[Server-devel] [XSCE] Re: $400 computer for Haiti

[George Hunt]

Looking at the pdf certification/specification documentation for the Dell
660s, I find the idle power is 51 watts, peaking to 100 watts under heavy
use.  The idle power continues to be my concern (Anna talks about heat. But
it amounts to the same concern). For comparison purposes, Tony's MSI Atom
bases machine measured 28 Watts, and the XO4 is about 8 Watts with external
hard disk. For the higher wattages, the fan becomes the weak link.

In my fantasy world, we could find the sweet spot between just the correct
amount of cpu for our server application, nestled into RAM and hard disk,
that minimized the cost of all the components.

But googling Zotac fan replacement, I came up with the deciding factor, for
me.  Zotac fans are not ball bearing, and apparently wear out within a year
time frame. They are not available from Zotac, and are not available in
replacement after-market form factor.

I have experience with Dell parts replacement. So I'm inclined to go with
Dell  the $399.99 Inspiron 660s i3-DualCore-3.4GHz-3MB cache, 4GB RAM, 1TB
7200rpm, 2X USB 3.0?
http://dell.com/us/p/inspiron-660s/pd

The Dell fan replacement instructions on page 59 of
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-660s_Owner's%20Manual_en-us.pdfmake
me much more confident that the hardware can live on for years.





On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 6:46 PM, Adam Holt <holt at laptop.org> wrote:

> What about the $399.99 Inspiron 660s i3-DualCore-3.4GHz-3MB cache, 4GB
> RAM, 1TB 7200rpm, 2X USB 3.0?
> http://dell.com/us/p/inspiron-660s/pd
>
> Or the $499.99 Inspiron 660s i5-QuadCore-3.3GHz-8MB cache, 8GB RAM, 1TB
> 7200 rpm, 2X USB 3.0?
>
> http://dealnews.com/Dell-Inspiron-660-s-Ivy-Core-i5-Quad-2.8-GHz-Desktop-PC-for-500-free-shipping/935700.html
> http://www.logicbuy.com/deals/dell-inspiron-660s-deal/40218.aspx
>
> If we trust 7200rpm and Dell for reliability??  If so both appear to offer
> free shipping if ordered by Dec 20 11am EST.
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 6:38 PM, Anna <aschoolf at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> What's the climate control situation at the site in Haiti?
>>
>> I live in a 100 year old house in Birmingham, Alabama, without central
>> AC.  In the summer, I have to physically relocate equipment to my "server
>> room" (a well insulated room where I keep a window unit on full blast).
>> Otherwise, fans sound like jet planes taking off and everything gets really
>> hot and stressed.
>>
>> Anyway, heat related failure would be one of my main concerns in Haiti.
>>
>> Anna
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 4:58 PM, George Hunt <georgejhunt at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> The Haiti deployment we are preparing for, made $400 available for a
>>> server, and power is available. What hardware has been the question.  Tony
>>> had lots of experience with Atom processors, and suggested nettop boxes. My
>>> research has led me to the following:
>>>
>>> $193 Zortec celeron processor
>>> http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-Dual-Core-Celeron-Barebone-ZBOXNANO-ID61-U/dp/B008OHRFE0/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1387490390&sr=1-7&keywords=zotac+barebone
>>>
>>> $75 8GB Memory --
>>> http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-1x8GB-Laptop-Memory-CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9/dp/B005T63BEM/ref=pd_sim_pc_1
>>>
>>> $86 WD blue 1TB drive --
>>> http://www.amazon.com/WD-Blue-Mobile-Hard-Drive/dp/B005DVJJWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1387491567&sr=8-4&keywords=wd+2.5+1+tb+blue
>>>
>>> Total $354 + tax
>>>
>>> Per Tim Moody's suggestion, I consulted
>>> http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
>>>
>>> The Atom processor d535 has a passmark score of 693
>>> The celeron, for about the same price, selected in this proposal, has
>>> passmark score of 1215
>>> The i3 version of the Zortac box is $130 more and its passmark score is
>>> 3833
>>>
>>> Of course, cpu benchmarks are not the only issue. I think it has been
>>> suggested more money should be put into memory, when trying to serve many
>>> clients.
>>>
>>> Soliciting inputs . . .
>>>
>>> George
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Server-devel mailing list
>>> Server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>>>
>>> --
>>> <http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel>
>>> Unsung Heroes of OLPC, interviewed live @
>>> <http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel>http://unleashkids.org !
>>>
>>
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