Server Hardware

[MIG]

Hello
I am thinking of building a server very soon to host game servers as a small business mostly going to host source games, now I have about $2500 to build the server here are some of the specs I was looking at mind you prices are in AUD
Please feel free to suggest or recommend anything else.

AMD RIG

TST ESR-104 SAS / SATA 1U Rack Mount Chassis with 560W Power Surply $600
AMD Opteron 6128, 2.00GHz, Eight Core X2 $834
ASUS KGPE-D16, 2x Socket G34 $600
Kingston ValueRAM - Memory - 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) ECC $344
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB X2 RAID 1 $176

TOTAL $2554

INTEL RIG

TST ESR-104 SAS / SATA 1U Rack Mount Chassis with 560W Power Surply $600
Kingston ValueRAM - Memory - 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) ECC $344
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB X2 RAID 1 $176
Intel Xeon E5620, 2.40GHz, Quad Core X2 $1072
ASUS Z8NA-D6 Motherboard $450


TOTAL $2642

Prices are approximate if I shop round I will get them much cheaper.

[loopyman]

If you're going to do game servers do at least 2.5+ GHz per core.

Also try to keep a gig of RAM handy per core... You never know when somebody is gonna load a script or a map that eats up 1+ gigs of your RAM.

[Mooga]

Go with the intel.

[BehaartesEtwas]

and make sure you got some recent generation CPU. don't look on the GHz only. the E5620 will probably good (it's the most recent generation AFAIK), unless you want to run servers with very high slot counts. in that case you need more power per core (maybe with less cores). and if you want it cheaper, try desktop cpus. usually they are not only cheaper but also "optimized" for less latency (ECC RAM and all that stuff don't make things faster...).

[MIG]

(08-02-2010, 06:02 PM)BehaartesEtwas Wrote:  and make sure you got some recent generation CPU. don't look on the GHz only. the E5620 will probably good (it's the most recent generation AFAIK), unless you want to run servers with very high slot counts. in that case you need more power per core (maybe with less cores). and if you want it cheaper, try desktop cpus. usually they are not only cheaper but also "optimized" for less latency (ECC RAM and all that stuff don't make things faster...).

The ECC ram is for reliability I don’t want the server going down due to a memory error, even if the odds of that happening are slim, something like once every 6 months. The Xeon CPUs are there because you can’t link 2 desktop CPUs together like you can with server ones and nothing else comes close to the cache size or core count in that price range nor the fact you can’t put desktop CPUs in a 1RU case because the wattage is too high to cool.

[BehaartesEtwas]

Ok, I didn't read at first that you want to do it as business... Anyway don't take the amd system. And if you want to save remote hands you might want to consider some remote management system like iLO by HP ;-) that can save a lot of trouble... (if you cannot easily reach the server by yourself)

[blitztm]

I recommend as much available RAM as possible. 1GB per core is a good start, but if you plan on running multiple game servers per server, it won't fly. Best thing I can think of (and what I use) is determine how much RAM is used on the client machines that run the game. So, for example, if you run TF2 and it takes up 1.5GB, aim for +2GB of RAM.

If you are going to use a Xeon processor, PLEASE READ THE INTEL DATASHEET ON THE PROCESSOR BEFORE BUYING RAM! Some Xeon processors only take specific types of DIMMs. For example, a Xeon 5500 series can take any RAM type, but you have to match all the RAM. So if you get an ECC Reg 2GB (2Rx8) you should at least match the ECC Reg.

Good luck on your build, and let us know what you choose!

[loopyman]

Quote:TF2 and it takes up 1.5GB

Uhh what?


Note that some of these are just idle, but I have not seen a game server use more than a gig of RAM unless its got a serious leak.

[BehaartesEtwas]

right. servers don't take more than 200-300 MB even with plugins... and if you add more ram you do not have any positive effect at all.

[blitztm]

What I was presenting was a guideline. Try not to take things out of context like that. I know TF2 doesn't take up 1.5GB, it was a way to allocate RAM for the build. And it is true you won't see a positive effect, but you will be able to run more servers.

[loopyman]

(08-05-2010, 02:25 AM)blitztm Wrote:  What I was presenting was a guideline. Try not to take things out of context like that. I know TF2 doesn't take up 1.5GB, it was a way to allocate RAM for the build. And it is true you won't see a positive effect, but you will be able to run more servers.

Overkill doesn't mean better...

[blitztm]

How is giving yourself just some extra RAM overkill? It's being prepared and planning for future additions.

I'm not saying get 24GB of RAM, I'm saying give yourself room to breathe.

[loopyman]

He is most likely only going to host 1 or 2 game servers per core judging by his actions and descriptions about quality. So at most he would need a gig per core. IF hes isn't hosting garrysmod.

[MIG]

(08-05-2010, 08:03 AM)loopyman Wrote:  He is most likely only going to host 1 or 2 game servers per core judging by his actions and descriptions about quality. So at most he would need a gig per core. IF hes isn't hosting garrysmod.

Only going to host one private Garrysmod server the rest just will be mostly css and tf2.
I am also now looking at the ASUS RS500 server Barebone with the iKVM “same as iLO by HP” for pretty much the same price as the mobo, case, psu and heatsinks any one used a Asus server before?
If I can get good shipping from the US I will get 12 GB of ram as well.

[loopyman]

I have ordered a bunch of the Asus RS100-E6 bare bone servers and have been very happy with them. ( Used the included heatsink ) Mine came with 80Plus certified PSU's that can handle a single X34xx series processor just fine.