I was able to tweak some BIOS settings today that I didnt know where there and got it down to 157w with 73% CPU usage. I am figuring an extra $82 per year over the 40w draw you suggested (although I dont have the i5 hardware to test and get an actual number). Since I am using it primarily for BI right now I have to totally agree with you that its costing extra money for electric. There are a few reasons someone might go for a r710 over a pain i5 desktop;
-give a student some experience with an actual fully loaded server
-4 nic cards
-2 power supplies
-6 3.5" drive bays or 8 2.5" drive bays that are extremely easy to access over a desktop
-H700 RAID card
-Overall visual appearance over a pain desktop
Personally I think I am going to keep using it for now and if some cheap newer hardware comes up in the future use that primarily and keep the server as a backup.
Doesnt matter. 157w is INSANE!!!!
Your math is off. In PA the average electric rate is .1275 per kwh, which translates into 134 a year extra for over a 40w system.
I do have the i5's to test with actual hardware and the results are posted in numerous threads.
1) a student? really? There is no difference between a "server" and a desktop with with respect to load and more importantly, what experience is gained by loading a "server".
2) you can literally run two systems at the same time and still use half the power and have true redundancy. I can recall 1 power supply failure over the last 10 years over the 100 machines I service. There is a bigger chance something else will go wrong.
3) you dont need 6 drive bays. And if you did, you can still buy or build a machine that has those functions an not cost you 134 bux a year EXRTA to run.
4) visual appearance? is this the centerpiece of your home?
Sometimes you just need to admit that you got duped and cut your losses. That thing is a space heater. Just wait for the summer to come along. Added costs of cooling the room.