Ramblings of a Martian

So, I'm shopping for a microserver. I need a decent amount of power, as it's going to be a dedicated rails+mysql box (I might change db backends eventually, but not right now. frontend will be either apache or nginx, I haven't decided), but not a /huge/ amount. I'm planning to run a minimal Ubuntu install on it, and again, it'll just be web server + rails + db server + a few shells, and the website isn't likely to be handling more than a dozen simultaneous users in the foreseeable future. (users. not requests.)

I have a hardware raid array I want to use for the main system drive. It fits into a 3.5" drive bay slot, and I'd /really/ prefer it be externally accessible, so I don't have to open the case if a drive fails (this is not absolutely required, but very strongly preferred). The system must support SATA internally.

I want something with multiple processor cores. Multiple procs is fine, tho that's out of style these days. Two is fine, I don't need much more. I just want more than one.

Very important: I said /micro/ server. I want something small and portable. Something I can shut down, pull the cords, stuff in a bag, and take with me. It'll spend 99.2% of its time in my basement, but I don't want a giant hassle for the three days a year it goes out.

It should have at least one USB port. It should have a VGA or DVI port, preferably, or /some/ video port that I can connect to a standard VGA monitor thru some set of adapters which do not cost a lot of money.

Also important: I'm paying for this out of pocket then getting reimbursed from a limited budget. So, I'm looking for /cheap/ but good. I'd prefer the entire thing, with all requisite add-ons to get it going (not counting the system drive(s), since I already bought those) will stay under $300. I'm willing to go to 4 without crying too much. More than that and I'm gonna be looking for ways to strip it down further.

I'd originally been excited about the Shuttle X27D, until I realized it only has a 2.5" bay. Disappointing. But, that's the sort of form factor that would be ideal.
My stack of DECtops are, sadly, woefully underpowered and inadequate to the task. (Still looking for people to house them for me, tho. Offsite servers are a nice thing to have.)


So, what I'm looking for here is some advice: What do I buy, from whom?

I'd prefer something that comes with ram and cpu, but 'complete system's tend to run outrageously expensive for no good reason, so I'm okay with buying a barebones system and adding the cpu/ram to that. But, I'll also need advice on cpu, as I haven't paid attention to the ever deepening pile of marketing crap surrounding the processor market for at least five years.

So, if you recommend a shuttle, which one, and where do you think I should buy it? And, since a lot of them support several different CPUs these days, which one do I get?
Do you recommend something other than shuttle? They're the only name I know in this niche, tho I know there /exist/ others, so recommendations are welcome. Same questions hold.

Ok, so.. Arcturus has an "ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB", which seemed the best option for gaming when I bought it. It was an upgrade from the GeForce that came standard.
In current units, the "ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB" is standard, but they also offer the "GeForce 8800 GT 512MB".

Available in the store now as individual buys are:
* GeForce 7300 GT ($149)
* Radeon X1900 XT ($399)
* Radeon 9200 'Mac Edition' ($130)
* Radeon HD 2600 XT ($149)
* GeForce 8800 GT ($349)

Given that I'm looking for a SECOND card for Arcturus (tho, if I buy a better card than I've got, I'll probly make that the primary and the current one the secondary), which of these do you think I should get?

My plan is to eventually have four identical monitors connected to the system. (Or, basically identical. It seems the 24" Dell I've got has already been replaced by a slightly newer model.) There aren't a lot of games I know of (approximately zero. precisely zero, in fact) that can make use of four monitors (in fact, I only have one that can even use two). So I don't really need super performance from the secondary card. But I don't want it to be dragging down performance of the other or otherwise presenting a noticeably disjointed experience. And if I get something better than what I've got, so much the better. I'm slightly more prepared for the next round of hardware-defying games. Or slightly less unprepared.

I think I am ready to buy a mac pro now.

Standard configuration price: $2,499

Alterations to standard configuration:
* Dual quad-core 3.0 GHz processors - $1,498
* 750GB drive in bay 1 - $299
* ATI Radeon video card - $249
* Dual Superdrives - $99
* Bluetooth module - $29
* Wireless KB/Mouse - $59

Price after configuration: $4,732
Tax: $421.15

Standard/2day/Next-day shipping: $0 / $44 / $61
Given that the next day shipping is still only 1.2% of the purchase price, I'm quite willing to pay it. They say it'll ship in 2-3 days, so 2day SHOULD get it here by friday, and next-day is all-but sure to.

So, call it $5,196.15 total.
I'll max out the ram with kingston, since upgrading to 16gb thru apple would cost /another/ $4500, and that's just /stupid/. Four pairs of 2GB sticks from kingston will run $716.. no, I just checked their site and it's on sale, it'll be $608.

So, $5,804.15 total, plus tax/shipping from kingston. I'll buy some more drives for it later.
This will eat most of what's in my savings account, but this is also what I've been saving for, so that's okay.

Part of me wants to wait for a while and see if there's a price-drop on the hardware, but I've been waiting on buying a new system for 6 months now, until Leopard came out, and who knows when a price drop might happen. Other than, of course, the day after I buy.

[time passes]

You know what? Fuck that indecision shit. I've waited 6 months for a new system, I want to be able to play my damned games. I've transfered $6k from World Domination Plan to Checky (my ign savings and checking accounts. bad things happen when you let the user name their accounts). To the best of my knowledge the ING debit card has no daily limit. I'm ordering the mac pro now, with next-day shipping. Kingston has a two-count limit on the ram, so I'll see what I can do about that. Time to spend money.

So, I just called Speakeasy to ask some questions about their T1 deal. So, the free-install isn't the real deal apparently, it's the $399/m for the life of the contract price. Huh. Well, ok. Still free install, which is peachy by me. Even the hardware has a 100% rebate. And I learned something: DSL (ADSL /and/ SDSL) are apparently half-duplex. I did not know that. [This wouldn't be much of an issue if I wasn't running a dozen websites and other servers that were constantly sending content OUT. So it's all YOUR fault.] T1 is full duplex, which I was aware of, and thus just doubling the line speed will still be - likely - more than double the real download speed. Plus, we get the SLA and all the other wonderful stuff.

Anyway. If I get the line and later decide it's not worth the extra expense, I can downgrade back to DSL at no penalty or cost. I can order it now, to lock in the price that ends today, and cancel in 72 hours without it costing anything either.

So, I went ahead and ordered it.


[btw, the inability to use <s> in titles is annoying. That was supposed to be "Suck my hugereasonably-sized fucking pipe".]

eeyorerin made me buy a laptop. It's all her fault. She even admits to it. She taunted me into it. She told me how sad they are in the store, with strange people touching them, and how lonely they get at night. She even picked the name.

Everybody welcome Sedna, my new 17" Powerbook.