I'm looking to set up a system running Lion Server. My needs are such that I don't need anything from Snow Leopard Server (but do need features that it predates) and I'd rather not use the piece of crap that is "OS X Mountain Lion with OS X Server". The server itself would function as a home/media/techbench server. Hardware-wise, my requirements for this sucker are that it (a) not cost more than $700 and (b) have expandable storage options in which the drive connection speed is greater than or equal to 3Gbps (SATA II speeds) (so basically, I need something more than FireWire 800 or USB 2.0 in terms of storage expansion).
Given these requirements, I'm considering one of the following three options:
(1) A 2011 model Mac mini; either the low-end model with a 2.3GHz dual-core Sandy Bridge Core i5 (in which case I'd swap out the stock 5400RPM 500GB drive with either two 7200RPM hard drives [using something like the OWC data doubler kit], an SSD, or some combination between SSD and hard drive), or the server model with a 2.0GHz quad-core Sandy Bridge Core i7. I'd gain faster and more expansive storage via Thunderbolt devices; though this solution relies on Thunderbolt for that.
(2) A low-end 1,1 or 3,1 Mac Pro (Early 2008) (seeing as the 2,1 was just a more expensive higher-end version of the 1,1).
(3) A Hackintosh, which, given the fact that I'd install straight to 10.7.5 and never need to install or apply any point-release patches given the capped nature of Lion Server at this point in time, would reduce most of the headache of maintaining and setting up a Hackintosh server to begin with. I wouldn't need a the biggest or the best new hardware. I figure I could build something with the lowest end Sandy Bridge CPUs that come with Intel HD 3000 graphics (for driver simplicity) and that'd be plenty sufficient.
Right now, I'm leaning against the Mac mini due to being limited to 2.5" internal drives and due to Thunderbolt drive solutions (especially the ones with multiple drive bays, which would be particularly appealing to me here) being quite costly. I otherwise feel like a Mac mini would be a great solution here
If I can find a perfectly working Mac Pro 1,1 for a decent price, that'd probably be the easiest route; though, I'm guessing it'd still be costly. I like the idea of doing a Hackintosh here as I've had a hankering to build one, and it might be a good balance between bang and buck. This server isn't mission critical, but again, it will be fixed at an older OS and thusly won't be subject to updates that might brick it.
Any thoughts or opinions on the matter?
Given these requirements, I'm considering one of the following three options:
(1) A 2011 model Mac mini; either the low-end model with a 2.3GHz dual-core Sandy Bridge Core i5 (in which case I'd swap out the stock 5400RPM 500GB drive with either two 7200RPM hard drives [using something like the OWC data doubler kit], an SSD, or some combination between SSD and hard drive), or the server model with a 2.0GHz quad-core Sandy Bridge Core i7. I'd gain faster and more expansive storage via Thunderbolt devices; though this solution relies on Thunderbolt for that.
(2) A low-end 1,1 or 3,1 Mac Pro (Early 2008) (seeing as the 2,1 was just a more expensive higher-end version of the 1,1).
(3) A Hackintosh, which, given the fact that I'd install straight to 10.7.5 and never need to install or apply any point-release patches given the capped nature of Lion Server at this point in time, would reduce most of the headache of maintaining and setting up a Hackintosh server to begin with. I wouldn't need a the biggest or the best new hardware. I figure I could build something with the lowest end Sandy Bridge CPUs that come with Intel HD 3000 graphics (for driver simplicity) and that'd be plenty sufficient.
Right now, I'm leaning against the Mac mini due to being limited to 2.5" internal drives and due to Thunderbolt drive solutions (especially the ones with multiple drive bays, which would be particularly appealing to me here) being quite costly. I otherwise feel like a Mac mini would be a great solution here
If I can find a perfectly working Mac Pro 1,1 for a decent price, that'd probably be the easiest route; though, I'm guessing it'd still be costly. I like the idea of doing a Hackintosh here as I've had a hankering to build one, and it might be a good balance between bang and buck. This server isn't mission critical, but again, it will be fixed at an older OS and thusly won't be subject to updates that might brick it.
Any thoughts or opinions on the matter?
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