Build Your Own Computer!
We all know how much I love my Windows Home Server, but the computer WHS lives on was dying a slow and painful death. Several of the capacitors on the motherboard were bulging, and one had actually burst. As a result the computer was becoming unstable, which is not a useful trait for a home server! I decided it was time to replace the aging computer and start looking for a replacement, which means it is a good time to talk about what I bought and why, as well as give you an idea of how it goes together!
In recent issues we have talked about Motherboards, Hard Drives, and RAM. If you haven't read these articles now is a good time to catch up!
To build a computer you need eight basic components:
- A case to hold everything
- A motherboard to connect everything to
- A Central Processing Unit (CPU) to provide the "brain"
- Memory to provide short term storage
- A hard drive for long term storage
- A CD/DVD drive to load programs
- A power supply to power everything
- Fans to keep it cool
Case and Power Supply
The computer case you choose needs to be large enough to hold everything you plan to add now and in the future, while having a design that you find suitable and appealing. My goal was to find a case that was simple in design, able to hold at least 5 hard drives, have space for at least 2 additional fans, and have an included power supply
After searching Newegg.com and reading lots of specs I settled on a reasonably priced case by HEC for $50. This case has a simple black design, can fit ATX and MicroATX motherboards, has space for at least 5 hard drives, and a 585 watt power supply to power everything.
Motherboard
I already had 4 hard drives in my server totaling 1.73TB (1730 gigabytes) of storage. I could not justify replacing the hard drives, but I need to take into account future storage needs. Because my drives are the older IDE interface that presents a special problem. The SATA interface has become the de facto interface for hard drives and is becoming more prominent with CD/DVD drives as well. Because of this motherboard manufacturers are removing the IDE interface, or limiting IDE connections to the minimum of one. Each IDE connector on a motherboard can control 2 devices. I have 4 hard drives, so I have to find a motherboard with 2 IDE connectors and a few SATA connectors for future expansion. Back to NewEgg.com, where I found an Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 motherboard for a reasonable $60. The mother board supports Intel dual core processors, plenty of RAM for a server, 2 IDE channels, and 2 SATA connectors for future hard drive additions.
CPU
A server isn't performing computationally intensive operations, but Windows Home Server accepts Add-ins. These add-ins do require a bit of CPU power. A power house CPU just isn't required in this situation, but a bottom of the barrel CPU won't cut it either. I chose a reasonably priced Intel Dual Core 2.0Ghz processor for $70. The processor is a retail version, which means it comes with a cooling fan.
Memory
Servers generally aren't memory intensive either, but the add-ins for WHS do require a bit more than the minimum recommended by Microsoft of 512MB. 1GB would be a good start, but I chose to go with 2GB just to be on the safe side. Besides, you never know what the future will bring! I found 2GB of Corsair RAM for $32.
Hard Drives
This was the easiest choice! I have 4 that I plan to reuse in the new server. Whew, that was easy! (grin)
CD/DVD Drive
Another easy choice. I already have an IDE CD/DVD drive if I really needed one. The OS for the server is already installed on the current hard drives, and the BIOS on the motherboard recognizes by external USB DVD drive, so I'll install my current drive in the case, but I won't even hook it up.
Fans
Heat kills computers. Fans move hot air out of the case and cool air it. The case came with an 80mm fan mounted on the rear of the case. The CPU came with a fan to cool it. The only issue I worried about was the hard drives, which produce a lot of heat. This is especially true with you have four! I picked a 120mm fan to mount directly in front of the drives for $6. This fan lowered hard drive temperatures by 10 degrees Celsius!
There you have it. A complete computer with the exact items I need for a functional home server today and in the future. Total cost - $240. In Part 2 I'll cover what it takes to put it all together!
Continue to Part 2 of this article