Will WHS run on my current hardware?

[davefred99]

I am starting to get on the WHS bandwagon and ordered the 120 day eval disc. I want to try it on my current Sage server but it is not the most current spec wise. I have been running solid using win XP for about 3 yrs now and have rarely had a problem hardware wise since I now use extenders as clients and never use the server for local playback.

According to the MS WHS site my current hardware is more than the minimum required but I have read a lot of posts here and the specs are generally much more current than mine. My current Sage server is based on an AMD Xp-M 2400 that is clocked equivalent to an Athalon XP 3200 on a n Abit NF7 Mobo using 2 gigs ddr 400 mem. I plan on getting a 500 gig HD for the Operating system and making about 100 gigs the C: partition. I will add drives latter if all goes well. I will be running 2 pvr-150 tuners and one HDHR for a total of 4. I am also currently running comskip monitor.

I have to believe if my current Sage system is able to run on XP without major issues it should be ok on WHS. My logic is that I hope around the time that my 120 day WHS eval runs out I might be able to afford to upgrade to a more zippy Mobo and CPU but I want to test it out with what I have now.

Any comments or feedback would be appreciated,
Dave

[S_M_E]

WHS doesn't need a lot of horsepower but with your Sage use you will probably want more than you have. 2 analog, 2 HD + comskip is probably mid-range and since you use extenders that helps. If all of that works on XP you *might* be OK but you'd be happier with a HW upgrade and IF you are going to upgrade your HW then before the WHS install is the best time.

I NEVER recommend overclocking though, so that's a negative too. If you can't run it without overclocking you'll definately want to upgrade the HW before you reinstall for the OEM WHS.

[davefred99]

Originally Posted by S_M_E

WHS doesn't need a lot of horsepower but with your Sage use you will probably want more than you have. 2 analog, 2 HD + comskip is probably mid-range and since you use extenders that helps. If all of that works on XP you might be OK but you'd be happier with a HW upgrade and IF you are going to upgrade your HW then before the WHS install is the best time.

I NEVER recommend overclocking though, so that's a negative too...

I know I would be better off with a HW upgrade but its just not in the budget now and my logic says that if ir runs on Xp now isnt WHS going to be better since it does away of a lot of Xp bloat. As a as WHS now or later I don't mind the extra work ift gives me something to do.

As to overclocking I agree but what I am doing is not really the same as most think of oc"ing the Xp-m is an unlocked and underclocked chip certified for lower voltage. I just set the voltage and clock speeds to the standard values for an XP-3200 which is what the Cpu is based on. Any ways its been absolutely trouble free for more than 2yrs.

Thanks for the feed back,

[S_M_E]

Originally Posted by davefred99

I know I would be better off with a HW upgrade but its just not in the budget now and my logic says that if ir runs on Xp now isnt WHS going to be better since it does away of a lot of Xp bloat. As a as WHS now or later I don't mind the extra work ift gives me something to do.

As to overclocking I agree but what I am doing is not really the same as most think of oc"ing the Xp-m is an unlocked and underclocked chip certified for lower voltage. I just set the voltage and clock speeds to the standard values for an XP-3200 which is what the Cpu is based on. Any ways its been absolutely trouble free for more than 2yrs.

XP is also older than the win2k3 core which WHS is built on. It's always worth a try, especially since you'll have to re-install after the trial anyway. Either way, I'd still upgrade before the OEM install but if you don't mind multiple installs...

As for the overclock; it's still an overclock and just because it's been stable on XP doesn't mean it's a good idea, imo. It's your box so you can obviously do whatever you want but you asked for opinions and my opinion would be to do "whatever" for the eval and upgrade the HW (with no overclocking) for the OEM install.

[SWKerr]

I would go ahead and give it a try to see if it meets your needs but keep in mind if you have a ATX case you can get a AMD X2 low power cpu with motherboard and 2GB of memory for $125 shipped. That may not be your dream machine but it should work fine for what you want to do.

[davefred99]

Who has tried to do the same on a similar spec't system and what were your results. I have tried looking at some of the signature lines for others that list there equipment and have seen a few but most don't list there equipment at all.