Retail WHS : HP vs Acer

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DarkStryke

[H]ard|Gawd
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Being the techy in our family I've been asked about an opinion on a WHS solution for my aunt, but I have to say it's an area I have never really cared about so my knowledge is pretty limited.

They have apprenly been out shopping and have been told that the Acer Easystore is a much better offering then the HP MediaSmart family. Now given that these people are largely computer 'I just want to push a button and it works' people, a home build is out of the question. There is a decent cost difference between the Acer and the HP, on the surface it seems the HP has a better software offering then the Acer. I believe they're being told the Acer is better solely due to price, but are there any real gains to be had by going the HP route over the Acer if money wasn't an object?
 
Both have WHS installed on it.

Though the HP offering has a better CPU installed (celerons beat Atom any day, except for multi-threaded apps, which Gibabit ethernet doesn't need).

EDIT: depends on the HP varient.

All Acers are Atoms,

Most HP are Celerons, though there are a few Atom systems lying around.
 
It depends on what they are looking for.

If they are looking for hardware vs $$$ then the Acer is the best bang for your buck.

If they want what is most ascetically pleasing then go with the HP (although the acer looks quite nice too).

Most of the HP software is largely worthless EXCEPT if they use Macs. The HP unit has special software to work with Time Machine I believe.

If they need the most horsepower (only necessary if they plan on running a bunch of addons) go with the HP.

I personally decided to build my own because you get a lot more for your money. Especially at the $500 price point. You'll get a better processor, a better storage capacity, a good quality motherboard, and video out in case you wanted to use it as a HTPC at the same time.,
 
jeremyshaw said:
Same here, though WHS pushed me over the edge...
Click to expand...

I will say that I'm using WHS from my technet subscription so that's like $100 off the price tag. I'm using it for personal testing purposes so it's perfectly legal.
 
Some nice quick replies, thanks so far guys. They're all PC users, and from what I've been told just want to use it as a central backup / stream all their junk to whatever PC's / Laptops are floating around the house. I doubt it would be used as a HTPC, headless in this case doesn't make any difference.

If it makes any difference it's the Acer Easystore H340 VS HP Mediasmart EX485, with roughly $100 in price difference.
 
Yeah for that kind of usage, the Acer is the better choice. Maybe if there was a HTPC in the picture but even then, still a hard buy IMO.

Hardware wise, they're virtually the same and for file storage and the like, it's a wash.
 
DarkStryke said:
Some nice quick replies, thanks so far guys. They're all PC users, and from what I've been told just want to use it as a central backup / stream all their junk to whatever PC's / Laptops are floating around the house. I doubt it would be used as a HTPC, headless in this case doesn't make any difference.

If it makes any difference it's the Acer Easystore H340 VS HP Mediasmart EX485, with roughly $100 in price difference.
Click to expand...

Be aware, the EX480 series eSATA ports don't support port multipliers, which may affect your decision. The new EX490 series is coming out at the end of this month.
 
DarkStryke said:
Some nice quick replies, thanks so far guys. They're all PC users, and from what I've been told just want to use it as a central backup / stream all their junk to whatever PC's / Laptops are floating around the house. I doubt it would be used as a HTPC, headless in this case doesn't make any difference.

If it makes any difference it's the Acer Easystore H340 VS HP Mediasmart EX485, with roughly $100 in price difference.
Click to expand...

Get the Acer. I think you even get a bigger HD with the Acer than with the EX485 (1TB vs 750GB if I remember correctly).
 
I think the best choice now is the (of course, latest and greatest) EX495. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16859105563
But that is not neccessarily the best option here. I'd still stick with HP though as they have been in the market for 2 refreshes so the hardware is always improving.

HP really has made some good changes to the included software, going over and above the already great WHS OS.
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2009/09/14/review-hp-mediasmart-server-ex490-and-ex495/
http://www.wegotserved.com/2009/09/14/new-hp-mediaserver-ex490-ex495-home-servers-announced/

Do they need substantial storage? What is their budget, under $500?
 
I would say get the Acer.
Its definately the best Bang for your buck right now.

There is absolutely no reason to spend the money on those new HPs. Yea the software is a lot better, but underneath its all the same.
Secondly they are chargin way too much for the EX49x's
 
Had I known then what I know now, I'd have gone with one of these premades for my WHS box.

I've seen some great prices on some of last years models.
 
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