HP MediaSmart EX470 and EX480 getting 3.0 software upgrade option this week
By Paul Miller 
posted February 23rd 2010 10:46PM
posted February 23rd 2010 10:46PM
posted February 23rd 2010 10:46PM
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wow my Eeepc with 2GB ram has more ram than this tower server
@OCEAN CLAK
How much ram does a server need?
@Evan
Not sure but i always thought servers use more ram than a standard desktop computer, as they typically have more storage upto petabytes
@OCEAN CLAK
It depends totally on what you are serving and the requirements placed upon the server. I run an old box with Windows Server 2008 and it handles my small webpage, my MS SQL Server install and my collection of anime just fine. I regularly stream from it to my xbox and haven't noticed any lag. For reference, it has a P4 with 1 gig of DDR ram. So yeah, it's pretty old.
Obviously you want a better machine if you plan on using it to serve a large number of page views or something, but for WHS, I'd imagine that 1 gig of ram would be just fine.
@OCEAN CLAK Can your eeePC holds 3x2TB drives. I have the original HP Home Server (Sempron proc, 512MB RAM), and it still runs just fine (now with a total storage about 5TB).
@pika2000
Currently its connected to 2 external 1.5 TB Hard Drives (3TB in total) but I dont use it as a server just video watching and surfing the web
@OCEAN CLAK Wow my workstation with 32GB ram has more ram than your Eee.
They're completely different products, we don't care how much ram your Eee has compared to a home server.
@Broderbund
but i care about that 32GB Ram, that must be a very good machine
@OCEAN CLAK Servers generally don't need much RAM at all if they are simply moving bits around the network. The reason for the extra RAM requirements in this server is that it also does automatic transcoding of video which is both RAM and processor intensive.
@OCEAN CLAK Can you fit 3x2TB drives into the insides of your eeePC? What's next, you want to argue that your phone has more RAM than the Home Server? :rolleyes:
@pika2000
Dont judge a computer by its ram.
Im sure this runs circles around your EeePc....
@SolidSnake
Directed at Ocean Clak.
What about the upgrade to USB 3.0?
It is rumored that Microsoft is close to releasing a new version of WHS Operating System (nicknamed Vail). The new version will be based on Windows Server 2008 R2, so I'm not sure it's worth paying for this update, when another update may be imminent in another year or so.
@BAGAGT1 For those interested-
http://www.withinwindows.com/2010/02/02/a-look-at-windows-home-server-vail-build-7360/
The fun part will be getting it for FREEEEE (legally, on MSDNAA).
@BAGAGT1
Actually I think it's worth it. Check out the feature and UI improvements. Most people who have a MediaSmart server aren't going to be breaking the bank for $25, and it will greatly extend the life of this product, since the new WHS Vail will not be supported on this same hardware, it would require a purchase of a new server.
@gadgetfanboy I think Vail will work fine on this hardware unless you have info I don't. My recollection is only that it requires a CPU that is 64-bit capable, which the Sempron 3400+ is:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/200
It may be a little old and slow, but it should work fine, AFAIK.
@BAGAGT1 Yeah, I can't wait for this. I rather just upgrade into a brand new unit altogether with the new OS then spending $25 into a self-limited OS. The current WHS OS doesn't support hard-drives with 4K sector natively.
Can you say...wait a day...then The Pirate Bay?
@ashasaur
If someone has the money to spend on a home server, chances are they aren't going to bat an eye at paying $25 for a software upgrade.
@ashasaur
Yea, nothing like putting pirated software from a shady unknown source on your server whose sole purpose is to backup and protect all of your personal data...
@gadgetfanboy
As long as the downloaded iso hash matches a known legit hash then its a untouched perfect copy. Pirating can be done safely...
@gadgetfanboy
> Yea, nothing like putting pirated software from a shady
> unknown source on your server whose sole purpose is to
> backup and protect all of your personal data...
Yes. You're better off bypassing Microsoft payware products entirely.
@BAGAGT1
Ow believe be, especially for users like me who has Ex470 series, it is long overdue especially for Mac support.
For the ones wondering, the first generation 470 series devices ccame with 512MB which was ridiculous to run a variation of Windows 2003 server. I didn't wait long enough to upgrade the memory which voids the warranty BTW, I don't know how HP recommends upgrading the memory :))
@Mert
your miss informed. HP said it does allow ram upgrade and still remain within warranty, but it is a mute point because there is no 3x470 sold today and the last one sold was over a year ago so warranty is over. why do you think the waited this long to release this upgrade.
we have been waiting for this over 8 months
@Mert Yea, it doesn't violate the warranty but Putting a 2.8 Athlon in mine did. zoom zoom
@fastm3driver
You guys are right actually, sorry my bad, the ram upgrade was fine but not the CPU.
Did you have any issues with Athlon CPU at all? What is your model number? I have upgraded it one level but it is nto the fastest I could upgrade which is that BE series dual-core ones.
@fastm3driver
I think I have the Athlon LE-16xx. FYI, I was asking about the Athlon 64 3500+ or BE2350 series...
you can only run the 3.0 upgrade if you did the CPU & Ram upgrade hack.
not really a hack you just take the old ram and cpu and pop in new ones
but without it your server is useless without it
RAM yes. CPU is fine. Look at wegotserved. They've got the full 411.
I built my own WHS with an Atom330, 4gb of ram and 4To...It works perfectly ! You don't need a hell of of beast CPU for that : most of those NAS out there have 800mhz CPU, 256mb of RAM and work very fast !
With the Atom, the good thing is power consumption : 55 watts ! Makes the power bill a little less painful...
It's just £10 for UK owners - need to visit the UK HP site, go to Support and Drivers, Enter part number and select Software and Driver downloads, then operating system. The HP site will direct you to the Best2Serve site to complete the purchase. EX47X owners need to upgrade RAM but not CPU.
25$ upgrade fee? Glad I got rid of it this January! Even with a 2GB upgrade, the HPMSS is loud and the performance was not up to my expectations.
my DS210j does the job now. (with free future upgrade I hope!)
$25 isn't a lot of money and RAM is cheap. I built my own server with old hardware and first and it was fine but I eventually went with the ex470 for the small form factor and ease of adding new drives, etc. It's not the most powerful but for what I have it doing, it simply works.
Too bad I bought an Acer Easystore for 1/2 the price and better hard drives