Small $600 Server

[Jayhawk]

Okay, it's confession time. I have no idea what a balanced server build is. I'm not familiar with servers. Now I'm not asking for anything spectacular whatsoever. $600 is nowhere near the sweet spot for a server. I know that for sure. The thing is, I don't need something ridiculously powerful even though it would be nice. I want a small, cheap PC that I could use to run a heavily modded minecraft server 24/7/365.25 for 20+ people at a time. I need a separate system to run it because I don't want the server to affect my main rig's performance. Now I expect to use Linux for the OS, which I'm pretty sure is free but I wouldn't mind confirmation. An important aspect to note is that I'd be going the Intel route. I don't know if anyone here is an expert or anything, but I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[timmysquires]

Which Linux would you use? Red hat or linux mint? Linux mint is free and i use it on my computer as dual boot. Not really sure about parts you should get, Im pretty sure you can buy already built servers that are good quality.

 

 

I hope i helped!

[ionbasa]

Okay, it's confession time. I have no idea what a balanced server build is. I'm not familiar with servers. Now I'm not asking for anything spectacular whatsoever. $600 is nowhere near the sweet spot for a server. I know that for sure. The thing is, I don't need something ridiculously powerful even though it would be nice. I want a small, cheap PC that I could use to run a heavily modded minecraft server 24/7/365.25 for 20+ people at a time. I need a separate system to run it because I don't want the server to affect my main rig's performance. Now I expect to use Linux for the OS, which I'm pretty sure is free but I wouldn't mind confirmation. An important aspect to note is that I'd be going the Intel route. I don't know if anyone here is an expert or anything, but I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

I buy all my servers off of ebay, prime example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-2950-II-Server-2x-2-33GHz-E5345-Quad-Core-16GB-RAM-2x1TB-PERC-5i-/221295119685?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item3386378d45

 

EDIT: I own this one in particular. It is massive by the way.

[MuffinTopMike]

Are just going to be running game servers? Or will you be doing backups and media streaming as well. Linux is the best way to go, I have Ubuntu on my server and its great.

[Jayhawk]

Just gaming servers and I will use Linux Mint.

[ionbasa]

Just gaming servers and I will use Linux Mint.

Hardware wise, look into: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-2950-II-Server-2x-2-33GHz-E5345-Quad-Core-16GB-RAM-2x1TB-PERC-5i-/221295119685?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item3386378d45

Its on the cheap as companies are literally giving them away dirt cheap. The only issue is that they aren't small. I can post a pic if you want to get a feel for the size.

[Jayhawk]

Could you find something with DDR3 memory? Size doesn't matter at this point since they're so cheap.

[ionbasa]

Could you find something with DDR3 memory? Size doesn't matter at this point since they're so cheap.

You'll have to source your own HHDs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-R810-2x-Xeon-E7520-1-86Ghz-16GB-DDR3-RAM-NO-HDDs-/191333273990?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item2c8c5a1186

or:

with Hdds: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-POWEREDGE-R710-E02S-2x-QUAD-CORE-E5504-2-0GHz-36GB-DDR3-2x-300GB-/141413116194?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item20ece0e922

[Jayhawk]

So, what if I wanted 2x 3GHz+ Xeon Quad Cores with 16GB DDR3 RAM? Hard drives being optional and preferable Buy It Now to prevent a bidding war.

[ionbasa]

So, what if I wanted 2x 3GHz+ Xeon Quad Cores with 16GB DDR3 RAM? Hard drives being optional and preferable Buy It Now to prevent a bidding war.

You won't find 3+Ghz Xeon Quad cores. They are few and far between. Yes they exist, although at a premium price.

 

There is nothing wrong with DDR2 and the first server I mentioned. Basically, do to the lower latency, it makes up for observed frequency of the memory.