Game Server

[Star316]

Hi, I would like to build a game server for my friends to play on (10-20 players) mainly for ArmA 3, DayZ and all those CPU intensive games. What I would really like to know is the best specifications for this kind of server build and preferable in a Mini-ITX form factor for example this case: http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Box-M350-Universal-Mini-ITX-Computer/dp/B005TX3LA4

 

Thank You!   

 

[Tedster]

Just now, Star316 said:

Hi, I would like to build a game server for my friends to play on (10-20 players) mainly for ArmA 3, DayZ and all those CPU intensive games. What I would really like to know is the best specifications for this kind of server build and preferable in a Mini-ITX form factor for example this case: http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Box-M350-Universal-Mini-ITX-Computer/dp/B005TX3LA4

 

Thank You!   

 

It really depends on the specific game. I don't know how intensive those are to run servers for, but I'd hazard a guess than an i3 might be able to cut it.

And for that case, one concern is getting power to the CPU because there's no real space for an internal power supply.

[Star316]

1 minute ago, Tedster said:

It really depends on the specific game. I don't know how intensive those are to run servers for, but I'd hazard a guess than an i3 might be able to cut it.

And for that case, one concern is getting power to the CPU because there's no real space for an internal power supply.

The case uses a 90w Pico psu so I would assume it would be enough for what I am looking for? 

[Tedster]

1 minute ago, Star316 said:

The case uses a 90w Pico psu so I would assume it would be enough for what I am looking for? 

I'd want a higher wattage PSU than that. A PicoPSU might cut it, but you should consider a higher wattage version unless you're considering going AM1.

[Star316]

1 minute ago, Tedster said:

I'd want a higher wattage PSU than that. A PicoPSU might cut it, but you should consider a higher wattage version unless you're considering going AM1.

How much wattage PSU would you recommend? 

[Taswell]

6 minutes ago, Star316 said:

The case uses a 90w Pico psu so I would assume it would be enough for what I am looking for? 

well an i5 is an 80 watt processor and an i3 is 40-50 so gonna be stressing it and you will have no upgrade path for it. 

Get least a 300W in case you want to throw more drives in or somthing   (tiny server)

 

I usually just put 450W in everything unless i know its going to need more

[Lurick]

Are you going to run all the servers at the same time or just start them up as you want to play them? One thing to note is that you'll want an SSD as DayZ seems to throw around a lot of data locally.

[mikat]

 

3 minutes ago, Tedster said:

I'd want a higher wattage PSU than that. A PicoPSU might cut it, but you should consider a higher wattage version unless you're considering going AM1.

yup, a 160 watt version should work just fine, like this build:

 

[Tedster]

1 minute ago, mikat said:

 

yup, a 160 watt version should work just fine, like this build:

 

I watched that video recently, as it happens. Didn't remember it used a PicoPSU though.

[Lurick]

7 minutes ago, Tedster said:

It really depends on the specific game. I don't know how intensive those are to run servers for, but I'd hazard a guess than an i3 might be able to cut it.

And for that case, one concern is getting power to the CPU because there's no real space for an internal power supply.

According to the official DayZ server information here:

https://forums.dayz.com/topic/7876-server-hosting-quick-faq/

An i3 is probably far too weak.

[Tedster]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

According to the official DayZ server information here:

https://forums.dayz.com/topic/7876-server-hosting-quick-faq/

An i3 is probably far too weak.

Oh wow. Yeah.

[mikat]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

According to the official DayZ server information here:

https://forums.dayz.com/topic/7876-server-hosting-quick-faq/

An i3 is probably far too weak.

i5-6500 it is then

[Tedster]

1 minute ago, mikat said:

i5-6500 it is then

Okay then! Next challenge is dissipating the heat well from the case, and storage stuffs.

[Star316]

I just read that the M350 case is able to install the 160w pico psu, if that is the case I would probably go for it then but I am thinking about whether to get a Xeon or an i5. Do dedicated gaming servers need ECC ram?

 

[Tedster]

1 minute ago, Star316 said:

I just read that the M350 case is able to install the 160w pico psu, if that is the case I would probably go for it then but I am thinking about whether to get a Xeon or an i5. Do dedicated gaming servers need ECC ram?

 

They don't *need* it, but it's often nice to have ECC.

I'm not sure you'd be able to find a motherboard that's itx that supports Xeons and ECC on the cheap. If I were you, I'd just go for the i5 and normal (but tested good) RAM.

[Star316]

Should I go for a skylake build for the DDR4 RAM or just a normal Haswell build with DDR3? 

[Julian5]

2 minutes ago, Star316 said:

Should I go for a skylake build for the DDR4 RAM or just a normal Haswell build with DDR3? 

depends on budget I woukd go haswell on the cheap

[Tedster]

3 minutes ago, Star316 said:

Should I go for a skylake build for the DDR4 RAM or just a normal Haswell build with DDR3? 

Depends on how much RAM you want to put into the thing. If you want more than 16GB, you'll probably need to go with Skylake.

[Star316]

Well I put together a rough spec list of my server for now, but I am unsure of what OS to use. 

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  
Motherboard: Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
Case: Mini-Box M350 HTPC Case  
Total: $479.76

 

[Tedster]

Just now, Star316 said:

Well I put together a rough spec list of my server for now, but I am unsure of what OS to use. 

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  
Motherboard: Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
Case: Mini-Box M350 HTPC Case  
Total: $479.76

 

I think I'd go for a greater capacity SSD than that - and maybe an HDD to back up to every now and then?

Also, I think you'll want to think about getting more fans for the case.

[Lurick]

1 minute ago, Star316 said:

Well I put together a rough spec list of my server for now, but I am unsure of what OS to use. 

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  
Motherboard: Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
Case: Mini-Box M350 HTPC Case  
Total: $479.76

 

While it's possible to run things like Arma 3 in linux, it's more hassle than it's worth so I would go with Windows.

[Star316]

Here is the updated build: 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  
Motherboard: Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory   
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
Case: Mini-Box M350 HTPC Case  

OS: Windows 10 Pro 
Total: $655.65
 

[manikyath]

i seem to be a bit late to the party (thank HORRIBLE custommer support for that...) but i'll drop in a piece of advice:

 

dont get the smallest case you can find in order to hide it away somewhere.

while a larger case will indeed take up more space, they're more quiet (because larger fans are a possibility) have more options (like an actual decent power supply) and wont be prone to overheat eventually like those tiny fanless systems are doomed to at some point.

[minutellim]

Did you happen to read the full requirements in that forum post about hosting a DayZ server? If everything in that thread is true, there's almost no way you're running one from home, if I'm not confused about something.

[mikat]

1 hour ago, Star316 said:

Here is the updated build: 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  
Motherboard: Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory   
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
Case: Mini-Box M350 HTPC Case  

OS: Windows 10 Pro 
Total: $655.65
 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V5 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X150M-PRO ECC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($133.30 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($122.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: ABS R206-ITX MicroATX Slim Case  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Silverstone 300W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($84.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $707.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-11 10:51 EDT-0400

this would be better imo