Advice on Home Gaming/Development Server

[Ossah]

I am about to build a general home server.
I have some system specs in mind and am wondering if anyone can offer me any advice on the build.

My budget is between €400 - €500.
The server will be running Ubuntu 10.10 server and will be headless.

I need the server for the following uses:
1/ Media / file server
2/ Software Development server (for version control using git or svn)
3/ Gaming server (to host local small online games. Am looking to be able to host pretty much any game I throw at it)
4/ Other general uses

I am looking to build using micro ATX motherboard and don't have a specific motherboard in mind.
My current possible spec is:

Motherboard: Not yet decided
Processor: AMD Phenom 2 X 2 550 3.1ghz - http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-phenom-ii-x2-550-3-1ghz-am3-l2-l3-7mb-80w-6NCB.html
Case: Antec nsk 2480 (with 380w power supply) - http://www.dabs.ie/products/antec-nsk-2480-uk-matx-case-380w-psu-6MXM.html
RAM: 4Gigs DDR2 or DDR3 depending on motherboard
Harddrives: 2 x 1tb drives (whatever has good performance/price)

Can anyone tell me if the above spec will be able to run dedicate game servers for modern games?

Also, is there any major disadvantage with choosing DDR2 over DDR3 for server use?

I have not ruled out using Intel chips, but it looks like AMD offer a little bit more speed for the price.

Any help would be much appreciated. Also, in regard to processors, I don't want to go above 80watt. 65w would be best but 80w as a max.

thanks in advance.

 

[mfenn]

A server with a duallie? I'd spend a similar amount of money and get an Athlon II X4.

Other than than, your plan looks good to me. I'd probably get some DDR3 since we're at price parity and DDR3 can potentially carry over to a new build. Something like an M4A78LT-M LE is sufficient.

Make sure you use LVM mirroring or md RAID1 on those HDDs!

 

[somethingsketchy]

Agreed with mfenn, I'd go at least quad core just for the software development portion of your build. While your media and "other general uses" would run just fine on a dual-core CPU, software development will see some benefit, if you're designing multi-threaded software, or compiling a lot.

Gaming (depending on the game) will also see the benefit of a quad-core, especially with processing multiple players and generating in-game scenarios (such as Left 4 Dead).

As for the disadvantage for DDR2 to DDR3, other than DDR2 is becoming obsolete, DDR3 is faster and becoming more mainstream. That means if your RAM dies on ya a year from now, you'll be able to quickly find and purchase DDR3. DDR2, you might be able to find if online retailers have stockpiles of DDR2 RAM or on eBay/Craigslist/some other trading site.

Just a thought

 

[Ossah]

Thanks a million for your replies.
Which processor to buy has been the hardest question for me.

I have been looking at some of the Athlon Quads and I have a few queries.
They only have 2mb of L2 cache. 512kb for each core also the power rating is 95watts! Was looking at this CPU in particular.
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-ath...am3-2mb-l2-73VK.html?refs=4294951785-48640000

I have heard that a good portion of the Phenom dual cores are actually quads with locked cores that can be unlocked but it would be a gamble.

Also, is there anything to be said for Intel? Any cheap quads out there?

One last question. Would you reckon that a slower Athlon Quad with less cache would top the Phenom dual core a lot more cache?
My decision rests on your advice!

thanks again.

EDIT: Just wondering if this would be total overkill...http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-phe...ion-socket-am3-l2-l3-6mb-6K8D.html?refs=50521

 

[mfenn]

Thanks a million for your replies.
Which processor to buy has been the hardest question for me.

I have been looking at some of the Athlon Quads and I have a few queries.
They only have 2mb of L2 cache. 512kb for each core also the power rating is 95watts! Was looking at this CPU in particular.
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-ath...am3-2mb-l2-73VK.html?refs=4294951785-48640000

I have heard that a good portion of the Phenom dual cores are actually quads with locked cores that can be unlocked but it would be a gamble.

Also, is there anything to be said for Intel? Any cheap quads out there?

