First you have to find a RAM tree, then dry out the branches and whittle them into RAM sticks. That’s how I got my RAM.

Literally free?

RAM can be bougt used on ebay. I recommend buying SATA drives instead of SAS drives if the system supports them. They are a lot cheaper.

I have loads of 8GB modules from DL380 machines if you are UK based?

I would look for things on ebay. Google the model and find the type of RAM it needs. Same with disks. Disk drives are pretty universal, as long as you have the trays needed for that server. You either need 2.5 or 3.5 inch SAS drives. I can’t tell from the photo. If you don’t have the drive trays, make sure you get trays for your drives from ebay too. SATA drives will also work, but you’ll have better luck with SAS drives since they’re enterprise spec and tend to be more reliable and last longer. With RAM, the only thing that’s really different from desktop RAM is that you want to make sure you get ECC(error checking) for a server.

I may have some. I’d have to check.

What is that FlexLOM card? It looks like a 530FLR dual-SFP+ module, which is a bit of an upgrade from the standard, plus maybe a 331T in a PCIe slot?

Is it worth the electricity costs?

Do it eBay my friend.

If you’re in Canada, look for ANK servers, on Ebay. Easy to deal with, and lots of parts for this sort of server.

From this angle, that looks like a DL380 G5. It’s not worth buying parts for. But if you must … EBAY, of course.

cloudninjas.com has pretty decent deals on ram/ misc specifically for servers and will tell you if it fits yours or not. I got refurbed hdd’s on Amazon because I’m cheap, but at least they’re enterprise level.

eBay for RAM, should be pretty cheap for used stuff. Also, drive caddies eBay or Amazon, there are companies that make clones that work just as well as the originals. HP wants you to buy their drives, which were really just rebadged drives at 5-6 times the price. I’m assuming this is a SAS machine, if you want new drives you can use SATA drives in a SAS controller (can’t go the other way) and it will work just fine for a home server. If you are fine with used, SAS drives are on eBay for pretty cheap.

It’s fun to roll the Aliexpress dice for homelabs. Worked out great for so far.

I’d be hesitant to do that with drives and I’d attempt to use consumer drives.

Get the fan mod for the BIOS, your ears will thank you