# Server Build for Colocation



## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I've used this forum in the past for general tech problems and desktop PC builds. Time to build a server! I don't know if you guys do server hardware stuff often? But I'll give it a shot!


I'm currently renting this dedicated server:

Intel Core2Quad Q9300 - 2.5GHz - 1333MHz HT Speed
8gb DDR2 (Might not even be ECC)
500GB SATA2
3000gb bandwidth/mo

For $140/mo. If you can tell, these looks like consumer-grade DESKTOP specs. Not server material! We've been renting this machine for probably a year, and haven't had any problems with it but we're looking for an upgrade.

I'm done with renting! Time to build my own system for our Minecraft server/community. (jadon-mc.net)

First, minecraft uses a LOT of ram, especially with a lot of people connected. I'm looking for 16GB. It also uses a lot of CPU, so I need me a quad core.

Ram should be DDR3 ECC (server memory) and CPU should be a nice Xeon. For the hard drive, I need something reliable cheap and long lasting, SSD is out of the question. I'm thinking a Sata 6.0GB/s at maybe 32MB cache.

Newegg all day, every day. Here's what I got so far!

Please check these out and comment on the good and the bad.

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCL-F-O LGA 1155 Intel Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard 

Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) ECC Unbuffered Server Memory  (TWO orders of this for 16GB total, 4x4GB)

Intel Xeon E3-1230 Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor

For the server chassis, I have a pretty decent 2U with a 550W PSU in it already. The chassis previously had a xeon system in it.

Total incl. shipping: $734.79 

Questions: Does that CPU come with a heatsink? Does it come with an air fan? Should I buy a heatsink for it to replace the fan if it comes with one?

Thank you all! Any replies are appreciated!


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

No server expertise here huh? Anyone?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What brand is the 2u rack case and psu? If they are from a OEM server like a Dell it may not be worth the hassle to try and use them.

I've had mixed luck with SuperMicro boards in the past but haven't used the 1155 boards, last one I did was with a Asus P8B WS.

For CPU intense a 1366 W3550 Xeon may be a better choice and will allow more ram.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

There are no brand names on this 2U, however there is a sticker on the front that reads "Intel Inside Xeon" and the PSU simply reads "For intel, ball-bearing fan, noise killer, ate/hi-pot okay" on various stickers.

I think it's totally worth a bit of hassle if I can get this thing working, it was free and I like to save money 

It has previously had a beefy xeon machine it in, but the motherboard failed so the company threw it out.

It has a 24-pin and an 8-pin for the motherboard I'm buying, and sata power and data cables in it ready for the HDD.

Edit: There should be nothing wrong with this chassis, the only thing wrong when the machine failed was the motherboard. Are the parts I listed all compatible with this chassis?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

We have know way of knowing, rack cases like desktop cases come in different sizes and some support matx only or matx and atx while others only support Eatx boards.


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

The biggest problem I see with your build is that it isn't much faster then a machine using standard desktop components at the same price. Plus if your on a budget then always go amd , that intel cpu is pretty much eating up the budget.

Your also buying a 50$ hard drive for 150$. This is the worst possible time to buy a hard drive with the massive hard drive shortage going on. I would highly recommend buying a cheap used drive to hold you over until the drive shortage is over.

This is Much more bang for your buck server wise

Newegg.com - ASUS KCMA-D8 ATX Server Motherboard Dual Socket C32 AMD SR5670 DDR3 1333/1066/800

Then 2X these

Newegg.com - AMD Opteron 4180 Lisbon 2.6GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket C32 115W Six-Core Server Processor OS4180WLU6DGOWOF

Then 2X these

Newegg.com - Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1333 Server Memory Model KVR1333D3S8R9SK2/4G

Thats only 799$ and you almost have twice the cpu power, But it would help to know what your budget is.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Emosun, thank you for the suggestions! I understand what you're trying to say, and since I've decided to go ahead and put forward the initial investment for co-location (as opposed to renting) I might as well get something that will last me a while, instead of a simple xeon. I've always loved AMD for my desktop uses, I'm just new to the whole server hardware thing and wasn't sure how they match with intel. At my work, most of the servers I run into are xeons. Intel is fantastic, but you're right, if I'm on a budget which I am, AMD is the way to go. 

As for the hard drive, it's unfortunate to have to pay so much more due to the shortage (due to a flood at one of the factories right?) but I'm going to need a reliable hard drive that will be used 24/7 reading/writing (gameserver with people on at all timezones) so a used one just doesn't sound like it will cut it.

We're likely going to pay for one more month of our rented server, so I have a little time to save up a bit more and build this server until we migrate to the new one.

As for RAM, we absolutely need 16GB to start. Should I go registered? unbuffered? What's the difference? Doesn't have to be highest performance, we just need a lot of it.


