CPU:\u00a0 Intel Core i5-4570S<\/em> This is one of the low power models in the Haswell (4th generation) line.\u00a0 TDP is a moderate 65 watts.\u00a0 I was debating between this chip and the 35 watt Core i3-4330T.\u00a0 If this server just served files, then I would have bought the Core i3, but I also use the box to host a moderately-sized database and do some server-side development.\u00a0 The Core i5 chip is a quad core instead of a dual core, and I decided it would be worth it to step up.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice that a GPU isn\u2019t included in the list here, and that\u2019s because I\u2019m just using the embedded GPU.\u00a0 One less component to worry about.<\/p>\n Memory:\u00a0 2x4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600<\/em> I\u2019ve never been into over-clocking, so I just went with whatever memory ran at the CPU\u2019s native 1600Mhz.\u00a0 Crucial is always a safe bet when it comes to memory.\u00a0 This particular memory has a relatively low CL9 latency.<\/p>\n Power Supply:\u00a0 Antec EA-550 Platinum 550 watt<\/em> The power supply is a make-or-break part of a server, especially when you have a lot of disks.\u00a0 I wanted something that was very efficient, while also supplying plenty of power.\u00a0 This power supply is 93% efficient, meaning a lot more energy is making it to the computer components themselves instead of being wasted in the form of heat.\u00a0 The one drawback of this power supply is that it\u2019s a 4 rail unit and all the Molex\/SATA power connectors are on a single rail.\u00a0 So it\u2019s not quite ideal for servers with a lot of disks (you need enough to cover the power spike as the disks spin up), but it handles 8 drives just fine with some room to grow.<\/p>\n Boot Drive:\u00a0 USB 3 internal motherboard header and flash drive<\/em> I really wanted the OS to stay off the data drives this time around.\u00a0 The best way I found to do that is to use the USB 3 header built in to most modern motherboards.\u00a0 Typically this header is for cases that have USB 3 ports on the front, but my case only has a single USB 2 port on the front so this header was going unused.\u00a0 I found a small Lian Li adapter to convert the 20 pin port on the motherboard to 2 internal USB 3 ports.\u00a0 Then I picked up a 128GB PNY Turbo USB 3 flash drive on sale.\u00a0 The motherboard has no problem booting off the USB drive, and while latency is higher, raw throughput of this particular flash drive is pretty good.<\/p>\n The Lian Li adapter is great because I don\u2019t have to worry about the flash drive coming unplugged from the back of the case.\u00a0 It\u2019s inside the server, where it won\u2019t be messed with.<\/p>\n Once I had all the components installed, I had to cable everything up.\u00a0 You use about a million tie-wraps when cleaning up the cabling, but it looks nice in the end.\u00a0 The cables are nowhere near as elegant as the cabling inside a Mac, but for a PC I think it turned out pretty good. \u00a0Here’s a shot of the inside of the server:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2892\/12043432966_a26a58dcac.jpg\" "\\"Inside")
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