High-powered 1U servers make the grade

Both the Gateway and MPC servers appear to use an Intel Server Chassis motherboard: The systems are so similar that with the logos on the drive carriers covered, there's no way to tell them apart. The same chassis and motherboard support both SCSI (in the Gateway) and SATA (in the MPC) drives.

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The Gateway's two power cord receptacles are on the back of the box, but the second power supply is actually removed from the front if there's a problem. The remote access controller for out-of-band management is an extra $549.

Overall, the 9415 is a good value. It is easy to order in various configurations through the Gateway Web site and offers excellent performance.

HP ProLiant DL360 G4p

The HP ProLiant DL360 G4p comes in several flavors, with the biggest difference being the type of drives supported: There are models that support two Ultra320 SCSI drives, two SATA drives, or four SAS (serial attached SCSI) drives.

The DL360 supports two 3.8GHz Xeon processors; two 15,000RPM 36GB or 72GB Ultra320 SCSI drives; two 80GB, 160GB, or 250GB SATA drives; or as many as four 2.5-inch SAS 36GB or 72GB drives.

HP features a wide variety of enterprise-level components, more than Gateway and Supermicro; MPC, however, provides a comparable contingent of components. HP's own component list includes FC (Fibre Channel) HBAs, clustering software, and its iLO Remote Management module, which enables remote power on/off and out-of-band management and is included with the DL360 G4p.

HP also offers great serviceability, a reputation for reliability, and extra features such as online spares for redundant RAM configuration. On the downside, its prices are not always the greatest -- a steep $379 for a 250GB SATA drive, for instance.

Enterprise administrators are very comfortable with HP for good reason, but if you're budget-limited, systems such as the Supermicro server will give you more for your money.

MPC NetFrame 1720

The MPC NetFrame 1720 is very similar to the Gateway 9415, using the same Intel chassis and motherboard, although it has three SATA drive bays rather than SCSI. Given this, it is difficult to understand why the price as tested is $627 more for a system with just two 250GB SATA drives in RAID 1. (The Gateway has three 73GB Ultra320 SCSI drives and a RAID controller using RAID 5.)

The 1720's performance was middle of the road, and because the integrated controller on the motherboard supports only RAID 0 and 1, adding a third drive would require a RAID controller, increasing the price substantially. Still, this would have boosted final capacity to 500GB, versus the Gateway's 146GB.

As with the Gateway offering, the MPC system provides one low-profile PCI-X 66-bit/100MHz slot and one PCI-X riser card (one 66-bit/100MHz slot) or PCI-Express riser card (one 8x PCI Express slot). The two power cord receptacles are on the back, but as with the Gateway system, the 1720's second power supply is actually removed from the front if there's a problem.