I’ve rented a lot of linux vps around the world for testing and hosting teamspeak and other stuff. Not every application runs on linux so I decided to build a small home server with a low power consumption.
I stumbled over the list of components in the hardwareluxx forums and build my system based on that components. ( Link )
Here is my list:
- Intel Pentium G3420
- ASRock Z87E-ITX
- Crucial Ballistix Sport Kit 8GB ( DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24 )
- EKL Alpenföhn Silvretta
- be quiet! Pure Power L8 300W ATX 2.4
- SanDisk SSD 128GB
- Kingston SSDNow mS200 SSD 30 GB
- Cooler Master Elite 130
First of all I removed the Mini PCIe Wifi card from the mainboard as its not needed and plugged in the mSATA at the bottom of it. The small SSD can be used for the OS (Server 2012 R2) or as Host Cache for ESXi.
After putting all components together I enabled all bios settings allowing power savings and switched of the soundcard etc. I also tried to undervolt the CPU with the VCore Offset and got it down to -0,235mV.
Here are the results (power measurement):
| ESXi 5.5 U1 | Windows Server 2012 R2 | |
| Idle | 18.2 Watts | 11.1 Watts |
| Load | 39.6 Watts | 35.8 Watts |
Make sure all drivers are installed and no usb devices are plugged in. The usb devices may prevent reaching a package c-state of more than 80.
The network drivers are a little tricky. For ESXi 5.5 follow this guide ESXi 6.0 includes drivers for Intel I217V and for Server 2012 follow this guide.
Good luck and post your results.
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