Is a server as good as a normal pc?

[Khp]

I found a rack mount server for sale on cl. I know nothing about rack mount servers, it is a:
Dell Poweredge 1850 Rackmount Server
Two 2.8 GHz Dual Core Xeon Processors (Quad 2.8 Cores)
16GB of ECC Server memory

Is that as good as it sounds or is there a reason a other than size and noise that makes a server a bad idea to use as pc.

[bonsai]

That's a pretty nice machine. Servers are typically better than your average desktop but as you note they aren't small or quiet.

The biggest problem with servers are graphics. PE 1850 has built in graphics (ATI Radeon 7000M VGA only).

Specs page on that server say is has these slots available on a riser card. Not sure if the riser is there by default or optional. If I remember later I will see if I have one of these in my server room, we use Dells at work.

Expansion Bus
Bus type PCI-X, PCI Express
Expansion slots via riser card:
PCI-X one 3.3-V, 64-bit, 100-MHz and one 3.3-V, 64 bit,
133MHz
PCI Express one x4 lane width (when available)

[tealc]

I found a rack mount server for sale on cl. I know nothing about rack mount servers, it is a:
Dell Poweredge 1850 Rackmount Server
Two 2.8 GHz Dual Core Xeon Processors (Quad 2.8 Cores)
16GB of ECC Server memory

Is that as good as it sounds or is there a reason a other than size and noise that makes a server a bad idea to use as pc.

I have an older Dell Poweredge 2650 I got for 5 dollars. It's a little annoying to use as a pc, but you could make work.

First off will be much louder than a normal pc, about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlFXoPykhD4
As bonsai said it has minimum graphics so you will need a graphics card if you want to play ogl runescape or pretty much any other game.

Also make sure it comes with a hard drive/caddy, you likely won't find those at your local computer store.

[kazzero]

both a server and a computer have their own advantages, all depends on what you want to use it for.