02-25-2010, 06:28 AM
i'm planning to run 8-10 mostly 32 slot, mostly srcds/TF2 servers. the box will be in colo. i'm on a $1,500 budget so i'm only interested in spending where it's absolutely necessary.
the build i'm considering @ $1,300:
1U case w/ 520W PSU
dual socket LGA 1366 mobo
2 x Intel E5504 quad core 2.0GHz Gainestown/Nehalem (no HT) CPU
3 x 2GB DDR3 triple channel RAM
2 x 7200RPM 16MB cache RAID 0 hard drives
Windows Server 2003 64-bit
my concerns:
1) is a single core of the E5504 2.0GHz CPU powerful enough to run a 32 slot TF2 server (with some SM plugins) without lag?
2) does hyper-threading positively or negatively affect the performance of srcds? i ask because if there are benefits i'll just go for the E5520 2.26GHz w/ HT and Turbo-Boost. but i'm hesitant to going that route because in my past experience HT did more harm than good to srcds.
3) is 6GB triple channel RAM enough? for $100 more i can have a total of 9GB triple channel RAM. but i'm trying to save money!
4) 2 x 7200RPM 16MB cache RAID 0 or 1 x VelociRaptor 10000RPM 16MB cache or 1 x SSD?
5) how much bandwidth am i looking at for 8 full 32 slot servers? i'm guessing ~32Mbps total throughput because i heard that a full 32 slot server requires about 4Mbps. is that accurate?
6) are there issues with srcds on W2K3 64-bit?
the build i'm considering @ $1,300:
1U case w/ 520W PSU
dual socket LGA 1366 mobo
2 x Intel E5504 quad core 2.0GHz Gainestown/Nehalem (no HT) CPU
3 x 2GB DDR3 triple channel RAM
2 x 7200RPM 16MB cache RAID 0 hard drives
Windows Server 2003 64-bit
my concerns:
1) is a single core of the E5504 2.0GHz CPU powerful enough to run a 32 slot TF2 server (with some SM plugins) without lag?
2) does hyper-threading positively or negatively affect the performance of srcds? i ask because if there are benefits i'll just go for the E5520 2.26GHz w/ HT and Turbo-Boost. but i'm hesitant to going that route because in my past experience HT did more harm than good to srcds.
3) is 6GB triple channel RAM enough? for $100 more i can have a total of 9GB triple channel RAM. but i'm trying to save money!
4) 2 x 7200RPM 16MB cache RAID 0 or 1 x VelociRaptor 10000RPM 16MB cache or 1 x SSD?
5) how much bandwidth am i looking at for 8 full 32 slot servers? i'm guessing ~32Mbps total throughput because i heard that a full 32 slot server requires about 4Mbps. is that accurate?
6) are there issues with srcds on W2K3 64-bit?