hardware upgrade questions

XP Pro as a server can opnly see up to 3.5G of ram, That doesnt mean other apps cants utilize anything above that(vista is the same).

Some things to look out, without knowing what your hardrive is I would suggest at least making sure your drive are SATA and at least 7200. I would also make sure you have at least 4 G of Ram.

Regarding processors a dual core should suffice but that depends on how many transactions you doing a day and how fast does your DB grow's.

Are you using the server as a office PC as well, Any additional junk loaded on the server or that could have been loaded could cause performance issues.

I would use at least a dual core Processor and 4G of ram 7200 RPM Sata Drives. Build a new machine using todays faster FSB and you should be fine

Thanks Maurice!

Marc

Marc:

XP Pro should serve you well as the server O/S with the user configuration you have specified. For the computer I would recommend a dual core Xeon processor (Intel E3110, 3 GHz or most current) on the basic Intel Server motherboard. This boosts the cost over a standard motherboard by less than $200 but gives you a much better "package" plus built-in RAID if you want it. RAM: 4 GB.

(I don't believe you will gain any signifcant improvement by using a Quad processor on XP).

For the hard drives get some good SATA drives. Seagate has some nice 7200 RPM, level 300 drives - and they are very affordable. Even with RAID I always like to separate the O/S from the applications: one drive (or RAID pair) for the O/S, a second drive (pair) for the applications and data. And don't forget a good Network Attached Storage (NAS) device for backups and imaging. And2: having off-site data backup is always a good idea, too.

If you will be using this machine as your server and as your primary workstation for reporting it should serve you well and be pretty speedy.

If you need assistance sourcing a "pure Intel" box for the server please let me know.

(Oh, nice web site: you can never go wrong by posting kids and animals)!

Aloha, Miles

Pacific Computer Systems Miles Baidack snipped-for-privacy@pacificcomp.biz

Supporting Business Since 1985 Phone: (808)395-8156 or (808)277-8156

Miles,

Thanks for your suggestions. One more question, do you lean toward Seagate

7200's for price or for reliability or just because that's all the system really needs? .... as opposed to faster 10K SATA drives or 15K SAS drives?

Marc

Marc:

Good questions.

I like the Seagate 7200's for all three reasons: the price is good, they are reliable and for the system you are building they do the job.

If you were building a "real" server with a higher workload requirement the SATA 10K might make sense but these still carry a price premium over the

7200's that may not provide an equivilent performance boost.

As for SAS, SCSI and other non-IDE related interfaces, I've never been a fan of these because of the special driver requirements. With IDE/SATA you can stick the drives in nearly any computer and recover your data in a pinch. What good is all the technology if you can't access your data when you really need it?

HTH

Aloha, Miles

Pacific Computer Systems Miles Baidack snipped-for-privacy@pacificcomp.biz

Supporting Business Since 1985 Phone: (808)395-8156 or (808)277-8156

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"Marc" wrote:

Miles,

That makes sense, I agree. The ease of replacement is critical for the server PC. I can replace that hardrive from an Office Depot across the street in an emergency and be back up in about 10 minutes.Originally I was configuring for speed and never even thought about that. I will change my configuration to reflect your suggestion. Thanks!

I had just put the SAS on my 'personal' computer, but it was built maxed out, I always spoil myself for my PC! An I-7, 3.2gHz, that I will verclock - just a little ;). I can handle quirks there, but I want nothing but stability at work.

Marc