Windows Server 2008 or 2003? 32bit or 64bit?

[wondergod]

I'm looking into purchasing a dedicated and have different options for Windows OS(yes it must be Windows for unrelated reasons)

Windows Server 2003 32-bit
Windows Server 2003 64-bit
Windows Server 2008 32-bit
Windows Server 2008 64-bit

I plan on running a few Counter Strike Source servers and possibly a TF2 server on it.

I'd prefer 64 bit 2008 since I'll have 8gb of ram and its the same price as 2003. Are there any drawbacks I should know about?

[Drocona]

They all work fine, go with the one you like best.

There won't be any noticeable difference in the quality of your servers if at all.

[Ryan]

2008, 2003 IMO is unstable

[Mooga]

I have yet to use 2008. However I have had good EXP with 2K3.
For the most part, 32-bit is fine since it will support over 4GB of ram given the correct hardware.

[ComputerHelper]

I love 2008 but make sure u have more then 2GB of ram b/c it runs on the same base code as Vista and is a ram mongoul.

For more information about Server 2008, See: http://forums.srcds.com/viewtopic/10015

[stronius]

I've been using Server 2008 and I'm quite happy with it. As long as you configure and maintain it properly, you should have no issues and get the utmost of quality. BTW I use the 64bit edition.

[Hazz]

Been using 2003 for a bout a year now, seems really stable and nice to run gameservers on. Saying this, you might as well go with 2008 if you are going to have 4GB+ ram.

[helio]

Has anyone tried hosting on windows 7?

[Beaverbeliever]

Windows 7 is still unstable and still a beta, so it wouldn't make much sense to host it off of that.

[helio]

I am not talking about full on hosting in a datacenter but just some hosting with a good connection at your house and isnt that what a beta is for to test and report any bugs you know just for fun

[dualcore1289]

Actually, yes, I host a private server for my weekly lan. Works quite well. Stable too.

[Shadowized]

hey I've got a question about 2008 64bit, is it true that I need HPET enabled for srcds to run 1000fps?

also, when you say that 2008 is a ram hog, care to go into detail, like by default what does it run at normally without SRCDS and whatnot running?

[dualcore1289]

Yes, in order to get 1000FPS in windows you NEED HPET enabled. Also, it's a ram hog because it's coded the same as vista. Huge ram hog, but again, if you have 4gb of ram, you have no worries.

[Shadowized]

yeah I submitted a ticket on the new box I ordered for HPET to get turned on in the bios they said they would so hopefully everything goes nicely (got win2k8 web 64bit at no extra cost)

[stronius]

Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think your 'supposed' to host game servers off Web edition.