A friend and I have decided to undertake a server-building project. We were thinking about building a game server. We weren't exactly sure what the budget would be as of yet, but we are most likely building the server for games such as Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat (not exactly the most graphically demanding games out there.) I need some advice on the following:
Processor - I was thinking of going with an AMD processor (just the way I am, never had problems with them), but I'm not sure exactly which way to go - whether to get a Barton or just a regular Athlon XP. (A64 is a bit out of the budget range for now.)
Mobo - Something supporting at least AGP 4x, with a FSB of 266 MHz or more.
Video - I dont think I need that good a video card, considering that the games I'm hosting aren't too demanding, plus I'm not actually playing on the server (it will be dedicated.)
Hard Drives - I'm definitely going to need fast drives for good transfer times (ie. when changing maps), but I'm debating whether to go with RAID or SATA.
Fans/Case - The case I've been looking at lately is the Antec Sonata. It is quiet and has good airflow, and has one 120 MM fan. Any suggestions for different cases or additional fans are welcome.....
Power Supply - I'd like a good power supply that can handle all of the hardware listed above (plus probably a CD-ROM and a floppy). I've been using Antec for a while and they seem pretty good, so I may go with that. Also, I need something that is efficient - this machine will be on 24/7 for the most part.
OS - On my current rig I have Windows XP Pro running. Would XP Pro be fine for the job, or would something like Windows Server work better? Also, Counter-Strike is supported by Linux... should I consider that as well?
As you can see I'm not very sure where to start.... any advice would be welcome.
Processor - I was thinking of going with an AMD processor (just the way I am, never had problems with them), but I'm not sure exactly which way to go - whether to get a Barton or just a regular Athlon XP. (A64 is a bit out of the budget range for now.)
Mobo - Something supporting at least AGP 4x, with a FSB of 266 MHz or more.
Video - I dont think I need that good a video card, considering that the games I'm hosting aren't too demanding, plus I'm not actually playing on the server (it will be dedicated.)
Hard Drives - I'm definitely going to need fast drives for good transfer times (ie. when changing maps), but I'm debating whether to go with RAID or SATA.
Fans/Case - The case I've been looking at lately is the Antec Sonata. It is quiet and has good airflow, and has one 120 MM fan. Any suggestions for different cases or additional fans are welcome.....
Power Supply - I'd like a good power supply that can handle all of the hardware listed above (plus probably a CD-ROM and a floppy). I've been using Antec for a while and they seem pretty good, so I may go with that. Also, I need something that is efficient - this machine will be on 24/7 for the most part.
OS - On my current rig I have Windows XP Pro running. Would XP Pro be fine for the job, or would something like Windows Server work better? Also, Counter-Strike is supported by Linux... should I consider that as well?
As you can see I'm not very sure where to start.... any advice would be welcome.