Hi, I'm looking at some of the motherboard combinations for a small server to run SBS 2011 standard - Years ago it was fairly simple, you either opted for a P4 or AMD K6 - these days with so many processor variants it's very confusing To keep the running cost down I was looking at some of these ITX / mini ITX boards with processors built in. One board is an ASROCK board with a AMD E350M1. The specs state the processor is a 1.6 Ghz dual core, and the board supports normal DDR3 dimms upto 32GB. My question is, with 8GB ram installed, would this processor be up to the job ? - The server would mainly be used for file sharing, backups, and shared calendar etc for the five family members. Or should I look for a more meaty processor on a standard ATX board ?
Hi, I used one E350 based board for a HTPC setup.. Please note, these AMD processors are very good at their video performance.. but for your type of need, its better to look for Intel Atom based mini-ITX solution.. Processing power is much better there, but video performance is much weaker
The miniITX motherboard with integrated CPU is presumably a best solution. But for the feeling of comfort I suggest somewhat more powered configuration, based on Intel i5/i7 and packed with a LOT of HDDs (possible in baskets for hot removal). Personally, I did it in 2009 and feel no urge to upgrade or power-up my home server for now.