Challenge with new Atom based ESXi box
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 8:39 am
So over the weekend I went out and splurged on some money for a proper case, RAM, and a spare PSU for my Atom ESXi box (which will serve as a router, file server, etc) running Linux distro's through ESXi.
Here are the current components:
ECS 945GCD-M (Atom 330)
4 gigs of RAM (2x2 Gig DDR2)
2xSeagate 7200.11 drives
LiteOn IDE DVD-RW drive
Intel 1000 MT PCI NIC
running on a Cooler Master 460W PSU (definately not an 80 Plus PSU but I couldn't justify the $20-$30 price difference at time of purchase but now I'm starting to regret it).
So from doing some initial testing last night I was shocked to see that with that setup I was running an average of 58w idle and 64w running Prime 95 (to stress CPU and memory).
This was a lot more than I was expecting vs running 29w idle and 38w load when I had a single hard drive, 2 gigs of ram (still two sticks) and using an Antec 80Plus PSU from the NSK 1380. Is my PSU potentially a culprit for a loss in watts as it may be more inefficient as such a low wattage?
The extra drive should only bump up an extra 7-8w idle leaving another 10w or so unaccounted for. The goal was to have a router and file server that would replace my dd-wrt router and my DNS-323. Also at that power consumption level after reading many threads on this forum I may have been better off using my P5E-VM HDMI and getting an E5200 with some undervolting and gotten the same results. Any suggestions?
Here are the current components:
ECS 945GCD-M (Atom 330)
4 gigs of RAM (2x2 Gig DDR2)
2xSeagate 7200.11 drives
LiteOn IDE DVD-RW drive
Intel 1000 MT PCI NIC
running on a Cooler Master 460W PSU (definately not an 80 Plus PSU but I couldn't justify the $20-$30 price difference at time of purchase but now I'm starting to regret it).
So from doing some initial testing last night I was shocked to see that with that setup I was running an average of 58w idle and 64w running Prime 95 (to stress CPU and memory).
This was a lot more than I was expecting vs running 29w idle and 38w load when I had a single hard drive, 2 gigs of ram (still two sticks) and using an Antec 80Plus PSU from the NSK 1380. Is my PSU potentially a culprit for a loss in watts as it may be more inefficient as such a low wattage?
The extra drive should only bump up an extra 7-8w idle leaving another 10w or so unaccounted for. The goal was to have a router and file server that would replace my dd-wrt router and my DNS-323. Also at that power consumption level after reading many threads on this forum I may have been better off using my P5E-VM HDMI and getting an E5200 with some undervolting and gotten the same results. Any suggestions?