Low cost WHS build suggestions

[jerek]

Hello, I am new to this forum. I am UK born but now live in the French Pyrenees. I have listened to many of the podcasts and looked at the forum and would appreciate some advice.

 

I tried WHS when it first came out, but shelved it when the ”bug” was found. I then decided to buy a Synology DS107 nas instead, but I have found it too time consuming to try and set it up to act like a WHS. So I have now decided to go back to WHS solution.

 

My primary requirement is for backup of my pc's and secondly as a folder share (My Documents etc.?). I do not stream video (in fact only own 5 DVD’s), but will want to stream audio in the future.

I have tested a trial copy on an old pc Celeron 2.0, 1 GB. 160Gb HD and it works OK. But the hardware is old and don’t want to trust it with my data. I want an economic solution, so should I build system based on the Atom or should I convert my current PC, Asus p5K with a E2180 2GB ram, (which is very adequate for my current needs) into a WHS and use the money I would have spent on the Atom on a new pc? Any advice welcome.

 

Thank you.

 

PS (prices here are approx. 50% more than in the USA and after paying 40% social security charges on income doesn't leave a lot in the pot)

[dvn]

An Atom would suffice for your needs. Your current PC would also suffice, if you're thinking about an upgrade. If you're OK with your current PC, then keep an eye out for sales on an OEM server. If you're OK with a headless server, that would probably be your neatest solution.

[usacomp2k3]

The CPU in the ex470 is roughly equivalent to a Celeron, so hardware wise, that is probably fine for a WHS to do backups and simple file sharing. As long as you trust the Hard drives, I'd say go for it on that machine.

[jmwills]

This could be an excellent time to pickup one of the HP models as retailers could be discounting them heavily to clear out inventory.

[cskenney]

There is also a discount on Tranquil Home Servers right now too. Check out this post on UWHS.com

[jerek]

Thanks for all the help.

Sorry I have not acknowledged before but a storm took out our phone lines.

So I am only just back online again.

[Guest no-control]

Thanks for all the help.

Sorry I have not acknowledged before but a storm took out our phone lines.

So I am only just back online again.

 

 

 

Might want to buy a UPS for that server!

 

I would save yourself some cash and use the old PC. I would recommend buying a second HDD if you would like to use it for folder duplication.