Can't see the value of new server hardware. What am I missing?

[MairuFrost]

Besides power consumption are there any benefits to using newer server hardware? Does it only matter for certain applications? Is paying 10 times the cost worth it for the same specs just newer hardware?


I'm renting this server:

 

Spoiler

CPU

2× Intel Xeon E5-2660 - 8c/16t - 2.2 GHz/3 GHz

RAM

        256 GB ECC 1600 MHz

Data disks

 

        2×240 GB SSD SATA

        Soft RAID

I can build this exact server for around 1000 USD. I am running a few websites, a forum, 80 instances of docker, a couple of bots, 3 Minecraft servers, and a Valhiem instance. on average we're using 20% of the system, or that is what is reported back to us. building a newer hardware server gets closer to 10k

 

[Levent]

Only thing that comes to mind is security updates, particularly for microcode and for manufacturer specific stuff (like HPs ILO). 
 

Other than that, newer stuff is significantly more efficient but that alone still wouldn’t warrant an upgrade imo.

[Shimejii]

They are much faster in every way. Not sure what server stuff you are looking at that cost 10x more for dual 8 core type stuff. The HEDT segment  pretty much died off a few years ago, it may be coming back soonish, but for the most part most of those cpus are just expensive. you could get a more modern 32 core cpu or something similar a few years ago from intel, but motherboards are gonna be very expensive.

 

Most of the time its just buy slightly older used hardware and save most of the upfront new cost.

 

If the system you are using isnt having issues stick with it, until it cant do what you ask of it.

[ToboRobot]

Security and support.

 

Newer hardware can enable servers to be consolidated which can result in fewer racks/less power consumption, and that can have big impacts on costs if you don't need to build as many data centres at scale. 

 

 

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Levent said:

Only thing that comes to mind is security updates, particularly for microcode and for manufacturer specific stuff (like HPs ILO). 
 

Other than that, newer stuff is significantly more efficient but that alone still wouldn’t warrant an upgrade imo.

^^^ That, plus they're flat out faster, for specialized use cases some newer stuff comes with various accelerators. Higher memory bandwidth, more PCIe bandwidth, more PCIe lanes, that sort of thing as well. 

 

OP, none of these advantages seem relevant to you other than power draw (if you were to make your own), thus why you aren't seeing the appeal of newer stuff. If you did want to build your own home server, using new consumer hardware would give you all these benefits while being cheaper. As with the server hardware, the main advantage would just be power draw. Running like 200-300W+ 24/7 does add up*, even with cheap power. Whereas running 600W+ for a few hours a day barely scratches the bill. Servers tend to run 24/7, so watching power draw is much more important there. 

 

*IIRC when I last competed in the F@H event here, I was running ~300-400W of constant load 24/7 for a month, my power bill jumped by close to double. Not a huge dollar amount for 1 month, but if I had ran that for a year it'd be a few hundred bucks. For a server where you don't need to be running a bunch of GPUs, going with a more efficient system will let you keep that money for something else or just for future upgrades/replacing hardware if it fails. 

[emosun]

52 minutes ago, MairuFrost said:

on average we're using 20% of the system

then you almost don't even need to rent a server.

if you're only using 20% of a single machine , then you aren't the person these servers are made for. these things are made to be stacked 12 machines high and be at 100% usage for a decade solid. thats why they cost a lot. youre supposed to be using them.

[Needfuldoer]

Density is another important factor. Most servers in datacenters aren't dedicated, they're split up with containers or virtual machines. If a datacenter can fit triple the cores of your server into the same space and power consumption, they can serve three times as many customers at the same power and real estate expenses. Compared to that revenue stream, 10 grand per new server every few years is nothing.

 

(Never mind ongoing maintenance and support contracts...)

[MairuFrost]

4 hours ago, emosun said:

then you almost don't even need to rent a server.

if you're only using 20% of a single machine , then you aren't the person these servers are made for. these things are made to be stacked 12 machines high and be at 100% usage for a decade solid. thats why they cost a lot. youre supposed to be using them.

My inquiries are mainly considering cost and payback time is why I want to know the answers. This is the cheapest way I've been able to play games with friends. It isn't uncommon turn on left 4 the dead 2 instances, or an unturn map, ex. this is just easier and faster.
 

Quote

I forgot who i was quoting here... oh well

I don't have the type of internet at my house, and honestly, I personally don't want to deal with people trying to break into my house connection to get to my servers so I want host somewhere else, thus why I rent. But I've been looking into collocation.

Website hosting with Godaddy is 17.99/m, 
apex hosting 8GB Minecraft servers is $29.99x3, and $24.99/mo for a 5GB Valhiem server. 
= $132.95 and that's before all my bot and other instances are factored in. 

I pay currently $120.00

I can't find anything cheaper dedicated, and cloud computing is a very expensive scam.

Then their colocation and the cheapest in my area for a 2u server is 89.95/m 

If I switch over, the server would be paid off in 2.8 years and I start saving 30.05 every month from then. So if I'm gonna do all that hard work, then it's worth looking into upgrading it. maybe move some of my personal servers off other computers and just have the big one for backup, games instances, or even sup leasing the rest of the server out to pay for itself.

Edit 1: my multi quote didn't work