How do I? make a server comp. for a LAN party?

bigblockmatt · Post by **bigblockmatt** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:35 pm

Some buddies of mine are getting together for another LAN party and we are kinda tired hosting the game and playing on same computer. So we thought, "we have these extra computer parts together, i wonder if we can make a little server box..." Since i dont really know all about what i need for a server comp....i ask you guys.

I have a 2.4 ghz socket 478 P4, HD, cd drive, tower, PSU...So, i think that all we need is a mobo and ram. Im not sure on what kinda of video card we need.

Thanks for the help.

Kerii · Post by **Kerii** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:51 pm

Video card specs matter little for servers, just stick with the integrated that comes with the motherboard. The only thing you need worry about is the HD speed (at least 7200RPM ATA100 and 2MB cache I hope), the CPU, and the amount of memory.

Since you already have a CPU, kinda pointless to buy a whole new machine, though with 478, you're a little limited in motherboard chices. If you can, one with gigabit ethernet would be nice if the gaming computers support it, you're not going to be finding any dual gigabit ones though since the aging PCI bus just barely meets the requirements for a single gigabit ethernet.

As for RAM, 1GB should be enough, but you could always go for 2GB if you think it might be needed.

Battlefield 2 Server Requirements - Linux:
Minimum for 16 players - Processor: 1.0 GHz and Memory: 256 MB RAM.

Recommended for 64 players - Processor: Intel Pentium IV or Athlon XP 3.0 GHz or Opteron 64-bit 1.8 GHz and Memory: 1 GB RAM.

Battlefield 2 Server Requirements - Windows:
Minimum for 16 players - Processor: 1.0 GHz and Memory: 384 MB RAM.

Recommended for 64 players - Processor: Intel Pentium IV or Athlon XP 3.0 GHz and Memory: 1 GB RAM.

Bandwidth: 2.5 Mbit. Recomended: 5 Mbit.

Hopefully that gives you some idea how your server will do in other games.

allenpan · Post by **allenpan** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:55 pm

sell those get ULV Xeon and use ASUS PC-DL mobo, u can get easy 3.6dual xeon with low price and kick ass server..gigalan of CSA

bigblockmatt · Post by **bigblockmatt** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 11:41 am

Kerii wrote:Video card specs matter little for servers, just stick with the integrated that comes with the motherboard. The only thing you need worry about is the HD speed (at least 7200RPM ATA100 and 2MB cache I hope), the CPU, and the amount of memory.

Since you already have a CPU, kinda pointless to buy a whole new machine, though with 478, you're a little limited in motherboard chices. If you can, one with gigabit ethernet would be nice if the gaming computers support it, you're not going to be finding any dual gigabit ones though since the aging PCI bus just barely meets the requirements for a single gigabit ethernet.

As for RAM, 1GB should be enough, but you could always go for 2GB if you think it might be needed.

Battlefield 2 Server Requirements - Linux:
Minimum for 16 players - Processor: 1.0 GHz and Memory: 256 MB RAM.
Recommended for 64 players - Processor: Intel Pentium IV or Athlon XP 3.0 GHz or Opteron 64-bit 1.8 GHz and Memory: 1 GB RAM.

Battlefield 2 Server Requirements - Windows:
Minimum for 16 players - Processor: 1.0 GHz and Memory: 384 MB RAM.
Recommended for 64 players - Processor: Intel Pentium IV or Athlon XP 3.0 GHz and Memory: 1 GB RAM.

Bandwidth: 2.5 Mbit. Recomended: 5 Mbit.

Hopefully that gives you some idea how your server will do in other games.

Thanks for the help. that is good news to me. We wont be playing any super intensive games...probably wont even be able to play BF 2 since half the people we have dont have it...and there comps wont run it...We are trying to make this thing work with the least amount of money to spend.

edit* how important is the gigabit ethernet? those are like another 50 bucks just for that.,..

