Craig Sansam's Blog

Being a web developer I like to have a local server to develop on. My current server has an Intel Pentium Dual-Core and only 4GB of RAM, this should be enough for a local development server, but sadly, that’s not all it does. It’s also used as a file server, print server, media server (including transcoding), and hosts 2 virtual machines. Now there are problems.

I have been debating building a new server, or buying one pre-built (Like a Proliant ML115). However the issues I faced with this is the lack of space for HDD’s, most servers are limited to 6, and I already have this amount in my current server, price was also an issue. After a long decision process, I decided to build my own. The new server has an Intel i3 2100, with 16GB of ram and the motherboard has 8 SATA ports (4 x 3Gb/s Intel, 2 x Intel 6Gb/s and 2 x Marvel(?) 6 Gb/s), and its in a nice rack case. The cost of this build is currently at £402. With the most expensive item being the motherboard weighing in at £145.

Once I get everything else moved over (HDD’s etc) I will post another update.