Looking for a headless pc

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Messugga

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I'm looking for a cheap computer to run as a headless server so that I can set up a cache server and have my downloads run when my laptop - my main system - isn't on.
I know you get these units that look like a slightly large optical drive size-wise, with passive cooling and like a 800MHz processor. This would be ideal, but heaven knows where to get them.

Any suggestions/ideas?
 
You could also look at a Atom based MB & CPU. Local shop is selling a combo for R700.
 
Last edited:
ponder said:
You could also look at a Atom based MB & CPU. Local shop was selling a combo last week for R600 or R700.
Click to expand...

Is it? That may actually prove to be quite good. I assume they need a case and PSU still?
 
WAFER-LX (AMD Geode) springs to mind, however they are not cheap, they do however use passive cooling and use about 6W with 1GB ram. They have Dual SATA, Dual NIC, IDE, and video.

I think CME are one of the agents (Centurion micro electronics).

If power usage is not a consideration I would go for a atom based unit as per ponder
 
Power usage isn't an issue and I'd rather keep costs down. I see Prophecy has a Atom based package for just under R1000.
 
Messugga said:
I'm looking for a cheap computer to run as a headless server so that I can set up a cache server and have my downloads run when my laptop - my main system - isn't on.
I know you get these units that look like a slightly large optical drive size-wise, with passive cooling and like a 800MHz processor. This would be ideal, but heaven knows where to get them.

Any suggestions/ideas?
Click to expand...

Asus EEE Box?
 
Messugga said:
Is it? That may actually prove to be quite good. I assume they need a case and PSU still?
Click to expand...

Yip you would need a case+PSU+Ram+HD. They also have a 2GB ram + 500GB Samsung HD combo for R700.
 
I just went through all the research for doing a Mini-ITX machine, and ended up not doing it. My reason was that I wanted to use five or six 2.5" drives, and I couldn't find a Mini-ITX case that could accommodate it. Nevertheless, if you want to use one or two drives, even 3.5" ones, there are a lot of options.

A great resource is www.mini-itx.com and for a rough idea of reasonable pricing, check www.linitx.com. You'll probably want to look at the Nano-ITX or Pico-ITX components.

I'm not sure where you'll get the stuff in S.A. It's likely to be pretty expensive. You can probably get a second-hand P-III laptop and a big external drive for a fraction of the price. I'm using a Compaq P-III (has USB2, thankfully) for just that.
 
Proline supplied these rebranded PCs that were about the size of an optical unit. They had a 700MHz processor and came with a 20gb hard drive and no optical drive.
Power came from an AC adapter.
The units cost around R1200 near the end of last year. Does anyone know of someone who may stock something like this?
 
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