Display for server

[raven39876]

Hey, I'm wondering if I need to have a display for a server I want to make. The hopefully soon to be server is an old windows 10 pc i have with a graphics card and no integrated graphics in the cpu and I'm wondering if I can just install a remote viewing software on the pc and then take out the graphics card and use no display with it. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Windows doesn't need a display to function, but your system might need a gpu to post. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Usually I throw in something like a Radeon HD 5450 just so I have something should I need to access the machine locally.

 

Some motherboards won't POST without a GPU installed, as mentioned above. Personally, I like the redundancy of having even a really basic GPU installed.

[kirashi]

35 minutes ago, raven39876 said:

Hey, I'm wondering if I need to have a display for a server I want to make. The hopefully soon to be server is an old windows 10 pc i have with a graphics card and no integrated graphics in the cpu and I'm wondering if I can just install a remote viewing software on the pc and then take out the graphics card and use no display with it. 

As @Electronics Wizardy and @Crunchy Dragon have noted above, some systems won't post without a graphics adapter installed. If the CPU has integrated graphics, you're usually okay, otherwise you may need an inexpensive low-end GPU to POST the system.

 

For example, I've got a couple of HP ProDesk / EliteDesk Ultra Small Form Factor PC's being used as Minecraft / Valheim / transcoding "servers" that boot fine without a monitor connected. I access them over Windows Remote Desktop locally or TeamViewer remotely.

 

Same thing applies to certain Operating Systems and/or hardware features - for example, some motherboard + Intel CPU combinations won't allow the use of Intel's Quick Sync video transcoder if nothing is plugged into the integrated motherboard display outputs.

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, kirashi said:

As @Electronics Wizardy and @Crunchy Dragon have noted above, some systems won't post without a graphics adapter installed. If the CPU has integrated graphics, you're usually okay, otherwise you may need an inexpensive low-end GPU to POST the system.

 

For example, I've got a couple of HP ProDesk / EliteDesk Ultra Small Form Factor PC's being used as Minecraft / Valheim / transcoding "servers" that boot fine without a monitor connected. I access them over Windows Remote Desktop locally or TeamViewer remotely.

 

Same thing applies to certain Operating Systems and/or hardware features - for example, some motherboard + Intel CPU combinations won't allow the use of Intel's Quick Sync video transcoder if nothing is plugged into the integrated motherboard display outputs.

Another weird thing I just remembered, my new X299 board won't boot without a keyboard connected.

[kirashi]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Another weird thing I just remembered, my new X299 board won't boot without a keyboard connected.

IDK what's worse in today's day & age of computers:

• Completely refusing to boot without a keyboard connected
  OR
• Asking the user to press the F1 key to boot without a keyboard...

[igormp]

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

but your system might need a gpu to post. 

FWIW, most systems should boot fine without a GPU, it's mostly the weird ones that don't (my B550 mobo had to be updated before I could do so).

[LIGISTX]

5 hours ago, raven39876 said:

Hey, I'm wondering if I need to have a display for a server I want to make. The hopefully soon to be server is an old windows 10 pc i have with a graphics card and no integrated graphics in the cpu and I'm wondering if I can just install a remote viewing software on the pc and then take out the graphics card and use no display with it. 

Besides the true points about potentially needing a GPU to post… servers are typically headless, which means they don’t even have anything to see on a screen. Depending on the operating system used, most “servers” will just be a command line interface, and you access them via VNC or SSH from another PC, or via a webUI via a browser on another PC.

 

If you plan to continue to use windows 10, then you can try windows built in Remote Desktop, but you need windows 10 Pro for that if I remember correctly, otherwise you could try teamviewer, anydesk, or parsec. 

[Needfuldoer]

If you have Windows 10 Pro, you can just connect to it via RDP once it's up and running. If nothing else, VNC is free.

 

But if you plan on running Plex, and you have a Plex Pass, I recommend leaving a basic Nvidia-based GPU in the machine anyway so you can take advantage of hardware transcoding.

[wseaton]

Running headless can also cause issues with Windows default resolution. Server versions in particular can default to the Windows Display adapter and hence limit resolution to 1024x768. RDP sessions should be able to get around this, but VNC wont. A virtual display adapter is then required.

[CerealExperimentsLain]

On 11/8/2022 at 8:29 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Windows doesn't need a display to function, but your system might need a gpu to post. 

It def depends on the board.  My old X79 boards for example refuse to boot without a graphics card.  I found PCIE x1 Radeon HD 5450's to drop in them.  Keeps the x16 slots free for cards that do 'real work'.