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I'm about to install my own colo server in a data center. I need to supply the hardware myself, and am free to pick any components that suit me as long as it fits in a rack (I assume a 1U form factor). Up until this time I have been running a very lowend tower server for use as a development server with only a few public sites. This will be for use mostly as a LAMP web server running content management systems; most sites will have low volume although a few are fairly high. Other than the LAMP sites, I do run a few moderate volume mailman mailing lists. I have a low budget and want to get the most bang for my buck. The network engineering folks I work with recommend HP DL320's, and they are an HP reseller and are "Windows People". They frequently buy off of the HP refurb list. The DL320 is a single processor 3ghz P4 expandable to 2gigs of RAM. My own inclination is to believe that memory is of supreme importance, and that AMD Opterons may be a better value. HP has an Opteron package (DL145) that's inexpensive with base RAM, but another gig of RAM is $1K. I've seen better deals, but the service and support HP offers is attractive. FWIW, I will have easy physical access to the server in the data center. Ideally (in my naive mind), I think I want a single Opteron that's dual capable, that exandable to many gigs of RAM. In that way, I can add RAM/Processors as needs grow and prices fall. I'd like to hear what the consensus is on the various elements of server selection; importance of various components, brand name vs. generic, Intel vs. AMD, ATA vs. SCSI, value of extended warranties, etc. TIA Rob