Win 7 Install on Dell R310

Despite that Dell told me it wasn't supported , I was able to successfully install Win7 Professional 64bit on a Dell R310 server Xeon 3470 Processor 4GB

I have no need for RAID and will be using it as a windows based applications machine ( video stream analyzer) i.e Video analytic s

i wanted an off the shelf 1U rack mount and did not want to pay the price of a Dell 5400 workstation

Win7 and the 3rd party VCA applications seem to be running fine.

My question to the group is ;... do you think there is anything else to be concerned with using this "Server" class machine in this way . I mean specifically with chipset or BIOS and no Server2003/8 but rather Win7 Pro ?

I am thinking of doing the same thing to save the high purchase cost of Server 2008. Also thinking of using Logmein for remote access instead of RDS.

Only gotcha I could think of is if Dell will provide warranty support for HW problems while I am running it with Win7.

Just what i was thinking regarding warranty using Win7 . i will make an inquiry ..see what they say .

They should still support the hardware, regardless of the OS installed. As for them supporting different OSes, they often will say a client OS is "officially not-supported" which translates to "we don't want to dedicate time and resources to make sure it works or troubleshooting that client os on a server class machine". It doesn't mean Windows 7 won't run on it at all...it just means you are on your own in figuring out any issues, and they won't guarantee that it will run fine. As long as you can find the proper drivers for the hardware, you are fine.

Thanks Deacon , that is the way I was perceiving it as well.

Starraker, does your server have an SSD or a rotational drive (just curious)? I would like to order mine with an SSD, but for some reason Dell's SSD prices are much higher than I've seen anywhere else.