I've been using Subversion at work for some time and found it an awesome version control tool, so I decided to use it at home for my personal projects. Being a Microsoft oriented developer, I did not want to install Linux on my home PC. I tested some different hardware and software configurations to build a Linux based Subversion machine. I ended up with a small form factor (Mini-ITX) machine which only consumes 24 watts of power when turned on but is pretty powerful. Here is the configuration:

CPU: Intel Atom 1.6 GHz (Hyper-threaded)

RAM: 512 MB DDR2-667 MHz

Disk: 160 GB 2.5 inch SATA Hard Drive

CD Drive: Teac slim 24X CD-ROM drive

OS: Ubuntu Server 8.04

This has worked out really well for me and I'm willing to build similar boxes for anyone else who is interested.