SQL server ideal spec

what's most important, proc, ram or drives?

[wingslevel]

Its time for a new sql server box and i thought I'd solicit some advice. I always look to ebay for used servers and have had good luck so far...

When it comes time to make the necessary compromises (ok, my budget is limited), which should be my priority - processor (ie single or dual, xeon or dual core etc.), ram, or hard drives (raid x3 and then 10k or 15k)?

[LifeinAsia]

Your best bet is to look at your current setup. Look at your logs and use your troubleshooting tools. Where's your biggest bottleneck?

Is your CPU constantly running over 50% utilization? If so, focus on upgrading your processing capability (or going to multiple processors) Is your memory always close to topping out, resulting in a lot of swapping to the swap file on your hard drive? If so, focus on memory. Are your hard drives causing your bottlenecks? If so, focus on upgrading them.

[makeupalley]

I 2nd LifeinAsia's advise that this depends on your current environment and the load you're seeing.

I just went through an upgrade which consisted of moving from a
Compaq DL580 G1 4x700Mhz 16GB RAM with 20 scsi drives (some internal and some external) and SQL 2000 Enterprise to:

Dell PE 2950 Dual Xeon 5160 16GB RAM and 6x73 15k SAS drives.
We also upgraded to SQL 2005 Standard edition and windows 2003 64bit at the same time.

The old machine was running at about 40% CPU utilization and was very slow on inserts (disk writes and index updates).

The New machine (bought refurbished from dell with 3 year on site warranty and windows license for less than $6k delivered) is running at 5% (max) CPU and is so much faster its not even funny.

Hope this helps somehow.

me

[aspdaddy]

For a SQL Box I'd go for a 4U, if you are looking secondhand then something like an ML370 G3 is a great database server. Being able to put 5 or 7 cheap drives on two volumes will give you a lot of performance gains.