Running Windows 7 on a server as a desktop PC

[Solan Goose]

I have been given a HP Proliant server and would like to use it as a temporary PC workstation for my daughter as her laptop has died and I cannot afford to buy another laptop for a while, or even a cheap desktop PC for that matter. The server works perfectly and I have installed Windows 7 64 bit on it and it runs very well. It's a little power hungry at 750w, but it runs quiet enough. The only obvious problem with it being a server is the on board basic graphics. I read somewhere that you can modify one of the PCIe slots so that it can take a newer graphics card and at least give the aero desktop and smooth video playback. I don't expect gaming performance and this is not required, just basic browsing, Office, Photoshop and video playback. If I can pick up a cheap video card on Ebay and do the required mods, then all is good. Here are the specs of the server:

HP Proliant ML350 G5
CPU - 2 x 2.5ghz XEON quad core
13gb RAM
8 x 143gb 10k SAS drives (RAID 0)
HP Smart Array P800

 

[DocBrown]

Welcome Solan Goose

Can you tak a pic of the inside of the motherboard slots ? So we can see what slots are available for a certain type of video card.

 

[Solan Goose]

I cannot take a pic now, but the PCIe specs are as follows:

One 64-bit/133-MHz PCI-X; two 64-bit/100-MHz PCI-X; three x8 PCI Express (x4 speed)

I hear that you can modify the x8 slot to accommodate a x16 card, although it will run at half speed. This is ok, just need to know what to do.

 

[Jobboys]

How did you put Windows 7 on it I tried and nothing happend