Trying to find a laptop to use as a server - difficult to find 802.11ac, SSD & 16Gb memory

[Peter Brooks]

I need a machine to use as a pilot test machine for a new green-field set-up. I'll use the laptop as one of the main servers when the site starts - a laptop as a server makes sense, for a small <50 people site, as it's cheaper & smaller than most servers & has a battery.

The specs I'm looking for are:

802.11ac - I need the speed & coverage area to share images (a big part of the work)
1000base-T LAN connection
16Gb main memory - I need multiple virtual machines for different software
1TB disc 7200RPM or greater or.. 1TB disc + 128GB internal SSD or.. 1TB disc + Thunderbolt for an external SSD
Screen, keyboard etc don't matter, of course. I expect it to cost around £1500.

I've been hunting all over the place, but this combination seems hard to find. I can find 1TB discs, but they're slow, at ~5000RPM, which will cause a peformance bottleneck.

I could have an external router for the 802.11ac, but I'd rather use the machine as the main network server - if we had three laptops with 802.11ac strategically placed, we should be able to provide complete coverage of the space - one floor 50m x 40m.

I could have less than 16Gb of main memory, but then a multiple virtual machine will be slow with all the swopping.

I could have a USB 3.0 connection to external SSD, but that'd be half as fast, which seems pointless when you go to the trouble of having SSD.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received!



Read more: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/1/tech-helproom/4260382/i-need-to-buy-a-laptop-to-use-as-a-server--i-cant-find-one-with-the-right-specs/#ixzz2iziGKpLt

[~misfit~]

Post by Peter Brooks
I need a machine to use as a pilot test machine for a new green-field
set-up. I'll use the laptop as one of the main servers when the site
starts - a laptop as a server makes sense, for a small <50 people
site, as it's cheaper & smaller than most servers & has a battery.
802.11ac - I need the speed & coverage area to share images (a big part of the work)
1000base-T LAN connection
16Gb main memory - I need multiple virtual machines for different software
1TB disc 7200RPM or greater or.. 1TB disc + 128GB internal SSD or..
1TB disc + Thunderbolt for an external SSD
Screen, keyboard etc don't matter, of course. I expect it to cost around £1500.
I've been hunting all over the place, but this combination seems hard
to find. I can find 1TB discs, but they're slow, at ~5000RPM, which
will cause a peformance bottleneck.
I could have an external router for the 802.11ac, but I'd rather use
the machine as the main network server - if we had three laptops with
802.11ac strategically placed, we should be able to provide complete
coverage of the space - one floor 50m x 40m.
I could have less than 16Gb of main memory, but then a multiple
virtual machine will be slow with all the swopping.
I could have a USB 3.0 connection to external SSD, but that'd be half
as fast, which seems pointless when you go to the trouble of having
SSD.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

Just one suggestion Peter - Why does it seem you haven't considered eSATA?
For external 1TB, not for SSD (which would be better inside the laptop).

[Ron]

Post by Peter Brooks
I need a machine to use as a pilot test machine for a new green-field set-up. I'll use the laptop as one of the main servers when the site starts - a laptop as a server makes sense, for a small <50 people site, as it's cheaper & smaller than most servers & has a battery.
802.11ac - I need the speed & coverage area to share images (a big part of the work)
1000base-T LAN connection
16Gb main memory - I need multiple virtual machines for different software
1TB disc 7200RPM or greater or.. 1TB disc + 128GB internal SSD or.. 1TB disc + Thunderbolt for an external SSD
Screen, keyboard etc don't matter, of course. I expect it to cost around £1500.
I've been hunting all over the place, but this combination seems hard to find. I can find 1TB discs, but they're slow, at ~5000RPM, which will cause a peformance bottleneck.
I could have an external router for the 802.11ac, but I'd rather use the machine as the main network server - if we had three laptops with 802.11ac strategically placed, we should be able to provide complete coverage of the space - one floor 50m x 40m.
I could have less than 16Gb of main memory, but then a multiple virtual machine will be slow with all the swopping.
I could have a USB 3.0 connection to external SSD, but that'd be half as fast, which seems pointless when you go to the trouble of having SSD.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

I recently fixed a Toshiba X205 (dual) graphics card by liquid fluxing
and using a hot air gun for 50 - 60 secs on the masked graphics chips.

While working with this laptop I noticed that
The laptop can run headless without the graphic cards fitted.
The main cpu is a relatively cool device, the fan only starts at approx
45% cpu useage, and I had to view a utube to achieve that.

The graphics chips seem to be the hot spot, and the fans run
continuously.
From my observations, The X205 would be OK run continuously as a server
if it was headless and with the graphics cards removed.
Maybe there are laptops that have a power saving for graphics, but
in my experience, all modern graphics chips get hot even when doing
no real work, and there is going to be heat build-up and fans running
etc which would make it ultimately unreliable in comparison to a system
that can either option out the graphics, or if a graphics server is
required, a more accessible graphics cooling system used.

The X205 is my first laptop, so please listen to others on the matter.

Ron M.