Chapter 2: Book Server V2 Project

(return to chapter 1)

The two cases (Book Server and M300) were tested for proper cooling. The M300 case ran hotter overall than the Book Server using the OEM heat sink fan on the motherboard. The fan noise from the chipset fan was very annoying and having the PC in the living room proved to be very distracting.

The OEM 40x40 fan was replaced with a Scythe mini-Kaze 40x40x10mm fan which touts a 14 dBa noise level. The new fan reduced the noise to a very tolerable level. The fan runs slower than the OEM and caused a slight increase in the temperatures, but is within tolerances.

Temperatures:
Mini-Box M300 Enclosure
Book Server Intel OEM Fan
Book Server Scythe Fan
Idle (CPU/Chipset) (*C)
60
48
57
Streaming 2 Videos (*C)
60
48
58
Idle (CPU/Chipset) (*C)
42
34
44
Streaming 2 videos (*C)
42
34
44

Per the Intel Atom data sheet, the max CPU temperature is 85.2*C and the max case temperature allowed is 92*C (ICH7).

Performance:

The Intel Atom 330 performed much better than the Via C7 when it comes to multitasking. The Atom 330 supports hyper-threading which the operating systems sees as 4 processors (dual core x2). Streaming videos simultaneously to 2 computers and to the PS3 showed no jitters or issues for playback. I also downloaded a 2.5 GB file while the videos were playing and there weren't any major performance issues.

Conclusion:

The Intel Atom 330 processor and the D945GCLF2 motherboard when used in conjunction with Windows Home Server, makes for a very capable system at a low cost. The D945GCLF2 motherboard cost $89 from Mini-Box.com. I did have issues with two of the Intel boards failing. The first board (OEM) was DOA and the second which was a boxed version failed after 1 day. The third board worked like a charm and has been running since 11/16/2008 in the Book Server without any issues. Replacement of the OEM chipset fan is a must due to the noise levels.

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