One last question. Would you reckon that a slower Athlon Quad with less cache would top the Phenom dual core a lot more cache?
My decision rests on your advice!

thanks again.

EDIT: Just wondering if this would be total overkill...http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-phe...ion-socket-am3-l2-l3-6mb-6K8D.html?refs=50521

No cheap quads worth buying from Intel.

The reason that a slower quad is better for a server is that a server, is by definition, going to be serving many requests at once. The speed of each core isn't essential. What is essential is that there are many cores available to serve a request as soon as it comes in, thus lowering the overall response time.

I would NOT bet on unclocking a Phenom II X2. Also note that the TDP will go way up if you unlock the cores.

Actually, a note on TDP: TDP is the maximum power that a CPU can draw. The Phenom II X2 actually draws more power at idle than an Athlon II X4.

In short, the Athlon II X4 is better because it draws less power at idle and has more cores to handle requests when things get intense.

 

[Ossah]

I have decided to go with a Quad anyway.
Am also prepared to pay a little extra to get a faster one.
I have narrowed my choice down to two CPUs
My biggest dilemma now is which of the two to go with.
The Athlon
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-athlon-ii-x4-645-3-1ghz-2mb-95w-am3-74MY.html?refs=50521
or the Phenom
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-phe...ion-socket-am3-l2-l3-6mb-6K8D.html?refs=50521

I think I may just decide on which one is in stock.
There is little in the price but I think the Phenom might just have the edge. even if it does eat a little more power.

Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions.
Thanks again.

 

[mfenn]

I have decided to go with a Quad anyway.
Am also prepared to pay a little extra to get a faster one.
I have narrowed my choice down to two CPUs
My biggest dilemma now is which of the two to go with.
The Athlon
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-athlon-ii-x4-645-3-1ghz-2mb-95w-am3-74MY.html?refs=50521
or the Phenom
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-phe...ion-socket-am3-l2-l3-6mb-6K8D.html?refs=50521

I think I may just decide on which one is in stock.
There is little in the price but I think the Phenom might just have the edge. even if it does eat a little more power.

Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions.
Thanks again.

I would get the Athlon.

 

[Ossah]

Thanks again for all your help.

My final build is:

CPU: Athlon II X4 645 -
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-athlon-ii-x4-645-3-1ghz-2mb-95w-am3-74MY.html

Motherboard: Asus AM3 AMD 760G DDR3 (or similar) - http://www.dabs.ie/products/asus-am3-amd-760g-ddr3-uatx-7694.html

RAM: Corsair Memory DDR3 1333MHz 4GB -
http://www.dabs.ie/products/corsair...b-kit-of-2x240-pin-dimm-s--unbuffer-6JQN.html

Storage: 2x Samsung Spinpoints F3 1TB (mirrored) -
http://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-1tb-spinpoint-f3-7200rpm-sata-3gb-s-32mb-65QC.html

Case: Antec NSK-2480 (380 watt supply) - http://www.dabs.ie/products/antec-nsk-2480-uk-matx-case-380w-psu-6MXM.html

Should do the trick I think.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks again for all your help.

My final build is:

CPU: Athlon II X4 645 -
http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-athlon-ii-x4-645-3-1ghz-2mb-95w-am3-74MY.html

Motherboard: Asus AM3 AMD 760G DDR3 (or similar) - http://www.dabs.ie/products/asus-am3-amd-760g-ddr3-uatx-7694.html

RAM: Corsair Memory DDR3 1333MHz 4GB -
http://www.dabs.ie/products/corsair...b-kit-of-2x240-pin-dimm-s--unbuffer-6JQN.html

Storage: 2x Samsung Spinpoints F3 1TB (mirrored) -
http://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-1tb-spinpoint-f3-7200rpm-sata-3gb-s-32mb-65QC.html

Case: Antec NSK-2480 (380 watt supply) - http://www.dabs.ie/products/antec-nsk-2480-uk-matx-case-380w-psu-6MXM.html

Should do the trick I think.
Thanks again for the help.

Looks good!