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Posts Tagged ‘mini itx server’

Build Mini ITX Server

Monday, September 14th, 2009

I was looking to build a mini itx server with the purpose to be a file server, mail server and to run a few virtual machines. It had to be powerful enough to do all these and to cost around £500.

Motherboard

I opted for the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi motherboard due to having a good on board graphics, obviously not planning on playing games on it, but it had enough grunt to play back 1080p video just in case i decide to turn it into a home theatre PC later on. It has HDMI out with audio if i did decided to use as a HTPC. It is able to accept socket LGA775 intel CPU’s with support for Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad up to 1333 MHz front-side bus. Also has PCI Express 2.0 if i later wanted to decided to use it as a gaming PC. It can accept up to 8GB DDR2 800MHz which will be needed if i plan to run VM’s on the server.

CPU

My choice of CPU was to be between a dual core or a quad core CPU. The CPU had to have a low wattage, a FSB speed of 1333MHz, intel virtualization technology, good cache memory and around the 3GHz mark. I had narrowed it down to two CPU’s, Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S. Ended up buying the E8400 due to being cheaper, faster processor, better cache memory. Though the extra two cores on the Q8400S will have come in handy when doing virtualization.

Manufacturer: Intel

CPU Type: Core 2 Duo

Clock Speed: 3 GHz

FSB Speed: 1333 MHz

Socket: 775

L2 Cache (Total): 6MB

CPU Model: E8400

Core Name: Wolfdale

Wattage: 65W

Core Size: 45 nm

CPU Features:

Enhanced Halt State (C1E)

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

Execute Disable Bit

Intel EM64T

Intel® Thermal Monitor 2

Intel® Virtualization Technology

RAM

I went for 4GB of RAM, DDR2 800MHz. The only reason i did not go for 8GB is because i could not find anywhere that was doing it in 2 pairs. If i did find an online retailer that was selling two 4GB sticks i would have probably still not have gone for it as it would have been to expensive. For now 4GB is more than enough and i can always upgrade later.

Manufacturer: Corsair

Size: 4GB (2x2GB)

CAS Latency: 5-5-5-18

Memory Model: XMS2

Case

The case was a key component in this build, it had to be small, quiet, have a built in power supply, have enough power for all the components and most importantly it had to look good. Surprisingly i could not find a single mini itx case which meet all these requirements. The only one that meet all the requirements except the good looks was the Compucase 8K01. The other choice was the Silverstone LC12S-120, which looked really good but it was to tall and did not come with a cover for the CD drive which would have made it look ugly. I ended up looking at micro atx cases as there was a better selection. The one i choose in the end was the Silverstone LC19B-R. This case is gorgeous, its unbelievable slim, only 68mm tall, it is quite wide but if i was going to use it as a HTPC then it would not look out of place under my TV. It has a 120 watt power supply which is more than enough to power all the components, has 1 x 50mm fan included, card reader and it is constructed out of aluminium. A couple of things to note is that if you are going to use this case with a mini itx board then you will need a 4 pin atx extension cable as the one included is not long enough, not to sure about other motherboards but it was about 2 cm short on the zotac board. The other thing is the retail CPU heatsink and fan that came with the CPU will not fit in this case. I had to get Akasa AK-CC044 low profile heatsink and fan.