This is probably a stupid question, since 2 > 1, but here goes…

I have a home server. It’s a ComputerLINK 1U rack server I bought off eBay some years back. It has 2 CPUs, Intel Xeon E5645 2.4Ghz(https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/48768/intel-xeon-processor-e5645-12m-cache-2-40-ghz-5-86-gt-s-intel-qpi.html). It also has two 750W power supplies, but I have one unplugged. It also has RAM and 5 HDDs.

I also have the guts of my old desktop PC. The CPU is an AMD FX8350 4Ghz(https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/fx-8350). The motherboard is some ASUS model, I forget and don’t want to check right now. A potential PSU would be 500-600W range.

My question: I am considering moving to use my old PC parts as a new home server. One benefit is to cut down on the noise (rack mount PC fans are LOUD). But the real gain I would want is on power savings. So, if RAM and the multiple HDDs all stay the same, but I moved them to the AMD/ASUS CPU/motherboard, can anyone definitively say this will be more power-efficient?

I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to electrics or power consumption, and am just looking for someone to confirm for me. I am aware that the AMD CPU still isn’t an excellent choice for an always-on machine, but it could be an improvement.

  • SomeoneSomewhere@lemmy.nz
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    1 year ago

    It depends on the application/duty, but maximum/rated power is not usually relevant for power consumption on home servers like this - they’re rarely running at mother than a few percent load.

    Idle power consumption is the main concern. Server boards often have a lot of NICs and chipsets that don’t idle well. Consumer gear is generally much better for that.

    Neither Westmere nor the AM3 platform are known for low power consumption. A modern LGA1150 or later desktop platform would probably be preferable.

    • peereboominc@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      You are absolutely right. Assuming the home server is probably not serving thousands requests every minute or mining bitcoin but just a file server or something that is idle most of the time.