[Tfug] Inexpensive 1U Server Suggestions

[Adrian]

On Thursday 02 February 2006 14:37, Jim Secan wrote:
> At 02:26 PM 2/2/2006 -0700, Adrian wrote:
> <snip>
> >layouts, but everything else (add-in cards, CPU, memory) is off the shelf
> and 
> >easy to obtain. Likewise, replacement MBs/etc. are easy to get cheap off
> Ebay 
> >and other online retailers, even brand new. Ordering a cheap server from
> Dell 
> >and then bumping up the memory and adding some extra drives always seems to 
> >beat anything else in my book.
> 
> RE adding memory.  Has anyone run into problems putting third-party memory
> in Dell systems?  We ran into a recent problem trying to add memory to a
> Dell box (running FC3) and were told (by reputable people) that this can be
> problematic.  We've got an order in to Dell for "official" Dell memory.
> Not that much more expensive, but annoying.
> 

I've put third party memory into more than a dozen different Dell models, 3 
Inspirons, 2 Latitudes, 30+ Optiplexes, and 6 or so Poweredges, over the last 
several years and never had a problem. I do tend to use "better" memory, 
Crucial/Kingston/etc.. so that may make the difference. Generally whatever is 
a couple steps up the ladder from "cheapest" on Newegg. Most Dell dell 
shipped Poweredge memory seems to be pretty generic stuff, either Samsung or 
Infineon brand.

That being said... I have now sworn off Dell laptops as inferior quality. They 
seem to pack to much in without sufficent cooling, putting the chipset and 
grapics card back-to-back with only a heatsink and a fan that doesn't turn on 
until 70C... Went through 3 motherboards on my last and final Inspiron, all 
died initially of memory errors, followed later by complete refusal to boot 
due to fried chipsets... The memory itself is/was fine.

Adrian