Hawnted Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 With WHS 2011 around the corner, I am rethinking my current strategy and have 3 options for my 2011 build. Option 1 - Build similar to current WHS v1: Currently my WHS v1 is a virtual machine on a Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V platform. It is virtualized with 3 other machines. I pass through a couple of 1TB WD Caviar Blacks for storage. I have access to two other machines out of spare parts that I could use for the build. Option 2 - Intel Core 2 Quad Build CPU - Q6600 Mobo - Asus P5K Premium 8GB RAM (Overkill for WHS, could use 4 GB or even 2) Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690 PSU I have available is a CMPSU-650TX OS Drive I have available would be a Seagate Momentus 7200.4 160gb laptop drive (Is this an OK drive for the OS?) Data drives would be three 2TB Caviar Blacks (I am assuming Raid 5 would be best here?) Option 3 - AM3 Build CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 945 Mobo - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690 RAM - 8GB Available, once again overkill, could get by with less but I have 8GB PSU and Drives are same as option 2. I already own everything listed. This server would be used 24/7. I could make a few small purchases, but would not want to throw more than a 200 bucks or so at it. Which build would you choose and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmwills Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 My option would be to stay virtual. You know the environment and how to operate within it. The other two are good but over kills. A Corei3 is more than plenty to drive a WHS, but if you have the quad core CPU in stock there is no need to buy another CPU. The Black Caviar drives for data would be a luxury for me, but then again if you have them in stock, why buy new. RAM will be more than sufficient at 4GB. The laptop drive for the OS is quite sufficient and a lot of the members have been talking about using two laptop drives in a RAID 1 in the ICY Dock adapter. Main boards, cases, and power supplies are more of a personal choice. Build for your current needs and allow for expansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawnted Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 My option would be to stay virtual. You know the environment and how to operate within it. The other two are good but over kills. A Corei3 is more than plenty to drive a WHS, but if you have the quad core CPU in stock there is no need to buy another CPU. The Black Caviar drives for data would be a luxury for me, but then again if you have them in stock, why buy new. RAM will be more than sufficient at 4GB. The laptop drive for the OS is quite sufficient and a lot of the members have been talking about using two laptop drives in a RAID 1 in the ICY Dock adapter. Main boards, cases, and power supplies are more of a personal choice. Build for your current needs and allow for expansion. I also have a 500gb Seagate Baracuda 7200RPM Drive available. Any benefit to use this as the OS drive over the 160gb laptop drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmwills Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Used as single drives.....no advantage. The advantage of using two laptop drives mirrored in RAID1 is a space savings and adding redundancy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcdoc Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 With WHS 2011 around the corner, I am rethinking my current strategy and have 3 options for my 2011 build. Option 1 - Build similar to current WHS v1: Currently my WHS v1 is a virtual machine on a Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V platform. It is virtualized with 3 other machines. I pass through a couple of 1TB WD Caviar Blacks for storage. I have access to two other machines out of spare parts that I could use for the build. Option 2 - Intel Core 2 Quad Build CPU - Q6600 Mobo - Asus P5K Premium 8GB RAM (Overkill for WHS, could use 4 GB or even 2) Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690 PSU I have available is a CMPSU-650TX OS Drive I have available would be a Seagate Momentus 7200.4 160gb laptop drive (Is this an OK drive for the OS?) Data drives would be three 2TB Caviar Blacks (I am assuming Raid 5 would be best here?) Option 3 - AM3 Build CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 945 Mobo - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690 RAM - 8GB Available, once again overkill, could get by with less but I have 8GB PSU and Drives are same as option 2. I already own everything listed. This server would be used 24/7. I could make a few small purchases, but would not want to throw more than a 200 bucks or so at it. Which build would you choose and why? Interesting question. I am not a fan of WHS on a VM, however based on your options it would be probably be the best. Assuming you are going to continue to run your VM you will be adding allot power draw running either of these two machines as a WHS. If I have to pick between Optin 2 and Option 3 I would select 2 as it will do the job with less power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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