Cyber Server Monday

[AliceTheVixen]

Alright facts:

There's better places I can post this, but I've burned some bridges.

It's quarter to noon on Cyber Monday on an issues I wanted resolved yesterday.

I will be hosting Monster and Unleashed a servers.



What do I need from the community?

Quite a few things, actually. Some are related to MC and some aren't.



One:

I want a dedicated server. Screw paying $20 a month for someone else to hold my files. I can and will build my own. If I understand correctly, servers benefit most from CPU and RAM, and very little from graphics.

I found this article on a mini-ITX build for ~$500 - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mini-itx-gaming-radeon-hd-7750,3369-10.html

Intel G 2120 || CPU
Sapphire HD 7750 || GPU
MSI B75IA-E33 || MOBO
8 GB DDR3 || RAM
128 GB || SSD
1 TB || HDD
Chieftec FI-0W (250w included PSU) || Case + PSU

My concerns are thus:

Do I even need a graphics card? If the MOBO has integrated graphics, I can toss that (-$115) and toss in an extra 8 GB of RAM (+$80). What about SSD (+speed + stability -accessibility -storage) and an HDD (+accessibility +storage -stability -speed)? I won't even need the 128 GB the SSD offers. I could get by on 80 GB with the OS included. Should I just forgo both in lieu of a hybrid drive?

I will be running Linux on this mess. Never did it before, but I'm always up for a challenge. Don't know if space reqs are the same for Linux and for Windows, but just a little extraneous info.



Two:

My PSU needs to go. I have a three years old Corsair TX650 that due to aging, now can only produce ~600w under load. My currents power reqs are ~614w. I bought an HX850 which is more than enough but my Radeon HD 7950 is a juice monster. It consumes 300w when rated at much less. Say I decide to upgrade to a GTX 970 (165w) or a 980 (185w) that I won't have the same power hungry problems?

 

[yoy1zoz2mom3]

I would look on a dedicated sever/ pc site to find these things out IMO

 

[AliceTheVixen]

I would look on a dedicated sever/ pc site to find these things out IMO

Maybe. I'm just not exactly eager to return to sites I've left, or to create a new account on other sites.

 

[Wagon153]

I'd suggest swapping the G2120 with a G3258. Higher clock, higher single threaded performance, and overclocks like a dream if you choose to do so(and I recommend doing that.) It does have integrated graphics as well.
Also, I advise using an SSD for the world. It does wonders for world loading speed. And go for a bigger case(Micro-ATX at least.) More room for cable management, expansion, and air flow. This is especially important if you decide to overclock, but even if you don't it's a good idea. Also, remember that the power supply is the most important part of a pc build. Do not cheap out on it, or you could lose 500 dollars.

 

[AliceTheVixen]

I'd suggest swapping the G2120 with a G3258. Higher clock, higher single threaded performance, and overclocks like a dream if you choose to do so(and I recommend doing that.) It does have integrated graphics as well.
Also, I advise using an SSD for the world. It does wonders for world loading speed. And go for a bigger case(Micro-ATX at least.) More room for cable management, expansion, and air flow. This is especially important if you decide to overclock, but even if you don't it's a good idea. Also, remember that the power supply is the most important part of a pc build. Do not cheap out on it, or you could lose 500 dollars.

So no HDD, then? You don't think the SSD will suffer from the persistent file access? I don't plan on overclocking. Main reason I want that case is for the price and PSU. It does have some cable management troubles, but seems to fit everything nicely. I don't have a whole lot of space, so I'm willing to sacrifice some comfort for compact.

I'll take a look into that CPU. Maybe I'll upgrade cases when if I change my mind about OCing. I know the PSU is the most important component of a PC, but quite honestly this isn't my main rig. My main rig has that HX850. If I were investing in higher quality parts, I might be more concerned, but I'll save that until I have my server down pat. This is sort of a test rig.

 

[Wagon153]

So no HDD, then? You don't think the SSD will suffer from the persistent file access? I don't plan on overclocking. Main reason I want that case is for the price and PSU. It does have some cable management troubles, but seems to fit everything nicely. I don't have a whole lot of space, so I'm willing to sacrifice some comfort for compact.

I'll take a look into that CPU. Maybe I'll upgrade cases when if I change my mind about OCing. I know the PSU is the most important component of a PC, but quite honestly this isn't my main rig. My main rig has that HX850. If I were investing in higher quality parts, I might be more concerned, but I'll save that until I have my server down pat. This is sort of a test rig.

Many servers host their world on solid states. And having a HDD would be a good idea for backups and any other functions you may want to perform with the server in the future. Also, the G3258 is a better deal even if not overclocking due to being 20-30 dollars cheaper and having a slightly lower TDP.

