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So I think I've figured out what I want to do for my server build...

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bhtooefr:
Originally, it was going to be Atom-based... but three things made me change my mind.

1. Becoming really interested in the ARM
2. Noting that I only hit 5% CPU utilization on my current server
3. Noting that the ARM Cortex-A9MP quad core @ 1 GHz is supposed to do just as much work in 250 mW that the Atom 330 dual core @ 1.6 GHz (which is what I was going to use) needs 8 W for, on 65 nm (IIRC.)

Yeah.

Based on performance figures for the Cortex-A(8|9) and the Pentium III family (my current server has a 1.1 GHz Celeron Coppermine,) a single core 1 GHz Cortex-A(8|9) would be in the same performance ball park, and a dual core A9MP would be perfect for my performance goals. (Also, I'd prefer two slow cores to one fast core. Two 600 MHz cores will be better for this thing than one 1 GHz core.)

Now I just need a Mini-ITX board with said dual core A9MP (although more cores won't hurt - it's smart enough to power down unused cores,) SATA RAID, a couple GbE controllers, and a gig or two of DDR2, and I'm good to go. :) (Oh, and money to afford all this would be nice. :p)

(Actually, 512 megs would work - my current server has just over 11 MiB RAM free, with about 3.3 in swap. And that's with 384 MiB physical RAM. (In other words, I technically don't need /swap right now, although it's RIGHT on the edge.) But, RAM is one thing that you can never have too much of.)

(In case it wasn't clear... the server build's goals are to have a very low power system that can serve as a web and file server. Almost all of my data will be stored on it. In addition, it might be a router and DNS server for my network, too.)

bigpook:
I haven't looked at ARM chips. I usually take my older machines and make them servers. Its all for fun and learning. My web server is running on a 800M Duron with 512M ram. Its overkill for what it is doing. The file/print server is running a 2G AMD with 1G ram. Complete overkill. But aside from the Duron its the slowest chip I have. I used to have some 486 machines but they were so old I **** canned them.

Where do you find ARM processors? and the mobo to go with?

bhtooefr:
That's the trick, desktop and server ARM isn't exactly the most common thing. (And, ARM processors are almost always soldered down.) There are a few ARM mobos out there, but even 256 MiB RAM is rare to find (and that RAM is almost always soldered down, too,) and the fastest ones have 600 MHz XScales, which aren't anywhere near as fast as a Cortex at the same clock, let alone a 1 GHz Cortex.

But, the ARM Cortex-A9 is being aimed at the server market (among other things,) so when it comes out, I'm hoping there's a decent Mini-ITX server board for it. (Mini-ITX may actually not be that hard to find, as there are 1U cases that can hold 2 Mini-ITX boards, for higher compute density.)

I mean, my oldest x86 box is my server, and it's fine, but I'd rather have something power-optimized. The system power draw is probably in the 50 W range, and if I can get it down to the 10 W range, AND have twice the drives...

(I guess I'd load the super-nasty (WinME) on the server and donate it to Goodwill, so that it didn't get wasted. WinME because that's what the license sticker on the side of the machine is for.)

bigpook:
Its the power draw that interests me. If you can get it down to 50W or less would be kind of nice. I feel wasteful running AMD chips 24/7 and most of the time they are just idle. Plus the heat generation is a problem, especially in the summer.
I assume the ARM chips don't generate alot of heat.

bhtooefr:
50 W? I'm already in that ballpark now. I mean, the PSU itself is 90 W, and I know I'm nowhere near stressing it.

Note that I'm going to get down to 10 W, and it'll probably be well below 5 W at idle. (Actually, at true idle, it'll probably be below 2 W, as a complete TI OMAP3530-based motherboard takes less than 2 W TYPICAL.) And most of that power draw will be disk.

As for heat generation... the TI OMAP35 is designed to run heatsinkless. Not sure about the Freescale i.MX51, it's in higher clocked variants, but the figures for a four-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 core in 65 nm process are 250 mW max, apparently, and the i.MX51 is a single-core Cortex-A8. (The chip takes more than that, though, because it's a complete SoC.)

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