Antec NSK3300 low-power server

[qxzn]

I'm putting together the specs for a low-power server/desktop combination. I'd like it to be on the quiet side, and it doesn't need to be super fast. On-board graphics might be good enough (I rarely play games), though I'd like to have the option to throw in a low-end graphics card if the itch should ever arise. Stability is really important. Price is not hugely important. Small form factor is a plus.

Here is my current plan:

• Antec NSK3300 ($100 w/shipping)
  
  Gigabyte GA-8I945GMMFY-RH ($165) This board got excellent stability marks in vr-zone's review.
  
  Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83Ghz (mobile, merom) ($250). This processor should knock the socks off anything I'll need it to do. Overclocking not desired.
  
  1 Gb DDR2-667 Crucial RAM ($170) (or something.. see below)
  
  2 200GB SATA drives, with a custom HDD suspension mount. See my other post on this subject ($140)
  
  Lite-on DVD writer I have laying around ($0)

Total cost: $825 + some shipping

And some questions:

• I don't know anything about the new DDR2 RAM. All I know is that the Intel 945GM chipset on my mobo only supports up to 667Mhz. Is there a different manufacturer I should be using? Is it worth the price premium to get the fastest ram I can?
  
  Is my custom 2-HDD suspension mount a pipe dream in the NSK3300? (my other post on this subject) I'd be willing to pick up an Antec SOLO instead, but it just seems bigger than what I need.
  
  Everything I've read says this will be a seriously low-power rig. As I'm using on-board video for now, the main power draw is the CPU and with Merom that should be less than 35W. It seems like I don't need all the juice of the 300W that comes with the NSK3300.. could I get away with a PicoPSU or similar? On the other hand, I might someday want to plug in a low-end graphics card so I can do basic 3d stuff (it will be both a server and my desktop, though I don't use the desktop aspect for much other than browsing the web and ssh). If I plugged in a low-end graphics card, it seems like I might blow a 120W PicoPSU. No?
  
  Does anyone know how the power usage of the different Merom processors is? I thought I read somewhere that they're basically all the same; 35 watts or less. I probably wouldn't upgrade to a faster one anyway, but I might consider downgrading to the T5500 if it uses less power.

Thanks for your help!

[qxzn]

Any comments? I guess if nobody says anything that means my plan is Not Too Crazy. I'm eager to order this puppy and try it out.

[ninethirty]

My understanding of DDR2 RAM -- it's mostly absorbed second- or third-hand, so take it with a grain of salt:
The difference between the current "performance" and "budget" RAM at a given speed is a.) the "performance" RAM will hit 667mhz with better timing settings (1T vs 2T, CAS latency) and at a lower voltage (1.8v vs. 2.1v for some cheaper sticks) and b.) it is likely to overclock higher. Since you've said you don't want to overclock, and performance isn't a huge deal, I would just look for RAM that specifies that it can hit 667mhz at 1.8mhz. Some manufacturers (even reputable ones, like OCZ and Crucial) are claiming very high speeds on their RAM and then mentioning in the fine print that they require 2.1v to achieve them. Most Intel 945G boards can't even run RAM at 2.1v; 1.9v is a common maximum. So something to watch out for. It's not likely to make any significant difference in power draw (it's just .3 volts) but your board might not have the option of giving them that much juice.
As far as tangible performance, I don't know how much you'll notice the difference between a stick that is "CAS latency 4-4-4-15" vs. "5-5-5-18". There are probably benchmarks out there that highlight the exact performance difference, if you search. Personally, though, since there have been a whole lot of memory incompatibilities with Conroe motherboards, I'd go with something that either your manufacturer recommends or other owners of the board have successfully used.

The "is value RAM worth it?" was covered better in this article: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2797&p=1 . But they're aimed more toward overclockers and performance junkies. Still interesting to read. The memory portion of the article is the 4 pages at the end, starting around page 11. They compare some sets of "budget" DDR2 vs. "performance" DDR2. Honestly, I don't remember the exact conclusion they came to, but I seem to remember it favoring the "budget" RAM.

(wow, that's the third or fourth Anandtech article I've plugged today...it's not intentional, honest).

[grosskur]

Everything I've read says this will be a seriously low-power rig. As I'm using on-board video for now, the main power draw is the CPU and with Merom that should be less than 35W. It seems like I don't need all the juice of the 300W that comes with the NSK3300.. could I get away with a PicoPSU or similar?

smilingcrow posted some numbers here showing the GA-8I945GMMFY-RH doing 39W at idle and 50W at load when undervolted to 1.008 Vcore (keep in mind this is with a Gigabyte GF6200TC discrete graphics card). Based on this, IMO the 120W PicoPSU would be OK. You just have to find a decent external power brick for it.

Also, FWIW, I'm thinking about getting the NSK 3300 and doing a 2-HDD suspension mount---I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

Where are you planning to buy the GA-8I945GMMFY-RH? I can't find any sellers in North America

Cheers, ---Alan

[qxzn]

Where are you planning to buy the GA-8I945GMMFY-RH? I can't find any sellers in North America.

I got mine off ebay. It was the only one the seller had . Froogle shows one at leadcomp.com, not sure where they are.

smilingcrow posted some numbers here showing the GA-8I945GMMFY-RH doing 39W at idle and 50W at load when undervolted to 1.008 Vcore (keep in mind this is with a Gigabyte GF6200TC discrete graphics card). Based on this, IMO the 120W PicoPSU would be OK. You just have to find a decent external power brick for it.

Thanks for the pointer. I've now decided to go with 2.5" hard drives, so it seems like I should be able to get away with a PicoPSU.