[Leaplist] [InstallFest] Free and Cheap Server, Workstation, Desktop and Laptop Hardware

Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith at ieee.org
Tue Dec 25 15:40:30 GMT 2007 

I'm planning on being at the January (1/5) InstallFest, possibly
February and March as well, and bringing some Server, Workstation,
Desktop and Laptop hardware.  A number of pieces will be cheap, some
others free (or near-free so people don't just grab them but actually
put them to use).

I've just gotta get some of this crap out of my house.  I may have quite
a number of additional components more than just this list.


TERMS:  

Standard BS' "Try Before You Buy" policy applies, as always.  I.e., you
take home, if you like it/verify it works, you send me money later
(whenever ;).


OVERVIEW:  
- Free (or Near-Free) Components
- Server Systems (Quad-Xeon Dell PowerEdge 6300)
- Free/Near-Free Cases (with Component Purchase(s))
- Desktop Components (and optional sells)
- Workstation/Server Components (dual-Socket-A/462 Combos)


o  Free (or Near-Free) Components ...

- 256MB PC133 SO-DIMM (I promised this to Phil)

I have of these 1GB "kits" (pulled from wife and my notebooks):  
- (2) 512MB DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) SO-DIMM 1GB "kit"
- (2) 512MB DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) SO-DIMM 1GB "kit"

I'm asking $5/each not so much to make money, but I want to ensure
people that buy are actually going to use them.  I.e., I want people to
take them who have an immediate need for them (e.g., only 512MB total in
their DDR2 capable notebook, and want 1GB).


o  Server Systems (Quad-Xeon Dell PowerEdge 6300)

Dell PowerEdge 6300 Quad-Xeon Server (asking $120):  
- 5U Chassis with triple-redundant PSes
- 450NX Chipset (64-bit PCI with 32-bit PCI slots), EDO DIMMs
- (4) Xeon 550MHz processors (yes, quad)
- (4) 128MB ECC EDO DIMM (512MB ECC RAM)
- (5) Seagate LVD Ultra2-SCSI 50GB (200MB hardware RAID-5)

This is a system I picked up on the Net in late 2005, then I added 50GB
drives (replacing the tiny 9GB drives it had).  So it's still quite
usable, although it will eat some power (although not much more than my
main server with 10x 200GB hard drives).  But these are still in use (I
know the LUG in St. Louis is still running their full site, including
member shell access, on one).


o  Free/Near-Free Cases (with Component Purchase(s)) ...

If you buy some of the Components below, I'll throw in cases free or
near-free Cases -- Ultra 10-bay ATX towers w/no PS (which I got for
cheap or near-free after rebates) or MicroATX cubes w/300W PS (which I
got for about $40-70 new) if you need them.  I'm certainly not going to
make money on these things.  ;)


o  Desktop Components ...

Socket-A(462) Mainboard + CPU (asking $30, $60 in Cube/300W ATX 2.0)
- Asus A7V266-MX (ViA KM266+VT8235) AGP/PCI MicroATX
    http://support.asus.com/download/download_item.aspx?product=1&model=A7V266-MX&SLanguage=en-us  
- AMD Athlon XP2600+ (2.16GHz/DDR266)

This is my wife's old mainboard+CPU long upgraded.  I was going to
recycle it to my brother (with a GeForce 6800GT), but I just haven't had
time to do so.  So here's the mainboard+CPU for $25, or $50 if you'd
like a MicroATX cube with 300W ATX 2.0 PS with it.  It has on-board
video so it's great for an IPCop box or set-top (in the cube), or it has
an AGP slot for upgrading the video (I'm not sure I want to part with my
GeForce 6800GT, although it only performs like a GeForce 7600GT, it's
hard to find such an AGP card these days that works in AGPx4/1.5V
slots).

FUTURE NOTE:  At a future InstallFest, I'm upgrading to Core 2 Duo E6850
with 8800GT 512MB and handing down my current Athlon x2 4600+ with
8800GTS 640MB, so I may have my wife's old Athlon 64 4000+
(2.4GHz/1MB/HT-1GHz) with GeForce 7900GS 256MB available if anyone is
interested.  But I won't have that for the January InstallFest (probably
February/March).  I may recycle it to my brother though (depending on
what people want to pay for it).