As for the chassis, here's a little photo album showing it along with the system that was previously installed in it. Photo Album - Imgur

Thanks all for the replies guys! I can always rely on this place 

Any more suggestions, advice greatly appreciate

EDIT:

Also, any idea on how many AMPS I need to look for colocation, how many amps will this dual 6-core system need?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Looks like a Eatx board, also the PSU to me seems to be mounted backwards, you want to blow the hot air out of the case not into it


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> Looks like a Eatx board, also the PSU to me seems to be mounted backwards, you want to blow the hot air out of the case not into it


You're right, I read "NCCH-DR" off of the old mobo that was in it. That's an EATX board. 

So I'm going to have to buy a new chassis?

With that dent in my budget, I might end up sticking with a single-cpu xeon =/

UPDATE:
This main use for this machine will be a very large Minecraft server (in the beginning anyways)

Minecraft needs a LOT of ram (8GB is cutting it currently, we're looking for 16GB)

So I'm more interested in a high-performance, high-clocked quad core than anything. Should have mentioned this before.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

An ATX may fit all depends on how the case is setup, if it has the screw holes the rest will line up Extended ATX is longer on the expansion card slot side an ATX will just have less expansion slots, best bet is get the board you want and then see if all the mounting holes line up.

On the ram ecc is better ram but slower as the error correction on the ram happens with every read/write where non-ecc happens only when a error is returned from the CPU.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

When I get home I'll see if one of my spare ATX boards lines up with the holes in this chassis. Hopefully that works. 

"also the PSU to me seems to be mounted backwards, you want to blow the hot air out of the case not into it"

While that makes sense, the direction of airflow is from front -> back (cold intake, hot out the back) so it's in the right direction, otherwise it'd be blowing hot air out the front where the cold air is coming in. Unless I'm mistaken? Let me know your thoughts. Should I switch it around? 

Usually, the power supply is in the back of the server anyways right, not sure why this one is up in the front..

Lastly, I was considering the use of a RAMDISK, do you know how ECC effects a RAMDISK?


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I apologize for the double post, I cannot find the "Edit" button for some reason...I even refreshed.

I thought about it, and I think you're right wrench about the ECC. Non-ecc is so much cheaper that if it ever fails I can easily replace it. 

First, this motherboard says "ECC Support: Yes" instead of "ECC Support: Only" does that mean it can handle cheaper DDR3 desktop memory? Second, will the memory I posted below suffice for a server? Is it reliable enough, fast enough? It's at a really good price. 

For the CPU/Mobo, what I need is a powerful quad core. I don't need 6 or 8 cores, or dual CPU's. Will this xeon 1230 work fine? Or is it at a bad price?

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C204 Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory  (TWO orders of this for 16GB total, 4x4GB)

Intel Xeon E3-1230 Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I don't know why I can't edit previous posts with updates, but here's where I'm currently at...

I believe the chassis I have will work. I just installed a standard ATX mobo in it, and it seems to fit and line up fine. I guess this chassis is pretty universal. From the pictures, does it seem like it will cool this newer system just fine? (It will be in a data-center, in a isolated cage with cold air pumped from the floor tiles)

Note: In those pictures, the system you see is the old, damaged, EATX board.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

GSkill probably won't have the board listed on their web site, look at the memory QVL from SuperMicro for that board if there is not any Non-ecc ram listed then it most likely won't work, data errors happen on all ram all the time not just when a stick fails.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Ok, so you were saying that ECC IS worth it, due to the fact that ram has errors often that I don't want, it's just going to have a dip in performance and cost a bit more? I don't mind spending a bit more for ECC, but will it perform poorly for my gameserver?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

It's about a 2% hit in performance from non-ecc, but it can cut down on CPU load since the ram handles the correction not the CPU, to explain the errors the only errors you will see are the uncorrectable ones usually ending in a bsod same applies to both ecc and non-ecc, it's the correctable errors this covers.

Yes for a server I would recommend Ecc ram.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Sounds good  Back to my original parts list, with the spare chassis I have laying around here. From these pictures, does it seem like the airflow should be enough to cool a simple xeon machine? Should I invest in a different CPU for a gameserver? Trying to keep it ~700. Thanks!

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCL-F-O LGA 1155 Intel Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard 

Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) ECC Unbuffered Server Memory  (TWO orders of this for 16GB total, 4x4GB)

Intel Xeon E3-1230 Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No, the stock cooler will do the job, there's not much in the way of aftermarket coolers then will fit it in the cash anyway.

Check which way the air moves through the PSU, if the fan is blowing the warm air into the case see if you can turn it around.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

So I guess this thing is ready to buy/build then! Thanks for the help.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I might invest a little more and get a proper chassis. The one I have will save me like $200, but I'm worried about it. What if the psu is too old? What if there's not decent airflow?

Do you guys think it'll be alright, or I really should invest in a decent one?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The chassis itself is fine, the power supply is a standard ATX and can be replaced, since it had a motherboard failure and you do not know the history I would recommend changing the PSU. You should never buy the case and PSU as a combo the vast majority of PSU's supplied with cases are pure junk.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Totally understandable, could you suggest a good PSU that will go well with the system I posted?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

For a server Seasonic > Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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