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$200-$300 Home Server Always on


kennethk

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I have a 3tb hdd and a 400w psu laying around so I figure why not build a home server. Now I am on a very tight budget with this, I really dont want to spend anymore than $200 if possible. I'd rather load windows 7 on it rather than windows server. So maybe I could pull it off with a cheap amd build?

 

I'm looking for something small and compact I can stick behind the tv set if possible.

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That motherboard and RAM combo won't work. None of AMD FM1/FM2 boards support ECC RAM, last I remember. Built my file server back in Jan. 2013.

4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory  

 

Intel released newer Ivy bridge Celerons and Pentiums that have ECC support. You want to make sure that both the CPU and motherboard support ECC otherwise it won't work.

Edited by AZNguyen

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That APU seems to be a good choice for that price range. I would go with a motherboard without optical output, unless its required for your setup. You can save $10-20. I would try to stay away from cases that include generic PSUs.


 
CPU:  AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($54.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard:  MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Mwave) 
Memory:  PNY Optima 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $149.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-08 21:49 EST-0500)

 

Just a random quick build, mostly invested in price cuts. You will lose some things with that MSI board like Optical-output, 16 GB max RAM and 1 PCI-e x16. The RAM and PCI-e x16 shouldn't matter too much since I don't think you're going to be expanding much more beyond that 1 HDD with a HTPC case. You still have 2x PCI-e x1 slots to add in a Wifi/Bluetooth card. I would stay away from the generic PSUs that come with some of those cases. Several of the reviews don't show those PSUs working for very long.

Edited by AZNguyen

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That APU might be the only good choice I see in that build. Is optical output a must-have feature? You can get cheaper boards with just HDMI. Also ones that have SATA III ports (that one didn't). Cases with PSU are generally hit or miss, so beware with that one.

 

Use this site for building PCs, it'll help you find the cheapest prices and check for compatability: http://pcpartpicker.com. It'll also let you post the build with links to forums for easier reviewing.

Well I was asking for build suggestions from people here. But no Optical is not a must since I'd probably use rca

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