Simple, cheap, power efficient, remote server

[justpoet]

So, I'm looking to build up a simple and cheap server that is relatively small and relatively power efficient.  Power use is a major consideration (second to price), but not the end all be all, as long as it doesn't go too high.  I expect to build later this summer, roughly around when the new Ryzen chips should be out.  Comments after the build link.  Open to suggestions.

 

I'm currently thinking this works out well:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$148.00 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$71.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$77.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Intel - 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$60.99 @ Amazon
Case	Rosewill - FBM-06 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$19.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$29.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$438.73
	Mail-in rebates	-$30.00
	Total	$408.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-27 16:38 EDT-0400

 

There's a cheaper ASROCK B450 board, but it doesn't appear to have m.2, nor the 2nd pair of memory slots.  m.2 isn't really required, but makes a simpler install for not much more cost, and I'm not using the extra ram slots now, but may later if it means putting all the served data into ram cache to not require HD access.  There's also a slightly cheaper 500w PS that's 80+ instead of 80+bronze, but it only saves a couple bucks and isn't modular at all, so I figured the slightly fewer cables would help a bunch with the cheap case selection and just using air cooling.  Being this low in power usage, I figured that an 80+ Bronze should be plenty fine vs paying double for an 80+ Gold.

 

My expectation is that when Ryzen 3000 chips come out, these will go down significantly in price again, especially if estimated prices for the new chips are to be believed.  The interesting option would then be if a supporting motherboard and the expected 3300G (6c/12t@3) in the same power use will be a reasonable jump up, or too expensive as they'll be new and shiny vs this 2400G (4c/8t@3.6).  While I like the expected 3600g (8c/16t@3.2) as an option, it is a fairly significant power upgrade as well (65w to 95w), and where this is going will notice the difference in the bill, as this will run 24/7.  Going with an APU based unit because trying to troubleshoot headless machines sucks, and graphics cards are yet more power and cost.

 

Not listed up there in the specs are that I'll be putting an optical burner and 2 large 3.5 spinning drives into it for storage with the m.2 only being used for OS (linux), and a smallish database (to run wordpress).  I could go with a smaller/slower m.2 drive (or 2.5) and save money, but this seems like a smart buy for the size and speed going forward.  I believe the other drives are about 10w additional per drive, so should still be well within the PSU low use range, and keep me still around 100w total.

 

Server Use Case:

• Local BIND DNS server to the location to speed stuff up and also to allow for local/remote splitting/overrides of my domains so they work properly from every location.
• ssh and file transfer over ssh as a backup location (using Duplicati on all machines)
• web server (probably apache, which will run a couple static sites and a wordpress site expecting a few hundred hits a day at most)
•    probably MySQL back end for wordpress
• May at some point add a CalDAV server to make sharing a calendar easy (the wordpress site focuses around racing and will include scheduling info)
• Non-backup data on this system will back up remotely to my house (also using Duplicati, and probably some scripts to do a database dump first)

 

I'd be highly interested in smaller form factor cases that still allow for the full size drives and USB3 at a reasonable price (no RGB or odd shapes, I just want it on a shelf or under a desk that has other computers being used at it).  I'm not worried about difficulty in making things fit, since I won't be touching it except perhaps a RAM upgrade (and of course cleaning out dust) for many years.  I'd also be interested in a fully passive CPU cooler to help reduce noise if not super expensive, though of course that just means the case fans would work a bit more.  I expect I'll add some ventilation holes to just about any case and get some form of filter to use for the intakes, as well as put foam sound dampening in it to help, though it won't be noisy even in stock form due to the low power draw and no interest in OC'ing it.

 

Currently in that location, I have a 12 year old dual Xeon system (8c) with occasional ECC errors on RAM (that correct themselves) there that used to pull about 180-200W, but now regularly is running around 300W and the power difference was hugely noticed so it now only runs for a few hours each night to allow for remote backups.  I gave it a good cleaning and pretty much nothing changed, unfortunately.  Nothing but the newer spinning drives and optical burner will be re-used.