I may have more mainboards as well (I have to sift through my junk).


o  Server Components ...

Mainboard (w/Power Cable) + dual-CPU + ECC Memory (asking $120):  
- Tyan Thunder K7 (S2462) EATX dual-Socket-A(462)** mainboard
    http://www.tyan.com/product_board_detail.aspx?pid=462  
    (4) 64-bit PCI slots, AGP Pro x4 slot (works w/GeForce 6800GT)
- ATXGES Power Cable (converts ATX 2.0 or EPS12V w/8-pin to ATXGES
     works great, I've used it with an Antec TrioPower ATX2.0) 
- (2) Athlon MP2400+ (2.0GHz) DDR266 Socket-462 processors
- (2) Copper Shims and Full Copper Fansinks (minimal noise**) 
- (2) 256MB ECC Registered DDR266/PC2100 DIMMs (512MB ECC RAM**)

Mainboard (ATX 1.0) + ECC Memory + 550W PS (asking $60):  
- Tyan Tiger MP (S2460) ATX dual-Socket-A(462)** mainboard
    http://www.tyan.com/product_board_detail.aspx?pid=463  
    (4) 64-bit PCI slots, AGP Pro x4 slot (works w/GeForce 6800GT)
- (2) 256MB ECC Registered DDR266/PC2100 DIMMs (512MB ECC RAM**)
- ATX 1.0 (used in this board) 550W PS for maximum power
- (2) Thermaltake Volcano 8 oversized Full Copper Fansinks**

The S2460 was my "main system" from 2001-2005.  I started with Athlon
1.4GHz processors (worked MP just fine) and upgraded to Athlon MP2400+
processors, even though the S2460 was only rated for MP1900+ Dell
PowerEdge 6300.  The 550W PS seemed to do the trick enough, although I
don't know if it would run 24x7 (I only used it as a workstation,
although I did leave it up days at a time).  That included running with
a GeForce 6800GT video card (2004) in the same system after added the
name brand (Antec?) ATX 1.0 550W Power Supply in 2003 to replace the
aging Enermax 435W (which worked flawlessly with a GeForce Ti4400 --
although even a 300W ATX 1.0 worked for that too).

More recently I acquired a S2462 mainboard for 24x7 usage with the
processors.  I used an ATXGES converter cable to EPS12V (also works with
ATX2.0 as long as it has a 8-pin Server connector), and I used it with
the Antec TrioPower ATX2.0 + 8-pin server power supply without issues.
The processors are in great shape, no noticeable heat difference from
when I first got them.  Any ATX2.0 + 8-pin (most 500Ws these days) or
EPS12V will work with the converter (saving the need to buy that
short-lived ATXGES power supply).

I used 3Ware Escalade 7810/7850/7500 64-bit PCI storage cards with these
mainboards too.

Couple of notes ...

**Processors:  You can use a _single_ Socket-A(462) processor if you
want, dual is _not_ required.  The original Athlon-As (up to 1.4GHz)
worked in dual-mode, although the XPs do not, and you need to buy MPs
for dual (XPs work fine in single mode if you do not have a 2nd CPU).  A
great mainboard for 64-bit PCI cards (5V only).

**Memory:  I originally bought (4) Crucial 256MB ECC Registered
DDR266/PC2100 DIMMs and they worked perfectly all together in non-ECC
mode.  When I went into ECC mode, I could never get all 4 sticks to
work, so I've just stuck with (2) when running ECC.  This seems to work
flawlessly in both boards if you want full ECC support.

**Fansinks:  I started with oversized, full copper Volcano 8 fansinks,
but they are either slow (1000rpm, no noise) or loud (5000rpm, 40db),
although you can add a variable resister and vary the speed (I never
did).  I've more recently added modest 




-- 
Bryan J. Smith         Professional, Technical Annoyance
mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org   http://thebs413.blogspot.com
--------------------------------------------------------
        Fission Power:  An Inconvenient Solution

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