# Question About Server



## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

Every other weekend me and my friends gather at my house for a LAN party. They usually last about 3-4 days. But we do not play our games online. What we do is we start a BF2 co-op server with 6 human players vs 128 bots. Its amazing fun. But with these new games coming out like COD4, Crysis, etc. hosting a server on the same computer your playing one is getting a bit tough on the Frame rates. So me and my friends are all chipping in money to build a cheap little server to run the servers for the games. My question basically is. If me and my friends build a server is it possible to start a LAN game off of it so we could all connect to it? If this is possible how could this be done. Like what would we need? Which OS, do we need a graphics card? etc


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

this is really a pc building question.so i am moving it to the building forum.


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

thx sorry about the wrong forum. i was confused were to post this.


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

thats ok i got ya moved.:grin:


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Some games you can actually run on older machines, but I would throw together a simple machine which its central focus being a good motherboard (like the Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6 with quad Gigabit LAN) and power supply (PC Power & Cooling 750w). Then get a simple Core 2 Duo E6320, 1 GB of RAM, and a 160 GB hard drive.

What we will need is a budget. Also, I don't know the specifics for setting up servers, so pharoah if you could help out with that it would be nice. :smile:


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

sure matt would be glad to i used to run an online game server.one thing i will say i would go for 2 gigs of ram especially for running a server.really doesnt need a super video card just to serve some files.also as matt pointed out knowing the budget would help.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Good points. I'm not sure how much data you will be storing or how valuable it will be but RAID is definitely a possibility here.


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

The budget would be as low as possible. Max budget 1,500 but would really love to have below 1,200 maybe even 1,000 if possible. With this server I would need. Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse. Possibly a operating system. I have a spare Windows Xp Media Center and a spare Windows Xp 64 Bit just laying around. Also the server case must be something of small size. For example me and my friends have been looking at this case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133035

Something like that would be beyond perfect for what we are looking for.


EDIT: We don't need a harddrive any bigger then 80 gigs. We will only have about 4 games on there with some modifications for them which probably will not go over 40 gigs of space.

EDIT2: Our main concern is none of us have ANY server experience. We don't really know how to set it up once it is build. We don't even know what operating system to use lol! Any help will be great.

EDIT3: WOW 3 edits.... We wish to buy everything off newegg. Lol hopefully thats it...


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I would recommend getting at least an ATX Mini tower so you can take full sized ATX motherboards. Would something like this work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204007


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

that case is good. what is the best OS for a server?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Since this is a simple gaming server go with XP Pro or MCE.

Take a look at this:

GIGABYTE GA-N650SLI-DS4 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128044

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 Conroe 1.86GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - $177
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115015

Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Server Memory x 2 - $106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146523

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380815AS 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive x 2 - $88
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148231

GIGABYTE GV-NX85T256H GeForce 8500GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125062

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V EPS12V 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply - $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

I love the suggestions TheMatt. Just one question. I found 2x1GB for 30 dollars more and its alittle faster. Is this RAM good? 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

Also will either Windows Xp Media Center or Windows Xp 64 bit work for a OS on this server? Another question is, once this thing is up and running will it be able to host a website for myself? Because that would be awsome!


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I chose the RAM above because it is ECC which is a good idea in servers.

I would go with a cheap OEM copy of XP MCE.

As for hosting web sites, you will need Windows Server 2003 for that and a domain (all XP or 2k pro workstations).


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

here is the ram you want for a server.ddr2 800,but the best thing about it is the timings 4-4-3-5.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Depending on how critical the applications on this server are you might want to be looking at ECC RAM.


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## Nik00117 (Jan 8, 2007)

I got a better solution to save on your mointor, keyboard, mouse.

Buy a KVM switch, I am on that setup atm. One Keyboard and mouse and mointor for two computers I game and it works like a charm. A mointor, keyboard, mouse set could cost you 300 dollars cut that out with a 20 dollar KVM switch and your good to go.

Here is what i'd build


E6550 2.33GHZ C2D 175.99

A VERY GOOD CPU, very overclockable i'm forseening at least 3 GHz if you want on stock on this thing.

