Recent content by br14

Depending on how long it would take you to put together all 8 HDs, you could add a cheap ($20-$25) 4 -SATA card and hope to swap for a better/cheaper motherboard or card later. For a quiet and sturdy case I highly recommend Antec Solo - very happy with mine. You did not specify the server OS...

Hello, I have the d945gclf2 and am (very) interested in replacing the heatsink. Could you please recommend one (or more)? Also, not sure that I understand how the heatsink affects the power consumption - could you please elaborate. Thank you.

50 watts total for MB+RAM+DVD+5HD+add-on PCI card? Does it sound right? If true, that is really impressive!

I myself went for 2GB: 1. no option to add memory later 2. only approx. $10 3. little Atom can use all the help it can get 4. 2GB give you some interesting options, like running without swap file

If you do not mind a conventional PC look, consider a heavy-gauge (1mm or .8mm) steel case rather than aluminum - less vibration/noise and sturdier.

The MSI board looks nice - much better than Intel with 2 extra SATA ports and passive chipset cooler (is it actually available anywhere?) Also, check out anandtech article "The Cost of Running Your PC" - unless you have non-monetary criteria, the marginal power savings at the low end do not...

Tim, for Vista install, did you just make USB bootable with diskpart and copied the install files or was there more to it?

Definitely Lian-Li - a well designed quality case that looks good. I would not put a drive cage in because I like an optical drive for installs, troubleshooting, etc. You will probably find more info/opinions on the cases at anandtech and silentpcreview forums. The people here know their...

How difficult is it to install an OS on this machine without a CD(DVD) drive?

Hello, Atom D945gclf2 with 2GB memory stick should cost about $115; $25 Rosewill PCI card adds 4 SATA ports (including up to 2 eSata). Add Antec NSKxxxx with power supply for under $100 and you should be able to put together a 6-drive NAS for under $250, less if you find a cheaper...

And consider good old KVM switch if location allows.

Given that you like Antec hardware (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that) consider some of their cases with the power supply included, as that will usually give you a better value. You might want to look at something like NSK6480 or Sonata Designer- the Designer is a (very nice)...

I am currently working through similar issues. I built a box using D945gclf2 (dual Atom) board and installed XP, Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop, and Ubuntu 8.10 Server. The XP and 8.10 Desktop seem to yield more or less same transfer rates while the Server appeared about 10% faster – I use the past...