Difference between PowerEdge SC400 and SC420

The SC420 is a lot of server for the price of $224. I along with many others, have proven that it CAN be used as a workstation running win xp. I AM happy with mine. It runs very fast and is generally quiet. The onboard video is not that great, but a $70 PCI video card can fix that. There is no sound, but a $30 sound card can fix that. All I can say is I am completely happy with my purchase. Although, I did pay $270, versus, the $224 price tag a few weeks after I bought mine. Oh well.


In reference to the SC400, Ive heard a lot of good things. Are they still being sold by Dell? Ive never seen them advertised. All I know, from listening to others, is that the SC420 can do everything the SC400 can do, you just have to configure it to make it work.


Hope this helps your decision.

The SC420 is based on a newer chipset you now have PCI Express slots and SATA on the motherboard and the tower is slightly different but nor major change here. Two additional USB port on the front so a total of 6 instead of 4 on the 400SC

But if you wanna buy a new one you don't have much choice as the 400SC is not available anymore.

And anyway, there is only a good evolution so no reason why you would buy a 400SC instead of a SC420.

Do you have a special SC420? Mine has 4 USB ports. 2 on the front and 2 on the back. Plus a 4port card i bought.

Intel Prescott based LG775 Mobo
supports up to 3.6ghz intel processor

ECC DDR2 @ 400mhz (at least)
SATA drives 2 (Although, do they make a expansion card like they do for IDE drives to add more? anyone know?)
IDE drives 2
obviously NO agp
pci x8 NO! x16 (but can be modded for a x16 to run in the x8 slot)
+ 2 more pci express slots
3 pci slots :(

Thanks for the reply.

My major concern is the noise since this box is going to be running 24/7 in my bedroom. I did a research about review on SC420 on the web and only found one review that is

"cheap and noisy fan". So I want verify it by post on this forum.

Does it compatible with Windows 2003 server (any version of windows 2003 server)?

Oops you are right about the USB ports, was certainly wish thinking : )

For the noise part, yes the SC420 is well ventilated and a good bit noisier than the SC400.
The stated emission is 32 DB in idle for the 400SC and 37 for the SC420.

But again 37 DB is not yet too noisy for a computer but if it is in the same room as you sleep... I can't sleep with a watch on the wall that makes tic tac.

Hi Koinkoin,

Does every Dell computer has listed DB number in the description? If it is true, that would be great. So I can check that number on each unit to determine the right one I want.

There is absolutely NO problem with installing Windows Server 2003. This server was made for that OS. Everything installs fine. Sound, though, may be an issue. As the SC420 comes with no sound, adding sound via PCI card could draw some problems. Ive heard it doesnt like Sound Blaster cards. Running XP is the real problem. Several drivers need to be installed in a very unique way in order to work. But sound and video will work in XP.

I have my SC420 in my bedroom. (my server, which IS noisy with an 80 and 92mm fan and 3 hard drive bay cooling fans, is in the basement) The SC420 does not produce a lot of air noise, rather some whirring. I have mine in a wooden desk enclosure in a somewhat small bedroom. I believe that if you could put it on a carpeted floor maybe near a bed with some sheets that can absorb the sound, you should have no problem. Either way, its not so loud that it would be annoying.

Hope this helps. I love talking about this, so if you have any questions about setting up the SC420 or anything else please feel free to post back or email at

.

Yes there is a special document for each system that shows you this information.
I hope the following link works:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/environment/en/prod_datasheets?c=us&l=en&s=corp&~tab=3

But if you are looking for a real quiet system, the best one in this category is the Optiplex GX280.

Hi Koinkoin,

 

I did not find Optiplex GX280 on Dell's website. Is it a server?