ESXI (low budget) "power saving" build NEED help which hardware to chose.

[jaddel]

Hello everyone!

 

I currrently running an HP N40L with 8GB Ram and an IBM m1015 under ESXI5.1

 

HDD: 2x 750GB; 3x 1TB; 1x 250GB; 1x 2,5" 500GB and 1x 2,5" 160GB

 

Atm there are two VM's running Unraid and Win7.

 

During the last year i figured out that i want a more powerful cpu and more ability's like to pass-through the IBM controller to the unraid vm.

 

By the way this is more like a fun project for me to learn about virtualization; file-servers... and so on :-)

 

For the beginning the plan was to use one of the 2,5" HDD as ESXI boot device and datastore for test vm's later i might upgrade to an SSD but for now it shuld do i gues. The other 2,5" HDD was supposed to be used by win7 so that it has his own drive. The rest of the Disks are going back in to the UNraid array.

 

The system is supposed to rum 24/7 so it would be nice if it has a low power consumption.

 

In total the budget is limited to 300€ if i have to add an other it 50€ would be ok.

What i have:

 

An old Chieftec Tower which has more than enough space for everything.

 

The 8GB Ram from the HP N40L (planing to sell the HP after withe the stock 2GB Ram and no disks)

 

Loads of cables and screws :-)

 

What i wanna get:

 

Intel Core i5-3470T                      http://geizhals.de/intel-core-i5-3470t-cm8063701159502-a782406.html

 

be quiet! Straight Power E9 400W  http://geizhals.de/be-quiet-straight-power-e9-400w-atx-2-3-e9-400w-bn190-a677342.html

 

I have no idea which Mainboard to take all i know it should have the ability to add more than one m1015 and an extra Network Card.

If it would be possible to flash the m1015 to IT mode with the new board it would be great but it's not a must have for me.

 

I would be happy if anyone could give some suggestions or maybe better ideas for the suggested hardware from my side.

 

Thx and sry for the english.

 

Cheers Jaddel

 

 

 

 

 

[Ford Prefect]

...the PSU is not a single Rail (be quiet doesn't make them)...go for one of these instead: http://geizhals.at/de/?cat=gehps&xf=360_400~2505_1x~1119_80+PLUS+Gold#xf_top

 

...you won't need the i5 T-model...TDP is only relevant when on high load...all 1155 socket CPUs will idle low.

Also, the IGP is useless for an ESXi build...if you have a spare GPU card, use it during install and remove it later...after that, everything will be done remotely.

You can get a real XEON for the same money: http://geizhals.at/de/intel-xeon-e3-1240-bx80623e31240-a615491.html

[jaddel]

thx so far

 

u are right with IGP i can just use my desktop computer's GPU for the installation process.

 

the Xeon sounds great would it make sense to upgrade the one you suggested to an Intel Xeon E3-1230V2 Ivy Bridge?

 

http://geizhals.at/de/intel-xeon-e3-1230v2-bx80637e31230v2-a781378.html

 

for the PSU i would just take the cheapest one like the Super Flower Golden Green Pro 400W ATX 2.3 which was the first in the list other suggestions are still welcome!

 

http://geizhals.at/de/super-flower-golden-green-pro-400w-atx-2-3-sf-400p14xe-a680221.html

 

Anyone any ideas for the mainboard?

 

Cheers Jaddel

 

[Ford Prefect]

...if you can afford it, go with the 1230V2, which also offers HT.

When on a tight budget, SandyBridge XEON will do fine.

[Ford Prefect]

..as it seems, you're based in Germany....give this thread a look: http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/f101/mainboard-fuer-xeon-e3-1230v2-mit-esxi-und-vt-d-unterstuetzung-947837.html#post20313437

[Ford Prefect]

remark: when going for a desktop board and CPU without IGP, make sure the Board will POST after the separate GPU is removed later.

...go for a server board, like the X9SCM-F or X9SCM-iiF to overcome this potential issue.

 

remark2: make sure the ECC memory from your HP is compatible with your new CPU and mobo.