Building My First Server

I've had it with jumping from host to host. I want to be in charge of the problems now. I figure I do everything else on my sites, why not run the server, too.

I have some questions for you experts:

1) What kind of board and processor should I look at. My sites use a lot of php scripting, mysql, etc. I'm trying to keep the total server cost to around $800. I was leaning towards a SUPERMICRO SuperServer SYS-5013C-T 1U Barebone Server. Could I get by with a Celeron chip? I was going to start with 1 or 2 Gb of RAM. Any recommendations appreciated.

2) What OS should I go with? I'm comfortable with programming and figuring things out. I know nothing about Linux. How hard is it to go the Linux route? I don't want to shell out the money for Windows if possible. How much time patching the OS can I expect to spend? Is Linux really more secure? Which distribution should a newbie go with?

Thanks for any input you can give me!

 

 

 

 

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