Building a Server PC

[Richardluk13]

I'm looking to build a tower server from scratch that'll support 20-30 incoming connections to a game that will be hosted on this server.

Budget: $400-$600.
I'm planning on running Linux on this PC, it'll run 24/7, graphics are unnecessary as this PC will serve only as a server, also the saves for the players don't take a lot of memory, so I won't be needing a 1TB harddrive.
I'll be planning to upgrade the system in the future to support more users.

List of items I'm looking at:
Intel Core i7-4790k : $279.99
Crucial 8GB 4x2 D3-1600 DIMM : $ 74.99
Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA 1150 : $ 69.99
Samsung E 120GB 840EVO SATA3 2.5" : $ 89.99
IPSG LG 24X DVDRW SATA OEM : $ 15.99
IPSG Carbide Series 300R Case : $ 44.99
EVGA **NEX650G 650W 80+GOLD PS : $144.99

Subtotal : $720.93
UEZ Sales Tax (3.5%) : $ 25.23
Total : $746.16

This is a price quote and recommendation I got from a sales associate from MicroCenter @ NJ.

1. What I'm wondering is, would these components be enough to support a hosting server of 20-30 people with minimum lag?
2. If the playerbase of the game increases, would I be able to upgrade the system to support more players?
3. Would it be better if I bought a Server Motherboard that'll support more processor for future purposes?
4. Are there anything cheaper that I could use to start off with and upgrade to in the future?

 

[DelJo63]

Servers don't need heavy hitting processors. The primary resources are memory, networking and file I/O

The 120GB drive is minimally acceptable, although if I were building a server, I would have at least two drives,
one for the server and the other for the data being served. Performance would be better and either drive could be
replaced/upgraded without disrupting the other - - also improves your backup media consumption.

Let's talk networking. Is this a private server for just LAN connected users or do you intend to have Internet connected players?

* hosting server of 20-30 people * in a lan based server says you will need a good switch connected to the router for wired users OR an access point for wireless

* I suspect you are intending a public server with Internet users {upgrade the system to support more players}.
You should read your ISP End-User-License-Agreement; unless you purchase a private IP address & Domain, the ISP typically forbids your hosting anything. They will cause you and your users all kinds of issues, such as limiting bandwidth and randomizing your public IP address.

 

[GhostRyder]

I'm looking to build a tower server from scratch that'll support 20-30 incoming connections to a game that will be hosted on this server.

Budget: $400-$600.
I'm planning on running Linux on this PC, it'll run 24/7, graphics are unnecessary as this PC will serve only as a server, also the saves for the players don't take a lot of memory, so I won't be needing a 1TB harddrive.
I'll be planning to upgrade the system in the future to support more users.

List of items I'm looking at:
Intel Core i7-4790k : $279.99
Crucial 8GB 4x2 D3-1600 DIMM : $ 74.99
Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA 1150 : $ 69.99
Samsung E 120GB 840EVO SATA3 2.5" : $ 89.99
IPSG LG 24X DVDRW SATA OEM : $ 15.99
IPSG Carbide Series 300R Case : $ 44.99
EVGA **NEX650G 650W 80+GOLD PS : $144.99

Subtotal : $720.93
UEZ Sales Tax (3.5%) : $ 25.23
Total : $746.16

This is a price quote and recommendation I got from a sales associate from MicroCenter @ NJ.

1. What I'm wondering is, would these components be enough to support a hosting server of 20-30 people with minimum lag?
2. If the playerbase of the game increases, would I be able to upgrade the system to support more players?
3. Would it be better if I bought a Server Motherboard that'll support more processor for future purposes?
4. Are there anything cheaper that I could use to start off with and upgrade to in the future?

It all depends on what your hosting, in general for games big things that matter are Ram, Networking, HDD Speed, and CPU. Normally any quad core can handle pretty fine a game without any worries as my home servers are still running on Dual Quad Xeons with DDR2 Ram to this day.

My advice to you is not invest in the 4790k, its going to be a waste to pay for an unlocked CPU for a 24/7 server.

Second, SSD's unless they are Data center grade are rarely good for a server environment. They run the risk being written to and deleted from constantly of deteriorating and going bad when run under extremely stressful situations like that.

I would say get yourself something like this for the CPU and motherboard and then for your HDD situation to grab some of these HDD's.

Just my suggestion for a desktop style workstation at a budget.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Minecraft?

Get a cheap i5/Xeon, and a bunch of 10K raptors so you can run redundant RAID arrays on the critical game data. Use a small HDD for the OS.

Also read what jobeard says above regarding networking ...