Will this hardware handle Monster well?

[AlanEsh]

My kids and their friends often connect to minecraft servers (FTB, Tekkit, and vanilla as the mood strikes them) on my home network, and I want a dedicated machine for this purpose rather than running it on a PC that is also running an FTB client.

I want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want the server to struggle with heavy modpacks like Monster. Do you guys think this hardware can do the job? (I will upgrade the RAM to 8GB at least):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8698954&CatId=5138

Thanks for your opinions!

 

[Staxed]

I could see the CPU being a limiting factor in that build. Depending on how many players are on (if it's just a few friends it might be ok though). While 3ghz is decent...monster can use a lot of cpu power if things start getting busy, tons of machines, etc.

It would also be very worth it to upgrade to a smaller sized SSD (they aren't really that expensive these days...even a smaller 50-60gb one would be fine for a single server).

 

[AlanEsh]

The server would host 3-4 players at a time, and huge tech/machine/automation builds would not be that common.

Not going to add an SSD; this won't fly past the wife if I don't keep the price so low that she just doesn't notice it

 

[Staxed]

Not going to add an SSD; this won't fly past the wife if I don't keep the price so low that she just doesn't notice it

whatcha think that limit is before she notices? You can get some 32-64GB SSDs for ~$50.

 

[AlanEsh]

I can sneak $250 or so by her, and I'd want more RAM so that pretty much covers it.

I don't see an SSD as being very helpful anyway. I don't notice much drive access going on with the servers as is, and with 8GB ram used solely for the OS and Minecraft, it shouldn't need to be moving data to/from the HDD often.

 

[Staxed]

Every time something changes in minecraft it read/writes to the drive...SSDs are a HUGE improvement in servers...though, with only 3-4 people it's probably safe to not worry about it as a HDD should be able to handle it .

 

[Wagon153]

Installing a Linux OS and using that to run the server can improve server performance as well. Most linux distributions aren't as CPU and memory hungry as Windows. To top that off, many Linux distributions are free! I suggest running off of Ubuntu or Lubuntu. Both have GUIs and are pretty light on the computer.

 

[Connor Gavitt]

Every time something changes in minecraft it read/writes to the drive...SSDs are a HUGE improvement in servers...though, with only 3-4 people it's probably safe to not worry about it as a HDD should be able to handle it .

No low end or mid grade SSD is going to make a difference that is noticeable to the player if running only a single minecraft server. At those prices that's what you would get, best option for you is dual HDD in raid 0/1 or even better 4 250GB HDD in raid 10 with a raid controller.

Installing a Linux OS and using that to run the server can improve server performance as well. Most linux distributions aren't as CPU and memory hungry as Windows. To top that off, many Linux distributions are free! I suggest running off of Ubuntu or Lubuntu. Both have GUIs and are pretty light on the computer.

I completly agree, I would never use win7 for a server. It will use a lot more ram and resources then any Linux distro, Debian and centos are your best bets in this area.

I could see the CPU being a limiting factor in that build. Depending on how many players are on (if it's just a few friends it might be ok though). While 3ghz is decent...monster can use a lot of cpu power if things start getting busy, tons of machines, etc.

It would also be very worth it to upgrade to a smaller sized SSD (they aren't really that expensive these days...even a smaller 50-60gb one would be fine for a single server).

id say with this low of a CPU power you will only be able to handle 5-10 ish people before lag comes. Monster is a HUGE pack that is very demanding.

My kids and their friends often connect to minecraft servers (FTB, Tekkit, and vanilla as the mood strikes them) on my home network, and I want a dedicated machine for this purpose rather than running it on a PC that is also running an FTB client.

I want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want the server to struggle with heavy modpacks like Monster. Do you guys think this hardware can do the job? (I will upgrade the RAM to 8GB at least):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8698954&CatId=5138

Thanks for your opinions!

8GB of ram will do just fine.

