Jump to content

Small Home Server Build Help

Saito
By Saito
in New Builds and Planning
 Share
Posted

Hey All,
I'm hoping to build my first server and I picked out a couple options but I feel like it is either an overkill, under performing, or bad. I would highly appreciate someone to  guide me  as this will be my first server experience. What kind of OS should I be aiming for and where would you suggest me to read up about it. What should I experiment with beforehand. Pretty much a How To guide for newbies when it comes to servers. I would appreciate any sort of help and thank you so much
 
Budget 
600$ ~ 750$, Unless necessary 
 
Aim
Run a WordPress website, not expecting much traffic as it would be a portfolio type of thing.
Plex Media Server, Capable of running a maximum of 3 1080p streams
Be able to back up A combination of 7 Computers 
OwnCloud
TeamSpeak for around 20 users
Garry's Mod game server for around 10 people. ( Not 24/7 just for a couple of hours every once in a while)
Be Able To Access it from another computer in locally and remotely. 
Build That I Made Up

 Overkill?

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Mwave) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Wired Network Adapter: Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter  ($24.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $867.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-26 22:00 EDT-0400
Build 2:
 
CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Mwave) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($57.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Wired Network Adapter: Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter  ($24.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $758.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-26 21:58 EDT-0400
Build 3
 
CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($99.99 @ Micro Center) 
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Mwave) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ Amazon) 
Wired Network Adapter: Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter  ($24.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $803.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-26 22:03 EDT-0400
Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/336029-small-home-server-build-help/
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Your Overkill build would be my recommendation due to the Quad-Core. Plex will want as much CPU power as it can get its hands on, especially if it has to do transcoding for multiple devices simultaneously. 

 

You could potentially swap the Xeon for a Quad-Core i5 if you're not using ECC memory, and I would bump the RAM from 8GB to 16GB. 8GB MIGHT be fine for now, but you'll be very close to maxing it and only running in single channel. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

you may need faster memory or more of it for servers on gmod and teamspeak

 

Pretty sure you'll need more RAM than that if you are running all those clients at once. 

First, I would like to thank you for reply!  Second, Would 12 GB RAM be sufficient? As the Garry's Mod might be open for 3~8 hours in a month or so, also how is the processing power is it an overkill or

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

First, I would like to thank you for reply!  Second, Would 12 GB RAM be sufficient? As the Garry's Mod might be open for 3~8 hours in a month or so, also how is the processing power is it an overkill or

 

I am sure that should be enough. I won't be able to tell you exactly but running 3 1080p Streams will def use up all the processing power it needs. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Your Overkill build would be my recommendation due to the Quad-Core. Plex will want as much CPU power as it can get its hands on, especially if it has to do transcoding for multiple devices simultaneously. 

 

You could potentially swap the Xeon for a Quad-Core i5 if you're not using ECC memory, and I would bump the RAM from 8GB to 16GB. 8GB MIGHT be fine for now, but you'll be very close to maxing it and only running in single channel. 

Thank you for your reply! I will bump up the RAM to 16 to make sure everything is optimal,How well would you estimate the build performing undertaking all the tasks I posted, would it do it with ease or would you see it struggling 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I'm just wondering - why is there a NIC in all your builds? Does your motherboard not come with 3 Gigabit ethernet ports?

I actually couldn't underclock my 5 year old GPU to make it as slow as a next-gen console.

#pcmasterraceproblems

~Slick

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

A touch over the $750 budget with some suggestions.

  • A 4 core non-hyperthreading Xenon with an iGPU. Saves the hassle of having to plug in a gpu to configure the system and whenever low-level work has to be done.
  • A less expensive case to bring the build in close to budget.
  • Eliminate the after market cpu cooler. Stock will do just fine and unless the system gets stressed will be suitably quiet.
  • Eliminate the NIC. The motherboard has two. This should be more than sufficient for the described load.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $759.92
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-26 22:45 EDT-0400

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Thank you for your reply! I will bump up the RAM to 16 to make sure everything is optimal,How well would you estimate the build performing undertaking all the tasks I posted, would it do it with ease or would you see it struggling 

 

 

I haven't run a Teamspeak or Gary's Mod server, but I can't imagine that it would be more stressful than feeding 3 simultaneous Plex clients. 

 

For reference, I'm running a 5930K CPU for a dedicated Plex server, and while serving 4 clients (an iPad, XBox One, iPhone, and an Android tablet, all of whom require transcoding) my CPU usage was around 55-60% with relatively high bitrate (~20-30mbit/sec material) and RAM usage was around 10GBish. Under similar conditions, I'd say your Core i5 would be working hard, but it should be fine. If your video content isn't super high bit rate (below Blu-ray reference levels), it'll easily handle it. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

A touch over the $750 budget with some suggestions.

  • A 4 core non-hyperthreading Xenon with an iGPU. Saves the hassle of having to plug in a gpu to configure the system and whenever low-level work has to be done.
  • A less expensive case to bring the build in close to budget.
  • Eliminate the after market cpu cooler. Stock will do just fine and unless the system gets stressed will be suitably quiet.
  • Eliminate the NIC. The motherboard has two. This should be more than sufficient for the described load.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Mwave)

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.98 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Micro Center)

Total: $759.92

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-26 22:45 EDT-0400

I added another stick of 8GB ECC RAM and followed your build, how does it look should I go for it?

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock E3C226D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Mwave) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $849.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-27 14:37 EDT-0400
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing New Builds and Planning

×