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Thread: Buying a Server

  1. #1

    Buying a Server

    2nd Hand with the following specs:

    • Dell PowerEdge 2950 III
    • 2 x X5450 (3.0GHz, 2x6MB, 1333MHz FSB)
    • 64GB RAM (8x8GB Quad Rank DIMMs) 667MHz FBD
    • Riser with PCI Express Support (2x PCIe x8 slots; 1x PCIe x4 slot)
    • 2x 73GB SAS 10k 2.5" HD Hot Plug
    • PE2950 III - Chassis 2.5HDD x8 Backplane
    • PERC 6/i, Integrated Controller Card x8 backplane
    • DVD-ROM Drive SATA with SATA Cable
    • PE2950 III Redundant Power Supply No Power Cord
    • Rack Power Distribution Unit Power Cord
    • 2 x Intel PRO 1000VT Quad Port Gigabit Network Card,
    • TCP/IP Offload Engine 2P
    • Drac 5 Card
    • Rapid/Versa Rack Rails
    • PE2950 III C3 MSS R1 Add-in PERC 5/i / 6/i / SAS


    For about £700. Any advice / thoughts ?

    I was thinking about possibly changing the backplane to 6 x 3.5 but not sure yet. Depends on the difference in price for the drives.
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  2. #2
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    I'd say that's a pretty good deal.
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  3. #3
    Good price particularly with that amount of RAM.

    Any idea on the power draw? must be close to 1.5amp @230v surely?
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  4. #4
    I am not sure about the power draw to be honest but I am sure it'll be at least 1.5Amps after I load it with 6 or 8 HDD's. I still need to discuss a few details with the seller later today.

    I just thought I'd get the opinion of you fine folks here and maybe you can point out any major pitfalls before I hand over the cash.
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  5. #5
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    It's a large machine, but you have to remember its getting on a bit, only DDR2 memory, Perc6/i is very dated now. I wouldnt expect any less than 1.5Amps. There is a reason why there are so many Dell 1950's available on the cheap.

    To give you an idea, A Supermicro 2x E5410, 24GB RAM (6 DIMMS), 4x Disks + 3Ware card draws 1.1a idle.

    Depends how much it will cost you to colocate it, but if you run some numbers you might be better off with newer hardware in the long-run.

  6. #6
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    It's powerful even for current standards (probably 6-core (Intel) level in the 3-3.6GHz area) with quite a chunk of RAM, but as Chris pointed out, you are running on hardware that could be relatively old (though for HDs that can be a good sign). 1 thing to consider though is the upgrade path in the future. There will be almost no room for expansion in the future if you desire to do so. Modern hardware can always come with a spare slot for another CPU later on etc.

  7. #7
    I was actually thinking of going with Rapidswitch... 2U would mean I get 0.8Amps for £67. Then it's £4 per 0.1Amp.

    So if it's 1.5amps in total total cost would be £99 / month
    for 2 Amps it would be £120 / month.

    If I were to get a new server and keep it to 1 Amp I would be paying about £50 less per month. However given the difference in initial cost of about £2000 between this and a new server of a similar spec it would take 3-4 years for there to be any major impact.

    It is food for thought thouh...
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  8. #8
    I would say thats kind of expensive for a server of those specs. Yes 64gb ram is a lot but I know I can go buy 24gb DDR3 ECC ram for $200. I also assume that is the monthly price you are paying.

  9. #9
    £700 would be to buy the actual server (one off). Includes delivery to the office.

    Then it would be about £100-120 / month to colocate it.

    So in your view £700 to buy the server outright is expensive ? It might well be, I can only judge by the prices I've researched and peoples comments here.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kakashi View Post
    £700 would be to buy the actual server (one off). Includes delivery to the office.

    Then it would be about £100-120 / month to colocate it.

    So in your view £700 to buy the server outright is expensive ? It might well be, I can only judge by the prices I've researched and peoples comments here.
    It's a good deal, go for it. I picked up two 2950's with 32GB RAM and similar spec's for about $1100~ USD a pop. So you got a better deal with double the RAM vs. me.

  11. #11
    I dare say it's good indeed.
    I have never thought it's possible to get a deal with so many resources at such a low price.

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