Martin Englund's Weblog

I'm about to upgrade my home server, which currently is a Shuttle SS51G (1 GB RAM, 2.4 GHz P4, 2 * 120 GB disks) to something even more quiet, but I have trouble deciding if I should build or buy.

Since I use it as a server and run Solaris 10 on it, to host a few domains with matching web sites and mail servers, I don't need any fancy-schmancy stuff like a killer graphics card and 5.1 sound. My very modest requirements are:

At least 2 GB memory
Room for two disks
One free PCI slot (so I can add an extra network interface)
Silent
Small

I've looked at the Shuttle K 6200 which has an external power supply. That makes it really quiet - only 28 dB(A). The downside is that it only comes with a Pentium 4 or Celeron processor, and I want to use an AMD Athlon64.

I could go for the Shuttle G4 8500, but then it isn't as quiet as the K 6200, which is a problem as it will be sitting in a closet next to my bedroom.

If I build one, I'll have the benefit of getting it exactly as I like, but I don't have the time (or energy) to spend to assemble and test it, and I've become lazy lately. I just want things to work, so I can spend my time on the real stuff.

Decisions, decisions...

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