Having made the decision to build and operate your private server, you basically have two options to choose from – buy one ready-made, of build your own and enjoy more power for a lower price. Suffice to say, those of a more proactive sense generally tend to go with the latter of the two options, which contrary to popular belief doesn’t have to be as tricky as it sounds.

In terms of what you’ll need to get going, arm yourself with the right Chassis, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Hard Drive and you’re good to go. The beauty of going your own way being that you get to choose the specifications of every single component in accordance with your business needs – no overpaying unnecessarily or compromising on performance.

Compatibility
You’d be forgiven for assuming that fitting all the bits and pieces together would be the trickiest job, but no. Instead, it’s compatibility that you need to be aware of as the actual assembly is easy – making sure all the parts will actually work together, not so much. It’s technically not a huge job, just don’t make any assumptions, check thoroughly and ask the right questions.

Conversion
It’s also worth bearing in mind that there’s always the possibility of converting an existing computer system into a server – again, depending on component compatibility, performance, etc. Let us know what you already have and we can advise you on what’s needed to give it a new lease of life as a server.

Key Points to Remember
To give yourself the easiest ride and to ensure the best possible outcome, a few key points to remember:

• Don’t be put off by costs – building a quality 64-bit server could save you a fortune on buying one outright.
• The motherboard you choose will make a huge difference – top-quality motherboards make assembly and upgrades easy while delivering the best possible performance.
• Don’t waste money on sub-par or unbranded components – it takes only one inadequate piece of the puzzle to spoil the whole thing.

Check out the full ITC Sales range of servers and components.