Awesome new system!

[ezeitler]

I was on Bens Bargains, saw an offer from Dell for a server at half price ($249) w/free shipping, decided that it would be a perfect PVR and ordered it. Received it on Wednesday and set it up over the holiday.
The server is a Dell SC420; 2.5G Celeron w/monster heat pipe cooling, 512M RAM, 533FSB, 80G SATA HD, CDR, onboard video, USB & GigE.
I installed my PVR 350 & USBUIRT plus a 250G ATA HD for file storage. Swapped in an 8X DVD burner for the CDR and will add another 200G ATA HD when I receive a SATA to ATA adapter & cable.
I elected to do a full new install and started with W2K & SP4 on the 80G SATA - no problems altho I had read some horror stories about SATA drives.
Then downloaded the latest updates for my PVR 350 & USBUIRT, again no problems.
Downloaded the latest Sage TV V2 and it installed and configured smooth as glass.
All recordings are perfect via my network. Playback on the SC420 failed due to no sound card. Bought a $10 PCI sound card and now all is well.
Simultaneous record & serve to an iMac via 100BT uses 4% of CPU.
Simultaneous record & playback on the SC420 uses 25% of CPU.
Best of all, this thing is totally silent, you cannot hear it at all!
This is so sweet!

[Crashless]

Congrats on the new system. It's always great to get it working on the first go around.

Silence IS golden. Enjoy!

[lyonl]

That's great! I had also been thinking of that system for use as a fileserver/storage for my Sage videos and had thought of placing it in the basement, but I'm glad to hear that it's so quiet. Hmmm, maybe it wouldn't need to be banished to the basement!

[ezeitler]

I have not really had any problems with my two earlier systems (knock on wood) but I was plagued with power supply failures on the PowMax case. And the PowMax case was very loud.

While this is larger than the PowMax case, it is designed to run 24/7 and is completely silent. I was astonished by the amount of horsepower I got for so few $$. Plus the SC420 can easily be upgraded to a P4 & 800FSB if needed. The case opens like a clam shell by means of two buttons (no screws!) and Dell included extra mounting rails for an optical drive and a hard drive.

My use of SageTV has also changed since I first built my system. My neighbor switched from Dish to Direct TV and gave me his Dsih Tuner/PVR which is now in the living room where the PowMax was originally going. I will use the 200G HD for normal file storage for the 5 node home network.

[AJ Bertelson]

how many PCI slots does it have?

[dagar]

2 x PCI Express (x8, x1 connectors)
3 x 32bit/33MHz 5v PCI

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...~page=1#tabtop