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Processor: (3.40 GHz) 4-Core Intel Core i7-6700 Processor
Memory (RAM): 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4 U Memory (for i-series/Core Processors)
Graphics Card: Integrated Graphics (with i series processors only) +$0.00
Drive 1: 3TB HDD SATA 7.2k 3.5" Hard Drive
Drive 2: 3TB HDD SATA 7.2k 3.5" Hard Drive
M.2 Storage: 512GB M.2 SSD NVMe Drive
Price: $291.95
My main concern with this option is energy usage. The CPU’s TDP is 65W, the CPU in my current server’s TDP is 35W.
It does have a few advantages over my current setup:
- More RAM 8 → 32
- Better CPU, passmark score 4766 → 8091, threads 4 → 8
- Ability to use RAID, current setup only has the capacity for 1 drive.
Is this a good option or is there a better option? I’ve also been considering using an external drive enclosure with software RAID, but I heard that could be unreliable.
EDIT: Is the price good? Shipping is quite expensive (about $100), so I’m only planning on buying it if the deal is good.
A more modern processor probably has better power efficiency. But this one should support features like turning off some of the cores or throttling down when not needed.
You could also see if you can get one with lower power consumption, like even the 6700T.
Used processors are quite reasonable on eBay. I got one with a lower TDP and it actually benchmarked higher than my previous CPU (came with my used Dell workstation).
But with Intel changing their socket every couple generations, you’re talking about a new motherboard too if you want to upgrade.
I don’t see that as a big downside. I’ve had hard drives wear out but memory, CPU, mobo and such can easily last 10 yrs. At that point simply trying to plug in a new CPU or RAM is leaving a lot of modern advancement on the table.
The lowest option is the i3-6100 which brings it down to $236.95 in total.
Unless you have specific needs for compute, I’d go with that.
You really ought to look into idle power though. At $0.1/kWh, 1W is about $1/year. You can extrapolate from there.
TDP doesn’t matter here but the i3 is likely more efficient under load.
The shipping cost is quite extreme though. Not sure I’d pay that.
I’m gettin some mixed messages between you and [email protected]’s comment.
Well, unlike us, they’re obviously living in a country which massively subsidises energy cost. But it seems they either haven’t done the math properly or their measuring device is broken because even they shouldn’t be paying pennies per month.
You can do the calculation for yearly cost yourself; it’s not too hard. The two variables you need are energy pice and power.
Let’s say you’ve got 30W idle power draw at 0.4€/kWh. That comes out to ~105€/year if you ran it 24/7.
You can plug in arbitrary values yourself: https://numbat.dev/?q=1+year+*+30W+*+(0.4€%2FkWh)⏎
Thanks. I haven’t measured the amount of watts yet (I will soon) but online people mention the i5-6500T using 8W at idle. That would be about €30/y and is indeed a lot higher than a couple pennies.