Building a Minecraft Server. Recommendations?

[DoubleY]

So I am building a Minecraft Server and I need some recommendations. 

I can't decide if I want an i5, i7, or a Low end Xeon processor. I am thinking the low end Xeon is the better option, but what do you think? 

 

Assuming I use Xeon: http://bit.ly/1fi6Nzf

Assuming I use I7: http://bit.ly/15qmd00

Assuming I use I5: http://bit.ly/18nnBiA

 

Anything that I should change? Or are all of these systems good as they are? 

 

But like I said; the main questions is, Xeon, I7, or I5?

[Mac]

Not really a recommendation, but a little advice, don't do it for the donations.

 

I helped make one with my friend. At first we enjoyed playing it and having something to call our own, but about half a year later I wanted to make one for the money, it didn't work, I didn't like Minecraft anymore. It was more of a way to make money.

 

As back to the topic, I'm not sure how they handle as dedicated servers, I would say rent until you have the demand for more performance then built yourself a server, but that's just me.

[megadarkwood]

Just remember. you will not make the money back for a while.

[DoubleY]

Just remember. you will not make the money back for a while.

I don't plan on making money from it. I just want it as a Minecraft Server for me and my friends. But I also could use it as a Shuttle PC when I am on the road

[Mac]

I don't plan on making money from it. I just want it as a Minecraft Server for me and my friends. But I also could use it as a Shuttle PC when I am on the road

If you don't intend on having many people on it, get an i5, you can use it as a Shuttle PC and have no power issues as you would with Xeon.

[That Norwegian Guy]

If it's just for you and a couple of friends, an "old" LGA775-based Core2Duo system with 4 gigs of mem will work fine. E8400 or better. Maybe an FM2-based Athlon X4 system will add expandability and keep it nice and cheap. I ran two servers simultaneously for smaller populations off an E8400 and was pretty smooth.

 

Though if you're using the Twilight Forest mod, I'll recommend a quad core. It's a resource hog that one.

[Jack.EXE]

the server only uses 1 core, so get yourself one of these, and save yourself some money.

 

TheAMDgamer recommending Intel? Scandalous!

[Dr3nz4r]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Hb9H

 

pretty much what I would choose.. 400bucks as budget is a good value, if needed you could slop in a decent GPU and got a more or less mobile PC for gaming

 

 

Minecraft CAN use multiple cores,w hen using the JDK instead of JRE, when using somewhat like this code to start:

 

-server -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+UseParNewGC -XX:+CMSIncrementalPacing -XX:ParallelGCThreads=7 -XX:+AggressiveOpts -Xms1G -Xmx8G -jar MC_SERVER.jar

[DoubleY]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Hb9H

 

pretty much what I would choose.. 400bucks as budget is a good value, if needed you could slop in a decent GPU and got a more or less mobile PC for gaming

 

 

Minecraft CAN use multiple cores,w hen using the JDK instead of JRE, when using somewhat like this code to start:

 

-server -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+UseParNewGC -XX:+CMSIncrementalPacing -XX:ParallelGCThreads=7 -XX:+AggressiveOpts -Xms1G -Xmx8G -jar MC_SERVER.jar

Don't you think 650W is a bit overkill?

[Dr3nz4r]

Don't you think 650W is a bit overkill?

went for modularity, a good brand, and the eventuallity of using this as a mobile gaming/lan pc, when using some higher end GPU in it. Also considered Overclocking (no hard ones hence the cooler).... Having a non modular PSU in a small case can be a bit of a problem for airflow though.

 

better more then less

[DoubleY]

went for modularity, a good brand, and the eventuallity of using this as a mobile gaming/lan pc, when using some higher end GPU in it. Also considered Overclocking (no hard ones hence the cooler).... Having a non modular PSU in a small case can be a bit of a problem for airflow though.

 

better more then less

You bring up a good point with the modularity

[WoodenMarker]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Hb9H

 

pretty much what I would choose.. 400bucks as budget is a good value, if needed you could slop in a decent GPU and got a more or less mobile PC for gaming

Could be cheaper: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1JdFX

[Blackterror25]

how many friends do you plan on getting on your server?

 

Also a minecraft server needs high clockspeeds and not many cores

And be sure to get enough ram, because a minecraft server sucks that up really bad. to be more specific I should get an idea about how many people you plan on getting on your server at one time.

[Dr3nz4r]

Could be cheaper: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1JdFX

yes when using a lower end intel platform...The question is, would YOU buy this on your own, when hosting a MC server? YOu are 100%ly recommending something you never had, and you are speculating on how it MAY perform.

I did recommend him almost the same ahrdware as my home server uses, which runs 1 Minecraft and a coutner-strike source server simultaneously (mine dont got a ssd)

 

[...]Also a minecraft server needs high clockspeeds and not many cores[...]

it does also allow multi threading.. a dual core 3.1 Ghz will just be beaten by an AMD 3.4 Quad core in this situation.. it is as it is.. Minecraft..

just to refer to minecraft:

Its memory intensive, and can run multithreaded

As you see, in the needed perspectives the AMD CPU is faster, within a 10%+ difference

[WoodenMarker]

yes when using a lower end intel platform...The question is, would YOU buy this on your own, when hosting a MC server? YOu are 100%ly recommending something you never had, and you are speculating on how it MAY perform.

I did recommend him almost the same ahrdware as my home server uses, which runs 1 Minecraft and a coutner-strike source server simultaneously (mine dont got a ssd)

 

it does also allow multi threading.. a dual core 3.1 Ghz will just be beaten by an AMD 3.4 Quad core in this situation.. it is as it is.. Minecraft..

just to refer to minecraft:

Its memory intensive, and can run multithreaded

As you see, in the needed perspectives the AMD CPU is faster, within a 10%+ difference

This is what I would do if I needed to make a dedicated server in the OP's situation. 

Sure, I have not had these exact parts, but it's not like I don't know how they perform. The Pentium is an Ivy Bridge architecture and will perform just like my 3570k underclocked with 2 enabled cores. 

The ssd is somewhere along the performance of ssd's I've used, the mobo and case doesn't affect performance, I've had CL9 1333 ram, and I've used the cx430m.

 

Even if minecraft can use multiple threads, the 10% from a synthetic benchmark does not represent what happens with minecraft. Minecraft is much less optimized for multiple threads as a synthetic benchmark and will perform better with a faster single thread.

[DoubleY]

how many friends do you plan on getting on your server?

 

Also a minecraft server needs high clockspeeds and not many cores

And be sure to get enough ram, because a minecraft server sucks that up really bad. to be more specific I should get an idea about how many people you plan on getting on your server at one time.

Around 5 max (Although it will be running Feed the Beast, which is more resources intensive.)