Hey All!
I'm sure I read it somewhere before that they made ESXi free again, but probably didn't really let it soak in or believe it.
Really, all the same free features as before?
I moved to proxmox a while back, been running fine since. Seems like
more effort then anything to go back?
Much further digging, and the latest versions of ESXi don't support my old ass hardware any more (Proliant ML310e Gen8). I think the latest I could go is either 6.7 or 7.0 Update 3 with some kind of a customized build for pre-Gen9 HPE hardware. I'm currently at 6.5, so don't really care to bother with it any more. I was more excited to try out the new and shiny, but that didn't work out too well for me. ;)
Much further digging, and the latest versions of ESXi don't support my
old ass hardware any more (Proliant ML310e Gen8). I think the latest I could go is either 6.7 or 7.0 Update 3 with some kind of a customized build for pre-Gen9 HPE hardware. I'm currently at 6.5, so don't really care to bother with it any more. I was more excited to try out the new
and shiny, but that didn't work out too well for me. ;)
paulie420 wrote to Accession <=-
OMG. So they made it free again, but made it so you had to be on
CORPORATE prod hardware??? Great... at this point, just install PVE and PBS and move on - Proxmox is the shyyyyttttt!
That's what attracted me to Proxmox - I've run it on the cheapest, EOL
crap and it just runs. I'm seriously tempted to move my production
servers at work to it; I'm mostly running utility and dev workloads on
them now.
OMG. So they made it free again, but made it so you had to be on
CORPORATE prod hardware??? Great... at this point, just install PVE and
PBS and move on - Proxmox is the shyyyyttttt!
I have no issues with ESXi 6.5 except some quirky shit I can get around (as easy as refreshing the page) in the web GUI, so I'll stick with it
for the remainder of this server's lifespan, which could be awhile yet unless I come across something for the right price. ;)
If I recall you're running an HP desktop server... I'm running a Lenovo ST50.
I've been on the fence about switching to a mini pc for my needs in the future. Small form factor machine with my NAS. Should really be all that
I need.
The only disadvantage, it won't be server hardware grade. No ECC ram and
no Xeons...
Does it matter? As long as I can get the same type of uptime, I'd be
happy and save money, and space, and maybe cut a few dollars on my hydro bill.
The machine I have I bought used back in like 2012. No idea how long it was used before me, but I replaced the HDDs with new ones, and it has
ran like a champ for 13+ years non-stop. That would be my only argument for preference of server grade hardware, though.
How are you thinking you'll save money? Are you comparing new vs new?
I've been looking at some server hardware on Ebay and Amazon for like $400-$700 range, whereas most of those mini pcs are upwards of $1000..?
Amount of cores and ram found on the AMD chips, and the simple fact it
will save a few bucks on hydro. Also like the idea of condensing down my rack and eventually putting something on the wall that's small and
clean.
That's where I'm not quite sold yet. I don't have a rack (yet). My
current server is a 4U tower. I'm debating another one as it takes up
less space than a rack, but the price point on these rack mount servers
is way better than a "newer than what I have now" tower. Then if you wanted a 2x CPU tower? now you're talking thousands, when you can get multiple CPU rack mount with plenty of ram for a lot less.
Speaking of which. I just looked up those AMD EPYC processors, and yikes are they expensive. lol
I should clarify, I have everything in a cheap network rack. Having something small like a NUC and even a desktop server on a network rack works. You don't have to spend a ton of money to get something mounted
on the wall.
Anyways, regarding my current server as mentioned. I think I should just hold on to it as long as possible.
To be honest, I replaced my old server and gave it to my son as a gaming machine. Tossed in a GPU and he's still running it. It's over 10+ years
and I felt at the time it wouldnt' last a couple more years. .. :) So
maybe I hang on to this one and save my money. It's not like I look at
this thing, it's tucked away in a back room.
Hah! That's awesome! I've built my gaming machines myself (I've only had to do 2 in the past 15 years, lol), and passed down my previous build to my son (which is still plenty to play any newer game), only having to upgrade the GPU and replace one fan in his over the years. So I'll knock on wood too, that my stuff keeps holding up strong. :)
Hah! That's awesome! I've built my gaming machines myself (I've only had to do 2 in the past 15 years, lol), and passed down my previous build to my son (which is still plenty to play any newer game), only having to upgrade the GPU and replace one fan in his over the years. So I'll knock on wood too, that my stuff keeps holding up strong. :)
That's cool, we are finding the old server with the GPU is not holding
up like it used to. Seems the processor is just pegged almost 98% when
he's playing Fortnite... He has to turn settings off or down just for
the processor to keep up. He's definitely not getting what the GPU can deliver.
