page/mail server only handles mail for me), backup files from my regular PC, to help with rendering (luxrender/blender) (nice to have but not the most important)
Parts Not Required:Will be headless server no sound etc needed
Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
Country:Netherlands
Parts Preferences: Asus/MSI
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: Already have a monitor.
Additional Comments:Nothing special
OS: Ubuntu server

I had this in mind.
AMD Athlon II X4 651, 3.00GHz, 4MB, FM1 36 90,00
Asus F1A55-V FM1 A55 4xDDR3 ATX 36 79,00
Asus PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter 300MBit, PCIe, x1 24 35,00
G.Skill PK 6GB(3x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz CL7 99 66,00
Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB, 7200rpm, 32MB, SATA 36 109,00

I think I still have a PCI graphics card in one of my old pc's so I might just plug that in.

 

[Raiddinn]

I would get an A8 processor, they were designed specifically for this sort of thing.

You probably also want a server on a hard line cable to the network if you can possibly arrange it. I never heard of anyone trying to make a wireless server before, at best it would introduce tons of unwanted latency in the network.

The RAM isn't going to cut it either. Get 2x CT2KIT51264BA1339 RAM (16 GBs total), servers eat up RAM like candy and 6GBs just isn't going to cut it. The 2x above is $80 total ($14 more) for 10 gigs more RAM.

Also, it is definitely good to put your RAM in matched pairs in a board that is built for that, 2 x 2 in this instance is better than 1x3 with one slot just empty keeping you from having dual channel functionality.

Hitachi HD - The worst of the major HD makers. You may want to consider switching to one of the other makers instead.

 

[JKatwyopc]

Actually, the reason I asked you to fill out the form was to get a better idea of what you were trying to do. The AMD APU's are designed to serve the low end PC market where graphics is important but not necessarily requiring top performance. In your case, based on what you wrote, graphics is not really a serious concern. Network performance, CPU performance and Storage are more important. To that end, I would focus on getting a Good CPU and memory and don't be afraid to spend a little extra on your HDD.

You might want to consider a Sandy Bridge build using an i3 processor.

Something Like this:

Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz
ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W Power Supply
G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-1333C9D-16GAO
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Edit: forgot to complete the thought. Just use the HD graphics 2000 that's built in to i3-2100.

 

[Ron AF Greve]

Thanks for the answers:

Yeah, maybe I use one with built-in graphics after all, I like to keep it simple. The i3 seems to use a bit less (max) power (not sure what it means on average).

JKatwyopc:
The vendor I am buying (preferably I buy it all by one) only has 2x4GB (or 4x4GB) unfortunately.
If first thought of reusing an old case, but now I look antec I realize it hasn't got any connections on the front of the case (and I really like that). Besides that antec looks awesome, espcecially considering the price.


Raiddinn:
Yes, the intention was to use the wifi card only during setup, when the thing is configured I swap it with my current server.
I had a lot of problems with seagate in my current regular PC. Two had the bug where the log just hit the end of its buffer rendering it inoperable, only after the second seagate started offering a flash tool to flash to latest bios. Still the third (not flashed but with correct bios version) broke down after two years. Since I had them as raid 5 I had to install everything 3 times, sigh. I swapped the last one for an hitachi and that has been working fine for me. Although the seagates were quite fast, for me it just turned out to be unreliable. (Although I put one of them in my current server and that has been running for the last few years, so maybe I just bought at the wrong moment).

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it some more thought, but yes a bit more memory and CPU with built-in graphics might be a good idea.

 

[Raiddinn]

Everyone's experiences vary, but I was mostly talking about averages. I have seen RMA numbers from a major distributor dealing with 100s of each kind of part and the Hitachi's had the highest RMA rates across the board.

The difference wasn't huge, but it was a difference.

I wouldn't worry too much about the different processor power ratings if I were you. The A8 uses a lot more power, but that is because it does graphics too. i3 + graphics card is more than the A8 uses.

The A8 also has more cores, which servers do a lot better at utilizing than regular PCs do.

 

[Ron AF Greve]

I thought the i3 also had graphics (I only actually need text).

Statistically the few harddisk I had is of course not enough to say something about all the disks. But for me personally, I have two hitachi's for a few years and no problem and the seagates all three had problems at some time (although 2 were actually the same thing). Until the hitachi's fail on me I think I stick to them.

 

[Raiddinn]

My bad, you are right on that, they have the absolute most basic graphics available, but its there.

The A8 graphics aren't really in the same league as what is on the i3, but if plain text is all you need then the i3 will probably be good enough.

 

[Ron AF Greve]

Best answer selected by Ron AF Greve.