Why do you want to use server hardware?
It may be possible that Dell has that machine's MoBo or other hardware somehow set only for server software. Dell does tend to do some proprietary stuff on some of their machines.
I use Dells exclusively both at my day gig and my studio, and the upper end Precision line is not junk.
AFA their basic towers/desktops...I've not had issues going either way with server or client OS installs, but some of the straightforward servers may depend on certain server OS functionality that is not found in XP.
Personally...I would get the best desktop and drop XP on it if you want lots of audio application and soundcard compatibility, just make sure you can even put XP on it, ‘cuz due to licensing issues, computer manufacturers must follow Microsoft's guidelines and many new models are for only Vista or now maybe also Win7….XP is technically done. IOW...you may need to find an older model PC if XP is your choice...but check with Dell.
I purchased an older Dell tower not too long ago, in order to upgrade my current Dell DAW machine which is already about 8 years old! But the tower I got is also about 5 years old.
Reason for that is my soundcards are not compatible with the newest style of MoBo slots...and I ain't about to upgrade 24 channels of A/D/A converters just for a bit more speed.
Also, I use SCSI HDs...and have quite a few of them. Most of the new stuff now is all SATA...so I don't want to drop a lot of $$$ on new drives too.
The "new" tower is still substantially faster than what I've been using for the last 8 years, and I never had any issues with that old Dell.
Oh…I will be putting XP on the “new” tower…though my old one is still running W2K.
I also don’t use my DAW for anything but audio…it’s not even connected to the Internet…strictly a dedicated DAW machine…so, I can get away with stripping things down to a lean audio-only setup.
