Servers on the cheap Updated December 19, 2005 With the right do-it-yourself attitude and a little know-how, you can turn any desktop into an ad hoc server. It doesn't even have to be the fastest PC on the block. Below, you'll find four candidates that can do the job, and they all cost less than $1,000. You might also play with the configurations a little. Does your server really need a DVD burner? Pare down these configurations, and you can get the price even lower.
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IBuyPower Value-Pro Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz - 17" TFT 
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ZT Group Pro A7055 |
eMachines T6212 |
HP Presario SR1430nx (Pentium 4 2.93GHz, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home) |
eMachines T6524 |
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| Review date | July 14, 2005 | July 14, 2005 | April 20, 2005 | July 20, 2005 | October 20, 2005 |
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Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained) |
7.7
Very good |
7.0
Very good |
7.0
Very good |
5.3
Average |
7.0
Very good |
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| Review summary | Nearly everything about the iBuyPower Value-Pro suggests a price tag higher than $999, making this a top choice among sub-$1,000 systems. | Dual optical drives (including a DVD burner) plus generous hard drive storage and several PCI slots make this a good choice for upgraders and digital pack rats, even if there isn't much left in the budget for audio and video features. | The well-designed eMachines T6212 has all the features you'd want on a budget PC but is held back by its substandard performance. | For less than $700, the HP Compaq Presario SR1430NX provides the essentials you need in a home desktop system, but the feature set may become obsolete quickly. | The versatile, expandable, reasonably powerful eMachines T6524 is a solid family computer and a perfect dorm-room companion that gets mainstream jobs done with aplomb. |
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| Product series | N/A | N/A | See all products in this series | N/A | See all products in this series |
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| User comments | 3.9 Poor (from 28 users) | Be one of the first to rate this product! | 7.7 Very good (from 27 users) | Be one of the first to rate this product! | 7.8 Very good (from 20 users) |
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| Product Description | IBuyPower Value-Pro Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz - 17 in TFT active matrix | ZT Home System A7055 - Athlon 64 3400+ - 17 in TFT active matrix | EMachines T6212 - Athlon 64 3200+ 2 GHz | Compaq Presario SR1430nx - Pentium 4 515 2.93 GHz | EMachines T6524 - Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz |
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| Type | Personal computer | Personal computer | Personal computer | Personal computer | Media center |
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| Product Form Factor | Mid tower | Tower | Tower | Tower | Tower |
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| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 7.9 in x 16.9 in x 17.3 in | Info unavailable | 7.2 in x 16 in x 14.1 in | Info unavailable | 7.2 in x 16 in x 14.3 in |
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| Weight | 14.5 lbs | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
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| Processor | 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3500+ / 2.2 GHz | 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3400+ | 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3200+ / 2 GHz | 1 x Intel Pentium 4 515 / 2.93 GHz | 1 x AMD Athlon 64 3500+ / 2.2 GHz |
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| Cache Memory | 512 KB L2 cache | L2 cache | 512 KB L2 cache | 1 MB L2 cache | 512 KB L2 cache |
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| Cache Per Processor | 512 KB | Info unavailable | 512 KB | 1 MB | 512 KB |
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| RAM | 1 GB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 | 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 | 512 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 | 512 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC2-3200 | 1 GB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 |
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| Storage Controller | Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-150 ) ; IDE ( ATA-133 ) | RAID ( Serial ATA-150 ) ; IDE ( ATA-133 ) | Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-150 ) ; IDE | Serial ATA ( Serial ATA-150 ) ; IDE ( ATA-100 ) | IDE ; None |
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| Floppy Drive | None | None | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
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| Hard Drive | 1 x 160 GB - Standard - Serial ATA-150 | 1 x 200 GB - Standard - ATA-100 | 1 x 160 GB - Standard - IDE | 1 x 160 GB - Standard - Serial ATA-150 | 1 x 200 GB - Standard |
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| Hard Drive (2nd) | - None | - None | - None | - None | - None |
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| Optical Storage | DVD?RW (+R DL) | DVD?RW (+R DL) | DVD?RW (+R DL) | DVD?R (+R DL) | DVD?RW (?R DL) |
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| Optical Storage (2nd) | None | DVD-ROM | CD-ROM | CD-ROM | CD-ROM |
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| Card Reader | 6 in 1 card reader | 7 in 1 card reader | 8 in 1 card reader | 9 in 1 card reader | 8 in 1 card reader |
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| Storage Removable | None | None | None | None | None |
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| Monitor | Flat panel display - 17 in - TFT active matrix | Flat panel display - 17 in - TFT active matrix | None. | None. | None. |
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| Printer | None | None | None | None | None |
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| Graphics Controller | PCI Express x16 - NVIDIA GeForce 6200 TurboCache supporting 256MB - 256 MB | AGP 8x - NVIDIA GeForce MX 4000 - 128 MB | ATI Radeon Xpress 200 - 128 MB | Intel GMA 900 | PCI Express - ATI Radeon Xpress 200 |
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| TV Tuner Type | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | None | Info unavailable |
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| Audio Output | Sound card - 7.1 channel surround | Sound card - 5.1 channel surround | Sound card - 5.1 channel surround | Sound card | Sound card - 5.1 channel surround |
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| Communications | None | Fax / modem - PCI - Plug-in card - 56 Kbps | Fax / modem - PCI - Plug-in card - 56 Kbps | Fax / modem - PCI - Plug-in card - 56 Kbps | Fax / modem - 56 Kbps |
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| OS Provided | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 |
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| Manufacturer Warranty | 3 years warranty | 3 years warranty | Info unavailable | 1 year warranty | Info unavailable |
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| Product name |
IBuyPower Value-Pro Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz - 17" TFT
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ZT Group Pro A7055 | eMachines T6212 | HP Presario SR1430nx (Pentium 4 2.93GHz, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home) | eMachines T6524 |
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| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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| Price range | Email me when this product is available |
This product is available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.
| Email me when this product is available |
This product is no longer available.
View all HP Desktops | Email me when this product is available |
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