Re: [LUG] New computer time

[Simon Avery <digdilem@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 12 July 2015 at 23:13, Simon Waters <simon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Finally can't be put off....

:)

Is there any reason not to find a cheap tower-like box that supports 16GB of RAM and that will run Debian, and fill it with the hardware of my choice.

In your position, where you have a very specific set of requirements, I would totally build it myself, but not in a cheap box.

Cheap cases are nasty to work on and you'll probably end up bleeding inside it. More importanty, they're usually poorly designed and abysmal at acoustic insulation and thermal ventilation. Spec QUIET fans (you won't regret it), both case and CPU. I like Antec cases myself, but there are plenty of others where you pay a bit more, but get smarter layouts, a more enjoyable build, quiet operation and nice things like removable filters to stop dust building up on your fans (and making them noisy)

Also consider the benefits of a proper hot-swap raid card for permanent uptime. That's a cost-vs-ease decision for you alone though, ease of swapping out a drive without turning the PC off or even opening it up, vs an mdadm type which does the same thing, but you'll need to power down to replace a dead drive.

Other thoughts are to get a tower server which are now quiet(er). I've use HP ML115 and ML110 servers as desktops and they're okay, and a very fast Fujitsu tower server. Each built better than most desktop and more suited to the 24/7 uptime you mention, but to be honest, most PCs, server or desktop, ready made or bolted together, are happy running all the time IME. The only maint is fan dust and the occasional one dying, but if you can site it away from sources of dust, even that is less drama.

-- 
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq