Entry Level Tower Server Recommendation FreeBSD 9.1

[Itproman]

Can anyone help me? I've been spending hours (and days) searching through the hardware compatibility lists and searching online, and Ebay to find a used server. How about FreeBSD 9.1 on a Dell? I spotted an 840 with DVDROM etc., but it needs a hard drive. I might instead buy a used HP xw4400 workstation, install PC-BSD 9.1 on that and put FreeBSD and KDE back on my AMD64x2, which is running PC-BSD 9.1 and KDE right now (looks beautiful!). Or, again, take the used server route.

My problems:

By the time I get a hard drive [which may not be the problem anyway, although the drive was going bad] (was IDE, but can take SATA) for my AMD64X1 - and an Nvidia card (has 128MB onboard ATI), I can buy a used PC for not much more! Getting used HDDs on Ebay is a bit hard as well.

I'm still trying to find the problem with my older AMD64x1 PC. I installed PC-BSD 9.1 on it, rebooted, then got the apparently common

IDE1: 80 pin cable missing

It only takes 40 pin cables!

To save time, who has a tower server running FreeBSD (with GUI), preferably 9.1 just fine?

My intended purpose is to set up one PC with PC-BSD 9.1, a tower server with FreeBSD 9.1 and KDE, then learn UNIX, C and C++, Perl, Python, etc, to learn UNIX Systems Administration and maybe someday become a committer (rather than be committed! Sorry, couldn't resist that!)

Dell Poweredge Tower Servers? Other? Recommendations, please?

Thanks.

 

[johnblue]

Part of the fun of it all is finding out what works and what does not work on your own!

Your only limited by your budget ..

 

[wblock@]

Later versions of IDE used 80-wire cables on 40-pin connectors. But it doesn't matter now, avoid IDE.

Why do you think you need a server? A standard desktop will run FreeBSD fine and do all the things you list. It will cost less, use less power, and be much quieter.

 

[Itproman]

Yeah, that what I was doing with the amd64 x 2 PC I'm running PC-BSD 9.1 on now. I'll probably grab a used workstation off of Ebay and go from there. Besides, two problems one comes up against with Servers is:

1. Will it run Freebsd FreeBSD version x.x
2. How noisy is it?

*I still remember the time some years back I bought this old P3x2 rackmount server off of Ebay. Holy mackerel was it noisy, and on top of that, it kept turning itself on at noon everyday; must've come from the west coast (-3 hours) originally!