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Processor: (3.40 GHz) 4-Core Intel Core i7-6700 Processor

Memory (RAM): 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4 U Memory (for i-series/Core Processors)

Graphics Card: Integrated Graphics (with i series processors only) +$0.00

Drive 1: 3TB HDD SATA 7.2k 3.5" Hard Drive

Drive 2: 3TB HDD SATA 7.2k 3.5" Hard Drive

M.2 Storage: 512GB M.2 SSD NVMe Drive

Price: $291.95

My main concern with this option is energy usage. The CPU’s TDP is 65W, the CPU in my current server’s TDP is 35W.

It does have a few advantages over my current setup:

  • More RAM 8 → 32
  • Better CPU, passmark score 4766 → 8091, threads 4 → 8
  • Ability to use RAID, current setup only has the capacity for 1 drive.

Is this a good option or is there a better option? I’ve also been considering using an external drive enclosure with software RAID, but I heard that could be unreliable.

EDIT: Is the price good? Shipping is quite expensive (about $100), so I’m only planning on buying it if the deal is good.

  • teawrecks@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    17·
    1 year ago

    I was worried about the power usage when I first started using my old gaming CPU for a home server (i7-4770k). I bought a kill-a-watt, ran it plugged into that for a month, saw that it was using pennies worth of energy per month and never worried about it again.

    Unless you’re pegging the CPU at 100%, it’s not going to be pulling the full 65W. As far as maintenance fees go, the cost of replacing a single hard drive will likely overshadow your energy costs.

    Pro tip: keep an eye out for hard drive deals on black fri. And I recommend doing a burn-in run on any new drives when you get them to push them past the initial failure window of the bathtub curve (I used badblocks. Took nearly a week for the initial run, but I found one bad drive and was able to RMA it immediately instead of finding out the hard way).