Help me upgrade my server

[turtle]

I'm running a MSI mobo with AMD's 939 socket and DDR 333/400 RAM. OS is SME Server (http://wiki.contribs.org/Main_Page) which says it should work with any i586 or i686 (http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation:Administration_Manual:Cha pter4) CPU.

My max RAM for the mobo is 2GB in two 1GB DIMMs so that's a given, but which one's should I get? Seems there shouldn't be any limitations on which sticks as long as they are DDR 333/400 but I haven't built a system in some time and just thought I'd check in with people who have done this recently.

As for the CPU, I'm thinking of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103543). This seems to be the best upgrade I can do for the money keeping the same mobo and sticking with the aged 939 socket. I have the retail CPU cooler from my original CPU (Athlon 64 +3200) and also need to know if it would be enough to keep my chip cool. Otherwise I'll need one that can handle the new load.

Thanks for any input. :)

[NosferaDrew]

Gigabit ethernet?

Check out Cooler Master (http://www.coolermaster.com/index.html) for good, quiet CPU cooling.
I have these on my dual Xeon servers:
http://homepage.mac.com/drew1/.Pictures/Cooler_Master_E3W-NPTXC-01.jpg

Overkill for your needs, but they make lots of efficient, quality-made cooling solutions.

[Wyatt]

I don't have much to say about the rest of it, but I think the 4200 is an excellent CPU choice for socket 939. I have a socket AM2 4000, and it's excellent. I don't think you could do any better than the 4200 on a budget for 939, honestly.

[turtle]

Thanks guys. :) I might not go with such a large cooler, but I want to make sure the one I do have works. :D

So does anyone know about the RAM? I've read about incompatibility issue and that not all DIMMs are the same even if the specs are. Is this really the case.

[Schnauzer]

What type of stick do you have in there right now? A 333 MHz? I don't think it would be a issue to mix and match, I am pretty sure it would just run at the highest common speed they share. I have used mixed speed RAM in three of my buddies PCs when I did upgrades for them. Also what type of NIC are you using for your server?

[turtle]

My NICs are the integrated one and an after market one. Both at 10/100 but I don't recall the chipset they have. I only PCI slots on this mobo too. :\ I'd love to go up to Gigabit for my netowrk, but I'm not sure which ones I can use since it has to fit Red Had standards:
Note:
Version 7.0 of SME Server is based on CentOS 4.4 and uses the 2.6 series Linux kernel. This combination supports a wide variety of hardware, but it is important that any hardware chosen for the server has been tested for compatibility before deployment. We expect that all hardware which is marked as "Certified" or "Compatible" for RedHat Enterprise Linux Update 4 on the RedHat Hardware Compatibility web site, located at: https://hardware.redhat.com/hwcert/, will function correctly with SME Server 7.0. We do not recommend the use of server hardware which is not listed as "Certified" or "Compatible".
4.4. Supported Ethernet or SCSI Adapters, or Tape Drives
Either one ethernet adapter (in the case of dialup connectivity or server-only mode) or two ethernet adapters (for dedicated connections in server and gateway mode) must be installed on your SME Server. Your ethernet adapters must be supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.

As for my current RAM speeds; I'm not sure. I do know that both slots are currently taken though with 512 x2 and it would be worth it for me to just replace both sticks so I can get to 2GB. I guess I'm just wondering if there really is a limitation because of compatibility.