Dell PowerEdge R610 Virtualization Server 2.53GHz 8-Core E5540 32GB 2x146GB PERC6

I've been using repurposed computers for a while as a home web and nas server, but after a while, the hardware on them started failing. They were old pentium 4 or intel dual core computers, ~15-20 years old. All I really needed, but a little slow, and the reliability was no longer there. So rather than buying another one to last for a few months, I splurged on this server instead. The speed is obviously much better, but rather than using a single sata drive, I'm using multiple sas drives in Raid, meaning uptime reliability should be a little better. Since this supports 6 hot-swappable 2.5" drives, it makes it super easy to use. The 3.5" would have been nice, then I could have mounted an old sata drive internally to transfer data rather than using an external enclosure.Pros: Fast, 8 total cores, 16 threads (with hyperthreading). Worked great with Ubuntu straight out of the box. Still supported by Dell, and I was able to upgrade the firmware from Dell's website. Comes with a few small hard drives, making it completely useable as packaged. Upgradable with 4 open RAM slots, 4 open hard drive bays, and one open power supply bay. Comes with a ton of ram already, as I've seen other configurations with only 2 or 4 gb total.Cons: 3.5" bays would have been nice, since the 3.5" SAS drives are generally cheaper and faster than the 2.5" equivalents. The software is somewhat tricky to use with a ton of boot options and utilities. Also, because of those utilities, the startup time is quite lengthy, since at every boot it detects memory, followed by the BIOS startup, followed by network boot settings, then Raid settings, then network card configurations, all before it gets to UEFI setup. It comes with unregistered ram, which lowers the maximum amount it can use. Swapping for registered ram would increase that for added cost.Final Notes: The physical condition was very good. Some minor discoloration was evident of its previous use, but overall extremely minor wear and tear. The firmware was out of date, but simple to upgrade. The DVD drive was good and fast, and the ethernet is very fast. Maybe in a number of years if the ram starts to go I'll swap it out for registered ram, but I'll check its reliability before making a decision. I can definitely tell a difference using this versus an old, repurposed desktop. I selected this over a new, similarly priced tower server with lower specs. I would buy this again.

I bought this server to create a test environment to learn with. This product came in great shape and had everything it said it would. I used this server model at work for years so i knew how it would perform if it ran correctly and i have been more than satisfied.

great

Building a render farm for animation with a series of these. They are MORE than perfect and are expandable. Will purchase again.

The machine is awesome! There is value for money.

Works well

Solid server great for start up vm environment