Kerii · Post by **Kerii** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:50 pm

bigblockmatt wrote:Thanks for the help. that is good news to me. We wont be playing any super intensive games...probably wont even be able to play BF 2 since half the people we have dont have it...and there comps wont run it...We are trying to make this thing work with the least amount of money to spend.

edit* how important is the gigabit ethernet? those are like another 50 bucks just for that.,..

It's not that important really. Actually for gaming it doesn't matter much at all. It is however a factor in file transfers and gigabit is plenty faster than T-Base100 in that regard. I was just thinking it would suck to have the entire network run in compatibility mode for T-Base100 because of the server if everything else is capable of gigabit.

If you guys aren't that much into sharing music, games, movies, and ehh... "you know what" during those LAN parties, then by all means forget about gigabit ethernet. Alternatively, you could always disconnect the server, but that's a bit of a hassle.

Actually, I did a quick search on NewEgg and found this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813185061

$36 for a 478 with gigabit ethernet isn't too bad, if you don't mind the risk of dealing with a less than stellar motherboard manufacturer.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:38 pm

the good thing about servers with 1GbE NICs is that they're usually smart enough to auto-negotiate, unless: A. you disable it like a goober or B. you get a really (and I mean REALLY) cruddy NIC or a really cheap mobo with integrated NIC (not saying integrated NIC is bad, actually I like that, was referring more to the board being cheap, thus the NIC's chipset will be cheap more than likely as well). If you have a 1GbE server, and the hosts are all running 100Base-T NIC's, then you should be fine on bandwidth and link stability. Of course, if you're extreme Type-A and must have uber-bandwidth, there's always the expensive route: SMF Fiber Optic switch and NICs, all using SMF (single-mode fiber) cabling of at least 9 micron/125 micron spec (50/125 or 62.5/125 for MMF). Anyways, I'm sure you don't need to use fiber, so decent Cat 5e cabling, a decent switch (linksys, for example), and a Linksys router if you plan on doing MMORPG. Otherwise, you should be good to go, just make sure Windows is set to obtain an IP automatically, and you're good to go

bigblockmatt · Post by **bigblockmatt** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:48 pm

cool dudes, thanks for the great advice. I was thinking about this mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128242 Figure spend just a few bucks more and have something that might last a bit longer...and i am splitting it with 2 other peeps so it is all good. Thanks again for the help. ill let you know how the lan went...when we have it.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:19 am

looks like a pretty decent board if you're not doing any OC'ing. I think it would work well for the price and features. one thing though: you know for about 100 bucks you can pick up something that will last a lot longer: the DFI Infinity Ultra. I'm pretty sure you read capper's review on it, but in case you haven't had a chance to you can find it right here. It's really a matter of if the mobo is going to be used for other purposes than just this LAN party. If so, do yourself a favor, DFI has some long-lasting mobos, and personally wouldn't recommend anything else, though I used to be a huge fan of Asus.

Kerii · Post by **Kerii** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:53 am

killswitch83 wrote:looks like a pretty decent board if you're not doing any OC'ing. I think it would work well for the price and features. one thing though: you know for about 100 bucks you can pick up something that will last a lot longer: the DFI Infinity Ultra. I'm pretty sure you read capper's review on it, but in case you haven't had a chance to you can find it right here. It's really a matter of if the mobo is going to be used for other purposes than just this LAN party. If so, do yourself a favor, DFI has some long-lasting mobos, and personally wouldn't recommend anything else, though I used to be a huge fan of Asus.

That's a 939 board though, bbmatt needs a 478 board so he can make use of that extra P4 he has.

bigblockmatt wrote:cool dudes, thanks for the great advice. I was thinking about this mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128242 Figure spend just a few bucks more and have something that might last a bit longer...and i am splitting it with 2 other peeps so it is all good. Thanks again for the help. ill let you know how the lan went...when we have it.

Looks like a good buy, has everything you could want for a motherboard. And GIGABYTE's known for using high grade capacitors, so the board should live long past its usefulness.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 10:10 am

lol, my bad, must be the voices in my head telling me he said socket 939, lol