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I am considering to setup a low-end development machine for personal use. Any suggestion about used machines? (I think a low end serve/high-end work station will suffice the needs). I am planning to run Win 2008, SQL Server,TFS on it. Also, please share some details on the cost, if you have setup something like this.

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Are you seriously asking "How much does a computer cost?"? – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Jan 21 '11 at 6:22
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Asking about pricing for equipment is frowned upon. – brandon927 Jan 21 '11 at 7:55
Sorry, if my question offended you, however I just wanted to get general idea about cost for putting together a low-end server. Look at the answer below by typoknig, thats all I was looking for - it helps me decide how much needs to be my budget. – patelsan Jan 22 '11 at 0:52
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3 Answers

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If this machine is going to be a "personal" development server (i.e. just for you) then there is no reason (unless you have specific cause) to put a lot of money into hardware. Since you want to run Windows Server 2008 you will need a 64 bit machine. Look for an a old Gateway or E-machine, lots of them had 64 bit AMD processors (like the 3700+) and can be purchased used on Craigslist or Ebay for cheap. This is what I would do unless I have a specific reason not to (see the note below).

Note:

It should be noted though that some technologies included with Windows Server 2008 require that certain hardware specs be met before use. For instance Hypervisor requires a processor capable of hardware virtualization (which is not supported by the processor I mentioned). If you know you want to work with a technology like Hypervisor which is included with Windows Server 2008 make sure the hardware you purchase meets the required specs.

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Thank you for useful inputs. – patelsan Jan 22 '11 at 0:47
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up vote 0 down vote

If you get a fairly high-end desktop machine with lots of RAM and Intel-VT/AMD-V, you could run the servers in virtual machines, using VMware Server, VirtualBox or VirtualPC (all free).

You can later move these same virtual machines onto their own dedicated machine running Hyper-V or VMware ESXi (both free as well), once/if you feel you need the extra power or flexibility.

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How "low" is "low-end"? I have two old desktop machines from a previous employer that were being disposed of that I've used as dev "servers". Dual Core 2GHz, 2GB RAM, 80GB HD. Cost: Free. Look on local sites, craiglist, ebay for local delivery. You shouldn't really need to spend much, if any money.

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