Requesting input.

[CaptainHaplo]

Yes, I misspoke - I am used to calling it "blade" due to its lack of height - but its not a true blade server by any stretch. It has its own enclosure. My fault.

And yes - its the G6 you listed. Sorry bout that.

*edit - I can get the cables to provide secondary 75w gpu power - but am I wrong being concerned about the heat buildup inside that chassis?

[longam]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

Yes, I misspoke - I am used to calling it "blade" due to its lack of height - but its not a true blade server by any stretch. It has its own enclosure. My fault.

And yes - its the G6 you listed. Sorry bout that.

*edit - I can get the cables to provide secondary 75w gpu power - but am I wrong being concerned about the heat buildup inside that chassis?

With HP rack servers there is a bank of cooling fans across the mid section (overview, item 5) which should have no problem cooling the case. These are setup to increase RPM with temperature rise.

I have two 1U HP's servers that sound like a 747 taking off when the AC trips out in the server closet at work.

[CaptainHaplo]

Well if I can get away with the heat - the next question 2 questions are:

Given that they will have to be in riser cages - what video card and audio card would you suggest?

[Arclight]

A stock GTX560 Ti soaks about 150W, which that PDF lists as the limit on the 2 PCI-E x16 risers. Not familiar with this hardware, but that's what I understand of that document.

Also says it's limited to single-slot designs; not many of those around nowadays, none that deliver good gaming performance anyway.

[longam]

Originally Posted by Arclight

A stock GTX560 Ti soaks about 150W, which that PDF lists as the limit on the 2 PCI-E x16 risers. Not familiar with this hardware, but that's what I understand of that document.

Also says it's limited to single-slot designs; not many of those around nowadays, none that deliver good gaming performance anyway.

True, if you Google 'pci-e x16 video card' you can see your options.

[CaptainHaplo]

Originally Posted by Arclight

A stock GTX560 Ti soaks about 150W, which that PDF lists as the limit on the 2 PCI-E x16 risers. Not familiar with this hardware, but that's what I understand of that document.

Also says it's limited to single-slot designs; not many of those around nowadays, none that deliver good gaming performance anyway.

Yes the single slot is my concern. I can go up to a 225 watt card (possibly 300) since the slot provide 75, and I will have 2 75 watt pci-e plugs. If the slot will provide 150 - thats great. I thought the spec on a x16 was 75 though.

I would be ok with a 150 watt card - performance is the real question.

*Note - the second PCI riser will be used for sound....

So - let me throw another monkey in the barrel. Would it be possible to swap the boards between the 350 and the 380? Since the chassis are totally different - I am not sure. But if so, I wouldnt need to fool with the risers. I simply might have to make some modifications for heat.

Yea, I know - this is a bit much - but this would be good because not only would I have the raid array, I would have space for a couple of standard sata drives (I have a 1 and 2 Tb that could be used as well) which would be simple storage.

Plus, I would have room for a dual slot size card (though it could only NEED one slot).

[CaptainHaplo]

Update - my parts came in. Everything is physically together.

Now I am using a sb Recon for sound on the PCI x8 slot, the 6850 on the PCI x16 slot.

I will raid 5 this across 6 disks, with one spare.

Due to disk space constraints - I will use an external hard drive for most of the storage.

So here lies the question that is before me.

Do I want to go with Windows 7 Pro, or Server 2008 R2?
I have licenses for both. Both support 2 physical processors, and I am using x64 so it will also support the 48G's of memory.

I am leaning heavily toward 7 - based on the issues of software compatibility, the out of the box gaming ability of 7 vs the tweaking of 2008 server.

Any reason I should go with Server 08?

[longam]

Seems to me your wanting a gaming rig not a server. Servers at home are not much more than a learning tool.