Game Server/Home Lab :)

[Air98]

I am looking to build a game server and i am looking for some tips and ideas, i have been scouring the internet for a couple weeks for a some what cheap server. I am currently using a small desktop i will list the specs below. My goal is to find a somewhat cheap and small server that has reasonably low power consumption. The plan is to take the old "server" and convert it to steam cache and network file dump. I have a fair amount of experience in the field of computers and have a really deep knowledge base of the networking. Now for the server i am going to be virtualizing the game servers and the player count is never past 10, all of the people connecting to the game server are friends and family. So with that in mind i am running a couple game servers within the host its self TS, Arma 3, Minecraft, Space Engineers, and what ever else i can think to host. I am looking for a server or pc that has at least 8-16 cores with 32gb ram and storage is not a problem to get my hands on and also i would like it to be able to handle a couple game servers being hosted virtually. Thank you for all the help! 

 

Future Server Specs:

CPU: 8-16 Cores

Ram: 32.0 GB
Storage: 2 TB with 250 GB for OS

Network Card: 5 gigabit

"Also would like to find a quiet build if possible"

 

Current Server Specs:

CPU: i5-7600T

Ram: 16.0 GB
Storage: 500 GB most of this is partitioned for different game hosting files

Network Card: 1 gigabit

[Zando_]

21 minutes ago, Air98 said:

Future Server Specs:

CPU: 8-16 Cores

Ram: 32.0 GB
Storage: 2 TB with 250 GB for OS

Network Card: 5 gigabit

"Also would like to find a quiet build if possible"

Ryzen is your savior here. Get a cheap B550 board, grab a used Ryzen chip (Zen 2 or newer, older stuff isn't worth it), put it in ECO mode (35-45W depending on chip, may be higher for the 16c ones) with a decent cooler. It'll be cheap, fast, and whisper quiet. Slap Proxmox on it (free Hypervisor based on Debian so easy to find support/commands for as you learn it) and you should be golden. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

How much do you want to spend? 

 

Something like one of the asrock rack am5 boards and a 7xxx series ryzen would probably be my dream setup for this, low power, ipmi is included, some fast cpu for game servers, 10gbe on board.

[Air98]

3 hours ago, Zando_ said:

Ryzen is your savior here. Get a cheap B550 board, grab a used Ryzen chip (Zen 2 or newer, older stuff isn't worth it), put it in ECO mode (35-45W depending on chip, may be higher for the 16c ones) with a decent cooler. It'll be cheap, fast, and whisper quiet. Slap Proxmox on it (free Hypervisor based on Debian so easy to find support/commands for as you learn it) and you should be golden. 

 

3 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

How much do you want to spend? 

 

Something like one of the asrock rack am5 boards and a 7xxx series ryzen would probably be my dream setup for this, low power, ipmi is included, some fast cpu for game servers, 10gbe on board.

Thank you both and i am absolute lover of intel but for the cheaper route Ryzen is going to be my best option. I will look into the boards and chips, i will keep all this knowledge in mind and i'm willing to spend 500 but i got some room to go up if i really need to. Eco mode would be a saving grace for power and keeping it quiet. If you guys get anymore bright ideas please let me know!!