This would be maybe the only reason I upgrade my server now to pass this down to him. Then again, he's been saving up for a new mother board,
ram, and a processor. Everything else has been brought up to speed. New case, PSU....
But he's only 13, so it's not like he's making a pay cheque. He also
likes having money set aside and doesn't want to blow it all on this.
As of late, I picked up a GMKTec K8 Plus that I'm using as my main
computer outside my work laptop. It allows for gaming, the little bit
that I do.
On that note, I have way to many gaming systems. PS5, PS4, Xbox, Arcade,
and now this mini pc. And I barely game. :D
Maybe I should sell?
BTW, I looked a little deeper into those mini PCs you were talking
about. It's crazy how they can cram that much stuff into like a 6" x 6"
x 3" box. They also boast great cooling, which I find quite hard to do with what they're working with. Up to 3 or 4 displays even.. Crazy!
You mention 'server' here. Are you using an old server (with server hardware) to play games? I'm not sure the low ghz and multi cores are built to do that kind of thing..
BTW, I looked a little deeper into those mini PCs you were talking
about. It's crazy how they can cram that much stuff into like a 6" x 6"
x 3" box. They also boast great cooling, which I find quite hard to do with what they're working with. Up to 3 or 4 displays even.. Crazy!
This is almost exactly what I was looking at above. The space saving and initial specs are pretty awesome! Currently, though.. I'm not sure I
could use it as a server as it seems like you would be wasting the thing just for the cores and ram, but the price is definitely on point when these things are new vs some used refurbished/renewed server hardware. Damn man, now you have me looking into this more. :)
The K12 is probably the cheapest out of the GMKTec family ($550), but seems to have the best expansion (up to 24tb ssd and 128gb ram). Oddly enough, this price point is better than finding old server hardware with enough ram/hdd space. Now I have to start looking into this more.
LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID (and I'll probably thank you for it later). :D
That's up to you. I gave up on consoles after I bought a brand new PS4
(at the time) with the whole VR setup. The kids used it for a few months and completely forgot about it. At least if my son forgot about his PC I could use it for something else. Never again will I go the console route.
Nightfox wrote to Accession <=-
In the mid-late 90s until the mid-2000s or so, I remember building a
new PC every few years or so. But lately, it feels like there haven't been as much improvement in speed & things to make me want/need to
build a new PC that often.
fusion wrote to Accession <=-
it's almost (if not already) to the point where some weird m.2 to 6
port sata thing frankensteined on top of a mini pc with a
multi-hard-drive enclosure (that the mini pc also fits inside) could be totally reasonable. a whole collection of VMs and all. and probably
using a 10th of the electricity..
niter3 wrote to Accession <=-
Yes, the server is 12 years old... I think it's also suffering from
over heating issues because he complains it just turns off.
Replace the thermal paste and clean the fans if you're feeling handy. I
saw a significant drop in temp with my old Core 2 quad when I did that.
Cooler systems run quieter, don't throttle, and certainly don't shut
down.
Yes, the server is 12 years old... I think it's also suffering from
over heating issues because he complains it just turns off.
HA! :) Right... I'm using this mini pc for my daily driver and
gaming on it... Running this under Ubuntu at the moment under XFCE.
Nice and fast!
Just dealing with your typical Anti Cheat messages and proton
settings.
That seems how it goes. I had this vision my kids all playing on
this arcade build, and everyone from parties using it. :) It's
gaining dust.
overheating it, and if it's server hardware, those fans gotta be
SCREAMING while he's playing. ;)
May I ask, what are you playing? And have you ran into any games that /don't/ work with Proton? I would love to ditch Windows completely,
but I need all my games to work properly.
I think servers, in general, aren't really meant to play games, unless their specs are outrageous and you have some kind of RTX video card (or something similar from AMD) in it. It could just be that the games are overheating it, and if it's server hardware, those fans gotta be
SCREAMING while he's playing. ;)
Welp, after looking into what it would take to get the storage and ram where I'd want it, we're probably talking almost 2 grand. The price of
ram has skyrocketed, and the newer m.2 drives haven't come down in price yet, especially for bigger (4-8tb) ones.
May I ask, what are you playing? And have you ran into any games that /don't/ work with Proton? I would love to ditch Windows completely, but
I need all my games to work properly.
I've not found anything that doesn't run under proton/wine now.
I've installed old games from my GOG library, newish ones like
Cyberpunk, avatar etc.
I do not play online games though, and I believe that is where the
issue lies with anti cheat stuff.
I'm still testing, but so far the only game giving me trouble and I
still haven't gotten to work is RDR2.
I do not play online games though, and I believe that is where theI do, and am definitely interested in the state of things nowadays.
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