Shuttle, or build up a micro/mini ATX PC?

[ViviTheMage]

I have a nice little shuttle box that works GREAT, runs 24/7 and is quiet as heck....I cannot hear it at all....but I am making it do more then it can handle. (It's a P4 3.2, 2 gigs of ram)...and it struggles with 1 TF2 server, and 3 L4D servers up at once. (The L4D servers are full 24/7).


So what I am aiming for is quiet, can't hear it...45NM core (INTEL C2D/Q2D, at least 4gigs of ram, and 2+ hard drive support. onboard gig port would be nice too.

would it be cheaper to build/find my own micro/mini box, or just to outright purchase a shuttle and slap in cpu/ram?

What ARE some good cases, if I do not do the shuttle barebone route?

Micro ATX? Mini ATX? ITX?

Like I said, it MUST be quiet...and handle the above.

Money is sort of a factor, as this is kind of a side project, for our AT Fight Night TF2 server.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
would it be cheaper to build/find my own micro/mini box

This.

What exactly does running 4 game servers at once require? Many CPU cores? Lots of RAM?

For a little stand-alone server that is cheap and quiet, I'd probably go with these parts:

Antec NSK3480 case/PSU (comes with EarthWatts 380W)
Phenom II x4
some kind of aftermarket tower heatsink with 120mm fan
AMD chipset mATX motherboard with gigabit ethernet (just in case?) and supporting 125W CPUs with onboard graphics
4-8GB DDR2
random HDD

This will run $400-500 depending on exact choices and deals. It will be quiet due to the case being reasonably thick metal construction with soft HDD grommets and 120mm fan, and the aftermarket heatsink/fan can be set to some quiet mode. You can probably also overclock it a bit.

Alternately you can do a Q9550/Q9650 with a G45 chipset motherboard.

Do the Intel quads outperform Phenom II for game servers?

Oh yeah, if you live near a Micro Center (or know anyone who does) snag a Q9550 NOW NOW NOW while they're still $170 + tax, and worry about the rest of the system later.

Or, get the Core i7 920 for $200 + tax, but end up with a costlier motherboard ($170 for MSI mATX X58), costlier 6GB DDR3 RAM and a video card. However, I'd say that with a Core i7 you'd be good for a while. That route will probably cost $650-750 but you'd have a monster of a server.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Guess I should have said I want/prefer INTEL.

I was thinking of something less power consuming too, no need to go QUAD, just yet at least...anything that I build, will be at least a core2duo, and will be a huge step up from the P4.

The CPU seems to be the biggest bottleneck right now...and probably IO, but whatcha gonna do about that...

I've been watching those Q9550/i7 920 deals for a while, it's a little out of my little servers range .


So far i have put together :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811133045
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131288
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128357

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817104044

That already puts me around 200.

I still need CPU/RAM which will be up around 50 for RAM...CPU is up in the air.

I already have hard drives i'll be using.

But again, will this be QUIET? I can't have this thing buzzing all day, it will sit in my living room.

 

[mcvickj]

Looks like a good start to a new server setup. That case looks pretty nice for a mATX rig. The majority of the reviews claim that is a quiet case. The two motherboards you linked appears to be almost equal spec wise. I would probably go with the Asus board but that is a personal preference towards Asus boards.

I have a brand new in the package OCZ Gold Series PC2 6400 4GB (2x2GB) kit I'll donate to the cause.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: mcvickj
Looks like a good start to a new server setup. That case looks pretty nice for a mATX rig. The majority of the reviews claim that is a quiet case. The two motherboards you linked appears to be almost equal spec wise. I would probably go with the Asus board but that is a personal preference towards Asus boards.

I have a brand new in the package OCZ Gold Series PC2 6400 4GB (2x2GB) kit I'll donate to the cause.

:thumbsup:

If you want, you can have Admin on the TF2 server.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I was thinking of something less power consuming too, no need to go QUAD, just yet at least...

The CPU seems to be the biggest bottleneck right now...and probably IO, but whatcha gonna do about that...

If the CPU will be the bottleneck, then you really should go quad core. If someone can get a Q9550 from Micro Center while it is on sale, then that would make for a killer CPU for this task.

Alternately, look for someone who might be selling a Q8200 that they bought from Micro Center back when those things were $99.

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
But again, will this be QUIET? I can't have this thing buzzing all day, it will sit in my living room.

The LanBox comes with two 60mm fans for exhaust. The NSK3480 comes with a 120mm exhaust fan.

I'm pretty sure the Antec NSK3480 would make for a quieter system than the Thermaltake LanBox Lite. It will probably run cooler as well.

It is also cheaper since it already comes with a really nice quality EarthWatts 380W PSU. However, yes, it isn't a little cube. It is around 14" tall. Thing is that it is actually smaller than the LanBox. Multiply the dimensions together and the LanBox has greater volume and thus is a larger chassis.

Oh yeah, the G31 chipset will forever limit the system to 4GB RAM using 2 slots.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Thanks Zap, but like I said...a budget .

I have a microcenter 10 miles from me, but I don't want to spend $200 on the CPU if I can help it.

The board beign a 4gig limitation may be an issue...I may have to look at getting a better board. I may even have to do a full tower/mid size tower.

 

[Howard]

I'll pitch in a bit, and I'm sure others would too.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Howard
I'll pitch in a bit, and I'm sure others would too.

:thumbsup:
Hopefully!

Let me know if you need my address, or anything else!

 

[Howard]

Might as well post it in this thread, no?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Howard
Might as well post it in this thread, no?

It'd be easier for me to PM it, so I know what to expect.

 

[Howard]

Alright, go ahead.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I think I am going to go with a mid/full tower instead of a SFF now...as space isn't as large of a concern as price/cost is.

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

YGPM.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: alkalinetaupehat
YGPM.

Thank you for the donation!! My plan is to get a Q9550 for this beast...so every penny helps.

 

[Zap]

What kind of video does it need? If you go normal ATX and an ATX motherboard that doesn't have a 4GB RAM limit like the G31 chipset, I may be able to donate some kind of low end video card.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Zap
What kind of video does it need? If you go normal ATX and an ATX motherboard that doesn't have a 4GB RAM limit like the G31 chipset, I may be able to donate some kind of low end video card.

Any decent video card will do. It will oomphf the FPS on the source DS.

PCI express 2.0, or 1.1 works.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

what's the IP of the Anandtech TF2 server?

edit: n/m found it!

 

[Keitero]

Wait, we have a TF2 server?