PowerEdge SC1435

The SC1435 is aimed primarily at high-performance computing and web-serving duties. It employs the same 1U chassis as its Xeon stablemate, the PowerEdge 1950 (see issue 144, p138). Build quality is good, with it exhibiting little flexing when not mounted in a rack. However, storage options are limited, as it doesn't have the four 2.5in SAS or dual SAS/SATA hot-swap drive bays of the 1950. Instead, you get a pair of fixed 3.5in drives inside the chassis, and Dell offers SAS and SATA interfaces.