Looking to build a server - need advice

[Chaoscrayons]

I am looking to build a jack of all trades kind of server. I want it to do a lot of things so it probably has to be pretty beefy. I would like it to be a file server, print server, email server, and a dedicated gaming server. what I need advice on is how powerfull should it be

OS: special server os needed?
Hard Drives: what type and how many would i need to pull off file and gaming?
CPU: how many cores and what brand is best for this?
Ram: how much and how fast?
Motherboard: ?
GPU: need anything special?
anything I might be missing?

any advice will help, I have never done this sort of thing before and before anyone suggest it I cannot work with linux or anything like that.. I dont know how.

 

[RebateMonger]

My first reaction is that combining a serious "server" with gaming programs is not a great idea. Almost by definition, gaming software, even game server software, is likely to be less stable than serious server-type applications. There's going to be beta software and possibly insecure add-ons that could put the "serious" data at risk due to crashes or worse.

The server OS depends on the applications you want to run, number of connections needed, ease of maintenance, and other factors. Many "real" server OSes and applications aren't designed to make use of graphics cards at all. Lots of servers have no monitor attached to them.

Also, overclocking is seldom seen on serious servers. It's all about stability. "Real" servers usually run ECC memory to help prevent memory errors from causing data corruption.

 

[Absolution75]

What you're doing is rather foolish and would definitally be done better if you had two different PC's.

Though I'll lay down what I'd get, if I were serious about such a project. This assumes you don't have any time critical applications that require special ECC Ram/whatnot.

I'd suggest virtualizing the entire system into different subcomponents

With no specific budget, this is what I'd start with
OS Host: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x64
VM #1: Windows Server 2008 (Standard/Enterprise, x86)
VM #2: Ditto
3x WD640 Black HD's. More if you have to host impotant data to Raid 1 or Raid 10 them. . .
Intel Quad Core, something that enables hardware virtualization.
Ram: 4x4GB if you can get it, otherwise 4x2GB will have to due
GPU: Completely budget dependant, nothing besides your games will use it. . . .
Mobo: uhh Gigabyte EP45-UD3R comes to mind if you are on socket 775 for windows bitlocker encryption + a decent amount of onboard SATA ports, otherwise, there are plenty other premium boards to choose from.

You can dedicate a specific HD to each VM, with one VM being file+print+email server and the other being the gaming server.

Gaming servers are notoriously insecure, hense the sandbox VM. I wouldn't put anything worthwhile on the same box.


Though, like the above poster and I have said, don't do it. . . .


Also, it is unlikely you'd have enough upstream on your internet to run a decent modern dedicated server.

 

[Modelworks]

It depends on the game. Research what games you want to host, how many players , etc.

 

[Chaoscrayons]

I wouldnt want it for hosting games on the internet, only over the LAN. basically CSS TF2 and a few RTS's

 

[krnmastersgt]

If stability isn't a huge issue then just grab a P45 board and a Q9550 and some ram (probably get something like 2 4gb sets). The video card doesn't need to be special, conversely you can use a PhII quad core and get a board with integrated graphics if you want to have a display connected to it (not accessed remotely). Otherwise, I'd use Absolution75's suggestion on the hard drives/virtualization.