[LukeSavenije]

better airflow, faster ssd, 2200g, leagues better mobo, and a case with actual airflow and not a piece of sharp metal after every corner

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450 AORUS M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$74.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$77.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - P1 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$69.99 @ Adorama
Case	Thermaltake - Versa H17 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$29.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$29.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$402.73
	Mail-in rebates	-$25.00
	Total	$377.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-27 17:38 EDT-0400

 

[mariushm]

For a web server and whatever, go on eBay and buy a Ryzen 3 1200 for 65-75$

Or if you're in US, find a Microcenter and buy a Ryzen 5 1600 for 80$ (plus a 30$ off a motherboard or whatever) ... maybe you can find a friend to buy them for you as they're in store only : https://www.microcenter.com/product/478826/ryzen-5-1600-32ghz-6-core-am4-boxed-processor-with-wraith-spire-cooler

They also have 2200G at same price, 80$..

I would suggest even an Athlon 200GE would be plentiful for a web server, but at around 60$, it's not worth it considering 10$ extra gives you Ryzen 3 1200

 

Yes, Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 5 1600 don't have integrated graphics, but you can easily buy a cheap pci-e video card

ex 8$ for AMD HD 6350 with DMS-59 connector (you'd need an extra 1-2$ dms-69 to vga/dvi adapter cable) : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-AMD-Radeon-HD-6350-512MB-PCI-e-Video-Card-DMS-59-Low-Profile-1CX3M/113057819828?hash=item1a52c56cb4:g:nq4AAOSwvjBbIHnn

10$ for amd hd 5450 (same dms-59 connector) : https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-ATI-Radeon-HD-5450-512MB-DDR3-SDRAM-PCI-Express-2-0-x16-Video-Card/362369068791?hash=item545ee12ef7:g:Hd8AAOSwNwhcZFbH

Or geforce 210 for 10$ and you don't have to mess around with adapters : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nvidia-Geforce-210-PCI-E-video-graphics-card-for-desktop-computers/293028748432?epid=140586999&hash=item4439dfdc90:g:fCUAAOSwiKdcUPOc

 

There's this psu for 25$ (if you get the 15$ mail-in rebate) :

Seasonic S12III 450 SSR-450GB3 450W 80+ Bronze, ATX12V & EPS12V, Direct Output, Smart & Silent Fan Control, 105 °C  : https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151229&ignorebbr=1

 

[justpoet]

29 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

better airflow, faster ssd, 2200g, leagues better mobo, and a case with actual airflow and not a piece of sharp metal after every corner

I looked at that case and liked it, except no external drive bay.  #OpticalLivesMatter

Good option for the MB, will look at that one futher and probably swap it in.

Definitely something good to consider with the faster m.2, thanks.

Why the drop to the R3, cutting thread count in half, which is what I would expect to have the most performance impact on a server based system?

 

[justpoet]

15 minutes ago, mariushm said:

For a web server and whatever, go on eBay and buy a Ryzen 3 1200 for 65-75$

Or if you're in US, find a Microcenter and buy a Ryzen 5 1600 for 80$ (plus a 30$ off a motherboard or whatever) ... maybe you can find a friend to buy them for you as they're in store only

Thanks, there's actually some microcenters not too far from where this will eventually get installed.

Quote

There's this psu for 25$ (if you get the 15$ mail-in rebate) :

Seasonic S12III 450 SSR-450GB3 450W 80+ Bronze, ATX12V & EPS12V, Direct Output, Smart & Silent Fan Control, 105 °C  : https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151229&ignorebbr=1

Looks like a good way to drop a few bucks by losing semi-modular.  Thanks.

 

The GT210 seems like a reasonable 13w or so to allow for more CPU options, even if way less graphic ability.  I was assuming even older cards used 50w+ like the lower end current cards.

[LukeSavenije]

6 minutes ago, justpoet said:

Why the drop to the R3, cutting thread count in half, which is what I would expect to have the most performance impact on a server based system?

you can up it to the r5 if you feel like it

 

or get a good deal on a 1600 and get for example a gt210

 

12 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Seasonic S12III 450 SSR-450GB3 450W 80+ Bronze, ATX12V & EPS12V, Direct Output, Smart & Silent Fan Control, 105 °C  : https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151229&ignorebbr=1

and... that's a massive downgrade from the cxm... not worth it at all

 

like this case maybe?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Yn7CmG/thermaltake-case-ca1d400s1nn00

[justpoet]

8 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

like this case maybe?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Yn7CmG/thermaltake-case-ca1d400s1nn00

I do.  Double the case price, but probably worth it for the extra ease of air flow.