Build a very green Windows Server

My old server consumes about 80W. Given my top tier electricity cost of $0.24/KWh, it costs me about $14 in electricity each month, and generates considerable noise and heat. Recently, I set out to build a greener server. I bought an Intel Atom Dual-Core D525MW Fan-less Motherboard for $80 and a Apex MI-100 mITX case for $40. I also I bough an Kingston 64GB SSD for $75 after rebate. I used 2 x 2GB DDR3 SODIMM RAM and a Toshiba 250GB notebook drive scratched from my recent laptop upgrade. So my total out-of-pocket expense is just under $200 before tax. If I include the cost of retired parts, the hardware cost is about $300. I cloned my Windows 2003 Server OS from my old server into my new server. Although Intel does not supports server OS from desktop boards, I was actually able to install all the necessary drivers from the Intel CD despite the setup program reported installation failure on 3 out of 4 drivers. The new server is barely audible; it is quieter than a outlet timer. Like any machine powered by an SSD drive, it boots up in seconds.

2011 MVP Summit 016 (600x800)

So how much power does it consume? My Kill-A-Watt meter tells me that in consumes just under 30 watt at idle. To put that in perspective, my previous Dish Network Receiver and my current Time Warner HD Receiver each consumes about 20 watt at idle. It is quite adequate as my server.

2011 MVP Summit 017 (480x640)AtomD525

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