BleepingComputer.com: Cheap (initially and with energy bills) server?

I was thinking of getting a cheap-ass server for SRCDS (only 1 core is used so that makes it cheap :X ). Is it probable that someone could show me a cheap (built OR not, ie newegg) server setup for that because I mean if I have 1 core CPU and no video card I only need a what, 200W PSU? and optimizing size is great if you can.

budget is 300, I know that's low but keeping in mind I don't need ANY video card or high-end 4 core CPU.

ohai, on Aug 6 2009, 09:18 PM, said:

This a good build? Sorry I couldn't post a link to each one but I'm lazy-ass XD

But I mean that's damn cheap for a low-power (that PSU is 80+ certified) server for a single-core app AMIRITE?
btw I have a windows XP home copy with 1 use left onzor it. And I think I can install linux to rite?

A 300W psu with 80+ % efficiency is going to cost less than a 200W psu with 50% efficiency right?

A low-end PC is doable at $300 especially when you don't need a graphics card or a high-end CPU.

Case: Rosewill R363-M-BK - Not the best, but it is small and comes with a power supply. $50

Motherboard: ASRock N68-S AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - ASRock makes good motherboards and this one has on-board video if you need it. $44

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz - I certainly didn't expect this. One of the newest AMD CPU's is also one of the cheapest they have. This is a better processor than the Lima they have. $60

RAM: Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - This is just a single stick of RAM, if you want 4GB just buy another stick. Keep in mind that the motherboard only has two RAM slots. $25

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB - If you don't need heaps of space, this will do. $39

Optical Drive: SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - A simple, basic drive. $28

Operating System: I assume you will use the Windows 7 RC or a version of Linux.

Grand total: $250

DJBPace07, on Aug 6 2009, 09:52 PM, said:

Only problem is that SRCDS uses a ***kton of ram. Right now it's 50MB (but trust me it gets nearing 1GB sometimes. steam servers must be down or something too so it can't connect to the interwebs which uses about what, another 100MB of ram?) Plus, is there any way I could run 2 sets of servers at once that you know? I know this probably is not known around here but I'm guessing I could just open SRCDS twice.

Also, I have a few extra DVD/CD drives and a 120GB 5400RPM HDD so that knocks off what, $70-80?

Also, can't you get a 1000W PSU and a 200W PSU that each have the same efficiency but if you always only use 100W it's only GOING to use that much right? It doesn't use all that extra power until you add crap right? Because I mainly want the electric bills to be lower and that 400W is probably not helping the situation at all.

PSU's only draw power as needed. So if you have a PC that needs 252W of power and put a 1KW PSU in it, it will still draw 252W. Buying a higher end PSU is just wasteful if you're not going to use that much power. You can run two sticks of 2GB memory in the PC for 4GB, but you will need a 64-bit OS to use it all. Besides, there is no 64-bit version of SRCDS available to even take advantage of all that RAM.

DJBPace07, on Aug 6 2009, 10:25 PM, said:

O so ur familiar with SRCDS. Good. I think... Well I guess I could knock off $20 by getting just 2GB amirite?

I wouldn't say familiar, but I do know about it. I wonder if you can run two instances of the software? Have one instance running on one core and the other on the second core.

DJBPace07, on Aug 6 2009, 10:42 PM, said:

I'll try it right nauw 0_o

Yep, ya can. Of course if I don't boost the hell out of my internet speed I'll have to slash the max/min rates for clients.

lol wai do you change ur sig every 2 days? I think I have it figured out, $190, 2GB RAM, 2.8GHz singlecore AM2 CPU, cheap asrock mobo, a 80MM exhaust fan. Sounds good right? Would you trust a case PSU for a 24/7 server?

DJBPace07, on Aug 6 2009, 10:25 PM, said:

But if a PSU is rated at 200W and is drawing full load, but the efficiency is exactly 80% that means it's drawing 240W out of the wall right(just an example)?



awwww that amd single core went out of stock overnight well.. i got a dualy 2.5GHz intel.

You gotta move fast on those outdated CPU's. Since the SRCDS uses a single core, you may want to get one with a high core frequency. SRCDS cannot take advantage of the addional cores, making the speed much more important. If the PSU is 200W and it has 80% efficiency, then it runs less than 200W. The remaining 20% is often given off as heat. You can run the PSU higher than what it is rated for, but it might be dangerous. Some PSU's have protection built-in to prevent you from doing this. Here's something else interesting. Those 1KW power supplies, I'm not saying you should get one, can overload a surge protector or UPS causing them to shut down. However, this only happens if the computer needs more energy than the PSU can draw from either the protector or the UPS. While not under load, a PC in such a situation would probably operate normally until it was stressed. BTW, how much bandwidth does SRCDS use? I ask because some ISP's have caps and restrictions put in place to block 24/7 servers on a residential plan.

DJBPace07, on Aug 7 2009, 02:53 PM, said:

Is a 45 NMer and reviews say they've gotten it nearing 4GHz (true or not holy crud!).
Well I'll call ol' comcast and see if they allow runnage( ) of a 24/7 server.

But srcds uses about 50KBPS (that's kiloBITS) per slot and I have 3MBPS upload so lets see 60 slots is good at a standard in-game rate of 40,000 but if I slash that rate I could make it a 120 slot server (yes they have those now...)

wait so ur saying just about any psu I use will draw the same amount of powah from the wall?

lol i forgot, once on overclocking.net there was this kid who erupted in a sh*tstorm when he found out intel was "stealing his nanometers" AND THE FUNNIEST PART IS HE WAS SERIOUS. He said "we have to tell intel to stop being stingy with the nanometers"
I told him i'd give him my 90NM for his 65 if he wanted XD ill try to find teh link

I think Comcast has data caps on some plans, I'm not sure since I don't have them. Remember, there is a difference between kilobit (kbps or kb/s) and kilobyte (KB, K, or Kbyte). ISP advertising loves to use kilobits since they are a larger number. A PSU will draw power only as needed. If one computer drew only 300W from a 500W PSU, replacing the PSU with a 1KW unit would not affect the power draw. It would still be 300W.

DJBPace07, on Aug 7 2009, 09:40 PM, said:

I don't like people acting like I know nothing about computers when I clearly do.


No offense but... I know everything about advertising and computers and speeds and crap.

We have their most expensive plan so... yeah... I don't even... I'll call tomorrow.
Now onto that CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116072
look good?
2 cores is good to have 2 virtual servers 1 on core 0 one on core 1
45NM means overclocking it is good, means less POWAH and lower temps
intel means good for a server ...
2.5GHz (stock) means I don't have far to OC to get it less lag

also... will network cards raise my ul/dl speed @ all?