GIGABYTE MOBO 700+ Reviews 109.99

Haven't actaully tried this mobo but considering its all solid cap design with 776+ reviews they musta did something right.

G.Skill 2 Ram 99.99 

Good ram, good price plently for whatever you need to do. And fast.

KVM SWITCH 19.99 got the very same KVM switch thing works fine no lag in gaming or anything. Well worth it. I'm assumeing that since this is a server and not a main rig. I see no point in wasting $$$ on a mointor, keyboard and mouse. hell the keyboard would cost as much as this little alone the mouse and mointor. THIS WILL BE A HUGE SAVER. O it requires no power either. No drivers or anything required. 

ENERMAX Liberty 500W PSU 109.99 I will guess someone will agrue this point with me. But quite frankly your not running a massive SLI system or amazingly high end parts that require uber duper ammounts of power. You need a quality PSU to run what you need it to run and nothing more. This PSU is a very good deal, and good price.

EVGA 7600 GT 89.99

A few reasons behind this card, first off its a quality budget card. The 7600 will handle games such as WiC at fairly playable frames at a medium-slightly high settings therefore if you ever need to use this rig as a reserve gaming rig boom. Also some games make you host in the GUI which sometimes can be a bit graphics intesive. Going with a onboard solution or anything lower could back fire.

320 GIG HDD 89.99 Plently of space tto hold lots of files and games. On my LAN server which I maintain we hold all game updates and lots of various files. On top of this some 20 games. HDD space is needed for a server and I would admittly suggest you judge this on your own terms. However your not saving much by going lower besides getting a worse deal.

LITE-ON DVD burner LightScribe SATA 39.99 A few reasons behind this, first off its SATA which is the way future anywys. Secondly its liteon and you may need to burn DVDs. Might be able to save a bit of cash by going lower end but not much IMHO.

Now my total with newegg is 

730 USD for this entire setup. 743 with shipping (to my old zip code which is across the country from newegg)

Only thing your missing is a case, I wouldn't suggest spending much on it. Maxium 60 USD.

A few suggestions if your extermely tight on cash.

Could go with alower end GPU, maybe a 6600 or so.
Slighlty less $$$ ram, i'd say no less then 80 bucks though.
Slightly less $$$ PSU, mayebe not one as high spec as I showed for the parts in this rig aren't of the highest end. Although stay above the 75 USD mark.
CPU of course can always be downgrade and HDD although i'd leave the CPU where ti is, and the HDD your not saving much either way. If you really wanted I could see this build hitting sub 700 but I suggest expect to spend 800 with case.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

You should really only look at the Enermax Infiniti and Galaxy series. The Antec Trio 550w will do good here. 

Also, I like the idea of a KVM but you might want to look into a DVI KVM instead of a VGA one.


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

WOW! KVM i love it! thx man definetly will get the switch instead of another monitor mouse and keyboard! Thx again its an awsome idea!


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

for running a game server just be sure to have a couple of things.a fairly fast cpu,and at least 2gigs of fast low latency ram.


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## Nik00117 (Jan 8, 2007)

Cheapest KVM switch for DVI is 80 bucks.

I don't see a need to spend 80 bucks on a KVM switch just to get DVI support. Sure DVI is and nice and all but i'm assuming this thing is only going be used during lans. Stick with regular VGA and be happy trust me. Its not truly worth the extra 60 bucks to get DVI support on a KVM switch.


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

I was just wondering. The Intel Core 2 Dou is slightly expensive. I was looking at a processor something along the lines of a AMD but then I would have to get a different motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103759

I dont know if its a good idea but I hear AMD is still really good processor and its a ton cheaper. The one in the URL I' am posting I dont know much about but I heard from a friend that its pretty high end for just above 120 dollars.

P.S. I was thinking about using this case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204007

Like TheMatt said it can fit a full ATX mobo plus it is small. It also looks great and costs 50 dollars. Looks great to me!


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

If the C2D is a little out of your budget, look at the E4400.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115014


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

No its not out of budget I just thought that a AMD which is cheaper but be just as good as that C2D. I just want the best for the best price and I haven't seen any AMDs in a while.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

The E4400 will be about the same if not better than the 5200+


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