[conspire] Hardware for new server arriving

[Rick Moen]

Some of this has arrived; some is on order.  

System unit:  
  CompuLab Intense PC, Celeron 847E 1.1 GHz dual-core, no HD
  Mushkin 16GB RAM (2 x 8GB SO-DIMM)

External mass-storage (RAID1'ed):
  2 x  Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB MLC SSD, 0.15 watts each
  Each SSD will live in a Vantec NexStar 3 enclosure, eSATA conneted,
  powered by an Apple A1265 5W AC-to-USB power dongle.

No moving parts, no fans, cool-running, totally silent everything.
Three really small enclosures, three power dongles, a few cables.   I'll
have to measure power draw using my Kill-a-Watt, but expect around
10-12 watts total.

The 16 GB RAM will be handy for running a virthost setup (probably kvm),
which among other things will make it easy to have a production
system + a beta system being developed on the same box.

I've liked my noisy, power-sucking VA Linux Systems model 2230 PIII
hulking 2U rackmount, but its day is long gone.

The Intense PC and FIT-PC series seem useful for many things (but aren't
dirt cheap like the RAM-constrained ARM-based Raspberry Pi).  Would
make good video streaming boxes for the home, for example.