just been gifted this...

[BIG-TED]

My bro has just given me this unit, a Dell precision 690, server, serv tag HYVBX2J, Only Got 4GB ram so got to have a look for some more, think i've got some in a draw.

I want to use it as a server for plex, sick beard sabnzb etc, Think its running xp ATM, will windows 7 be an advantage on it ?

got twin network ports how does this work too ?

Also has 4 80gb drives I assume they will be set up as raid, whats the deal with that all a bit new on raid.

Not powered it up yet as its got a twin dvi card and i've not got a spare dvi cable atm.

I assume looking at the four big fans its going to be noisy, Its going to be living in the attic so no real issue.

So what to do ? any answers/input greatly appreciated

Ted

[consoles]

dont install server 2012 its a pain in the arse stick with 2008

[koola2]

got twin network ports how does this work too?

just use one of them, this is for redundancy in a production system or using the machine as a firewall for a network.

[liveseytowers]

It's probably going to be fair power hungry compared to a modern home server. If your going to rebuild it I'd just use two drives as a raid 10 or even just use one for the OS and then stick a large drive in it for storage if you want to use it as a NAS. Twin NICS offer resilience so you can team them so they show as one interface and you give the team a static IP. Then if one becomes disconnected then the other still has the same IP.

If your using plex I've heard that it can be a bit funny on a server OS so I'd read what it's compatible with as you might just be best installing Windows 7 on it or server 2008 as already said.

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[Over Carl]

I've got the version afterwards, the precision T7400 - has the same case.

There might be slight differences, but I'll answer as if there aren't any because I'm not certain exactly what the differences are.

Firstly: These aren't proper servers - they are actually workstations. This means they really are meant to use as a desktop for real power users (e.g. engineers, developers, etc.) However to fulfil the needs of such users, these machines often use parts more normally found in servers for stability, performance and scalability.

The advantage to people like you and me in getting a workstation over a server are that they are happy to run outside an airconditioned datacentre, they don't make stupid amounts of noise (relatively speaking), and you get nice things like on board sound and you can easily plug in and use a pci-e x16 gfx card. (n.b. I don't actually believe you can run in SLI mode without an additional riser card). With regards to noise - you should be ok unless it heats up. To get an idea of how much noise these things can make, let it boot up windows, then shut down, remove the side panel then try again. They also shift a lot of air when the fans are on full whack so possibly could end up blowing loose paperwork behind it.

Win 7 - Hell yes. I originally ran XP x64 before 7 was out but never looked back once I installed 7 on this. Iirc, dell didn't even release drivers for my T7400 and win7, but their BIOS updates after A05 had the Dell/7 SLIC table so I could easily load a Dell OEM Win 7 Ultimate x64. Even though my pc has been infected for about 6 months it's still stable enough to use daily - most lesser pc's would be hanging/crashing left right and centre in the state mine's in.

If you want to use it as a server, you may want to consider using a version of Windows Server rather than 7 - less junk that won't be used so it can perform better, and also less junk that might cause a crash. Graphics won't be as fancy, but it's a server, who cares! Note - please check your desired apps are actually compatible with win server.

Dual NIC's? Both on board? Mine only had 1 on board . Probably will be Broadcom BCM57xx. Nothing special but do the job. If you only want one on, disable the 2nd in BIOS, if you want both then ensure both are on in BIOS. I believe you can even get some software (Broadcom Advanced Control Suite?) that will let you do funky stuff like teaming the NIC's together to provide increased throughput and redundancy, but then you need a managed switch and spend time pissing with the configs.

I believe you will have Dell SAS 5/iR on board raid. Nothing special - ok for RAID 0/1 but if you use RAID 5 you will notice a real performance hit especially on writes. To set it up (or just poke around and look at settings), press the key combo (Ctrl-I?) just after the main BIOS POST finishes and when you can see it searching for drives. If you think you may be using the data store for more than light use, the PERC 5/I with battery backup is highly recommended and fully supported by your system - costs fuck all on eBay, but often tricky finding one with the battery and a backplate as most with batteries were fitted inside rack mount servers and didn't have backing plates.

You have probably noticed, when you pop the case open, you get 4 x 3.5 bays only internally accessible. If you look at the front, you have 4 x 5.25, so if you really want to load up the box you could leave a DVD drive in one, then get an aftermarket cage for 4 x 3.5 drives to fit. Power supply off the top of my head is 980W so shouldn't struggle.

If you are thinking about upgrading RAM, take note these take FB-DIMM's which aren't common and cost more than normal. However you can fit riser cards to convert your 8 memory slots into 16 memory slots meaning you can pile up on the cheaper lower size DIMMs. You should get 667MHz or 800Mhz depending on processor bus speed, but I overclocked mine and kept the 667MHz RAM which automatically got underclocked to 640MHz to allow it to work. Let me know if you want to overclock yours - I know you will have no difficulty with the procedure but it is quite unconventional.

Final bit I can think of is sound. The on board is nothing special at all. There was an option for SB Audigy - to get this to work properly get one that was removed from a Dell and has the lead to the front panel. Also there was an optional extra speaker for the front panel that can play whatever would come out of your speakers if nothing is plugged in. This is very quiet and low quality, also only seems to work if the speaker is fitted before windows is installed. (I think I have a spare one of these internal speakers knocking about so let me know if you want it).

Edit: Before you put it into real use, I would recommend opening it all up and cleaning the dust out. Only problem with so many fans is the dirt.

Edit 2: Didn't upgrade to the T7500 as I couldn't justify it, but I can't wait until I can afford a T7600 and then relegate the T7400 so a home server.

Also forgot to mention, these boxes take 2 CPU's!. Depending on mobo revision, yours may allow 2 x quad cores, but only the final motherboard version of the 690 allowed quads, rest were dual cores only.

Edit 3: If the fans ever go nuts when case is closed, open it up and look at the bar that runs from front to back, then look for the switch near the back end of this - occasionally plays up. Also if you find the case resonating in usage, pop the side panel off, and put a load of black tape on the mating faces on the chassis.

Edit 4: (Hopefully the last one!) You will probably find the gfx card is an NVidia Quadro (or maybe ATI Fire) which have been optimised for professional apps with OpenGL drivers but are fairly cack at everything else. Shouldn't matter for a plex server unless you are planning to run a telly directly from it.

[BIG-TED]

Thanks for that everybody, nice write up oc, definitely food for thought there. I'll grab some cables tomorrow and fire it up and keep you posted.
Ted

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[BIG-TED]

Motherboard rev is my171 so quad cores should work, the other pic is on a card so will remove it not really needed. The gfx card is a ati firegl with dual 'dvi, will remove this and stick a card in with d sub for the small crappy monitor it'll be hooked up to. I'll have a play today and see what it has cpu wise today.

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[reverend]

It should be 2x dual core non-HT Xeon 5130's @ 2GHz I think mate in that one?

Performance wise it's similar to an N54L Microserver but it will suck much more power than they would.