 

[AliceTheVixen]

Many servers host their world on solid states. And having a HDD would be a good idea for backups and any other functions you may want to perform with the server in the future. Also, the G3258 is a better deal even if not overclocking due to being 20-30 dollars cheaper and having a slightly lower TDP.

I gotcha. I'm not sure why I'm so worried about HDDs. I just realized that through all the junk systems people provide me, I have several terabytes in old drives. I'll just cleans one out and send it in.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

Umm the biggest issue is your connection speed... Packet Loss? Contention Ratio? Up/Down Speeds? Latency? Will bork your idea of a server in your house all your mates can play on fairly quickly

 

[AliceTheVixen]

Umm the biggest issue is your connection speed... Packet Loss? Contention Ratio? Up/Down Speeds? Latency? Will bork your idea of a server in your house all your mates can play on fairly quickly

I have a moderate connection. 5MB/s up, 1.5 MB/s down. I know I'll need a better connection if I want to be serious. I'm just wanting a dedicated platform first. My biggest performance hits have been trying to run a year and a half old server that's crowded to hell on the same rig that's trying to render it all for me to play on. Typically ends in most other people crashing out due to lag.

 

[Wagon153]

Another question. You said Monster and Unleashed servers. Do you mean you want to run both at the same time on it? If so, you'll want a quad core processor, like an i5 or an AMD x4 760k.

 

[AliceTheVixen]

Another question. You said Monster and Unleashed servers. Do you mean you want to run both at the same time on it? If so, you'll want a quad core processor, like an i5 or an AMD x4 760k.

No, I won't be running both at once, just one or the other. I look up the G3258, and as nice as it looks, I won't be able to use it. It uses an 1155 socket, whereas the board uses 1150.

 

[Wagon153]

No, I won't be running both at once, just one or the other. I look up the G3258, and as nice as it looks, I won't be able to use it. It uses an 1155 socket, whereas the board uses 1150.

Well that's disappointing. Well, the current pentium you are going to be using has decently high benchmarks as well.

 

[AliceTheVixen]

Well that's disappointing. Well, the current pentium you are going to be using has decently high benchmarks as well.

Oh well, thanks for your help!

 

[Flipz]

It's probably a little late in the day to be of much help, but if you plan on overclocking (or even if you aren't), I'd strongly recommend a self-contained liquid cooling system. I use the Corsair H100i in my own rig--I have a full ATX case, though, so you'll need something smaller. I can't recommend the Corsair coolers enough, though--they're extremely efficient, easy to install, and INCREDIBLY quiet, the latter of which you'll definitely come to appreciate if you run the system a lot.

 

[AliceTheVixen]

It's probably a little late in the day to be of much help, but if you plan on overclocking (or even if you aren't), I'd strongly recommend a self-contained liquid cooling system. I use the Corsair H100i in my own rig--I have a full ATX case, though, so you'll need something smaller. I can't recommend the Corsair coolers enough, though--they're extremely efficient, easy to install, and INCREDIBLY quiet, the latter of which you'll definitely come to appreciate if you run the system a lot.

I have a full ATX for my main rig. Next time I rebuild I'll have it with a seal gel cooling system. I have to use air cooling for the server though, at least in this case. There isn't any room for anything else.

 

[karl2002]

Hey Alice

On the matter of point two i would go with a GTX 970 a far better deal than currently a 980 as the price matching between the two really dosn't make all that much sense. You wouldn't have any issues running a gtx 970 with a 850watt psu as the cards are far better energy wise and also performance wise. I am only running a I 930 oced to 4ghz,3hdds,16ram and a gtx 970 all on a 750watt psu. As long as its a good Psu such as any of corsairs ones then you will not have any issue.

Is their anything else i can help out with?

Karl

 

[AliceTheVixen]

Hey Alice

On the matter of point two i would go with a GTX 970 a far better deal than currently a 980 as the price matching between the two really dosn't make all that much sense. You wouldn't have any issues running a gtx 970 with a 850watt psu as the cards are far better energy wise and also performance wise. I am only running a I 930 oced to 4ghz,3hdds,16ram and a gtx 970 all on a 750watt psu. As long as its a good Psu such as any of corsairs ones then you will not have any issue.

Is their anything else i can help out with?

Karl

That's awesome to hear, although I am curious on one matter. Would you happen to have any experience with MSI's Ecoboost program? I'm hesitant to use it for fear of it throttling my hardware while managing power.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

If you won't be playing on the server directly a graphics card is a complete waste.

 

[Wagon153]

If you won't be playing on the server directly a graphics card is a complete waste.

The 970/980 is meant for his/her main computer, not the server.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

The 970/980 is meant for his/her main computer, not the server.

Ah, he's still getting a 7750 for the server which is daft, onboard gfx will be plenty just to set up the server