Build a server.

[TheGurw]

Hey y'all. I'm about to embark on a journey that I have not previously attempted: I'm intending to build a server.

If there's anyone who's got knowledge and experience in this area, advice on what brands to buy, how to maximize my purchases, etc. is welcome.

My budget is around $3,000, though cheaper is, as always, better. Preferably, I'd like to keep the server at or below 2U, 1U if possible. It will be used for hosting multiple games simultaneously, one in particular that is notorious for being horrid at multi-threading and garbage collection (I'm glaring at you, Minecraft), so a speedy, multi-core processor is of course necessary, and a fair bit of RAM is also needed. It may also host a website and databases. I would like an SSD, as regular off-site backups will be made and I don't mind replacing a hard drive if it "wears out." I intend to run Ubuntu, unless someone has a better suggestion.

Any other information needed, I can likely supply.

Keep in mind that this is the first time I've done this, so I likely won't be able to tell what plays nice with what. Any help actually putting together a shopping list would be gratefully accepted.

 

[ollee]

While I'm not extensively familiar with the actual server specs required for what you're interested in, Keep in mind a stable internet with static IP will be necessary. You are probably better off just getting a dedicated server in a Data center somewhere paying X amount a month and so on, rather than running virtual servers(what im assuming you're on now) and building a server.

 

[TheGurw]

While I'm not extensively familiar with the actual server specs required for what you're interested in, Keep in mind a stable internet with static IP will be necessary. You are probably better off just getting a dedicated server in a Data center somewhere paying X amount a month and so on, rather than running virtual servers(what im assuming you're on now) and building a server.

.....I've been renting two dedicated servers in a Dallas data center for over a year, in addition to several VDSs. I want my own. And rackspace in data centers isn't even close to expensive here.

 

[Pyrofiredelta]

All I know about building server computers is the more cores the better, and It's all about the motherboard.

 

[littlespedve]

Debian is nice.

Very stable, and Ubuntu comes with a lot of bloat unless there's a server version or something.

 

[TheGurw]

Debian is nice.

Very stable, and Ubuntu comes with a lot of bloat unless there's a server version or something.

There is. I really haven't heard anything bad about Ubuntu, but I'm not a Linux user, so if someone can say for a fact which is best for servers, I'm all ears.