 

[oldmanmike]

Hardware seems fine given the size of the server. I would strongly recommend you opt for Linux over Windows 7 Professional, but I can also see that you're already going out of your way for your kids. OP, how familiar are you with Linux? Some people use it on a daily basis while others don't even know it exists. It's definitely worth the initial learning curve (which varies from distro to distro) and if your kids get interested in the details of the server's backend (which they probably will eventually), getting experience with Linux as a server environment is a very valuable skill to have. It's like knowing how to use a stick-shift, only a lot better.

 

[AlanEsh]

Hardware seems fine given the size of the server. I would strongly recommend you opt for Linux over Windows 7 Professional, but I can also see that you're already going out of your way for your kids. OP, how familiar are you with Linux? Some people use it on a daily basis while others don't even know it exists. It's definitely worth the initial learning curve (which varies from distro to distro) and if your kids get interested in the details of the server's backend (which they probably will eventually), getting experience with Linux as a server environment is a very valuable skill to have. It's like knowing how to use a stick-shift, only a lot better.

Good points.
I am marginally familiar with Linux -- I have been away from the terminal for quite a while (Used to be a mac os x server admin and so did a lot of work from the terminal) but it has been years. I'm fairly certain I'll give Linux a go.

 

[Connor Gavitt]

Debian wheezy and centos are great for minecraft. They are some of the most lightweight OS you can get.

But that CPU is a great limiting factor, you are going to max out at 15 people online and Intense lag at 10 people IMHO.

 

[DZCreeper]

Honestly for less than 5 people it will probably work just fine. The words Athlon II X2 still frighten me to this day though, the performance is complete shit. That one you linked is out of stock though.

Personally I would suggest spending $300 on a brand new machine with the lowest tier AMD processor and motherboard, a 500GB hard drive, 8 gigs of memory, and a cheap case/psu combo.

 

[Redruzerkruzer]

Server will run ~20 people just fine. The HDD will limit you a bit, but if you take the time to pre-generate the world, you should be totally fine. The players will get extreme tps drops when exploring if you do not do this. You can pre-generate the world using MCPC (Which is a bukkit-forge.jar) then add the plugin http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/worldborder/ set a border, then fill it. This way the disks should be able to keep up just fine (I would suggest a 10k radius for the border). CPU will not cause you issues if you use linux. I strongly suggest CentOS 6, as this is the one i use for my dedicated servers, and it works just fine.

 

[AlanEsh]

Yeah this server would be hosting 5 people at the most.

 

[Redruzerkruzer]

With just 5 people, you will have no issues at all if you can pre-generate the world. Even though an SSD would be better, that HDD will do just fine.

 

[DZCreeper]

Server will run ~20 people just fine. The HDD will limit you a bit, but if you take the time to pre-generate the world, you should be totally fine. The players will get extreme tps drops when exploring if you do not do this. You can pre-generate the world using MCPC (Which is a bukkit-forge.jar) then add the plugin http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/worldborder/ set a border, then fill it. This way the disks should be able to keep up just fine (I would suggest a 10k radius for the border). CPU will not cause you issues if you use linux. I strongly suggest CentOS 6, as this is the one i use for my dedicated servers, and it works just fine.

What the fuck are you smoking, sounds like some good stuff. Have you actually used an Athlon II X2 processor ever? The performance is terrible, they were designed for bargain bin <$300 machines even when they first came out.

 

[Redruzerkruzer]

My opinion from personal experience.

 

[Wagon153]

What the fuck are you smoking, sounds like some good stuff. Have you actually used an Athlon II X2 processor ever? The performance is terrible, they were designed for bargain bin <$300 machines even when they first came out.

Probably why he suggested a super light linux distribution?

 

[DZCreeper]

My opinion from personal experience.

Yeah same, I had that processor in my HTPC. That processor can not handle 20 players on the Monster pack like you claim it can.

 

[Redruzerkruzer]

Yes it can. However that is based on a new map and not a month old map. It also depends on many factors. But it can