How to: Build a Windows Home Server

Okay, so you've seen companies like HP, Fujitsu-Siemens and Intel parading around their Windows Home Servers and while you're down with the idea of WHS as a concept, you're not sure that you need to buy a brand new piece of hardware in order to enjoy the benefits of a home server. Right you are, my friend: given the low level of performance that WHS requires, you can easily build your own machine or re-purpose an old one for use as a Windows Home Server. But where to start? ZDnet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has put together a handy little guide where he gives his hardware recommendations for an effective and affordable WHS machine. For example, you're going to want to use a low-power CPU like AMD's 35W Sempron 3200+, not a Core 2 Duo. And if you splurge on any component of the server, you're going to want to make sure that it's the hard drive.

For more on building a Windows Home Server:
- see this ZDnet blog post