Processor selection for new server. (need help)

Im currently running a poweredge 2850 (single core xeon 3.6ghz, however they are just p4's). Anything more than 20 people and it starts to have massive chat/block lag.

So, Since minecraft is single threaded, I dont see much point in going to a 6core processor, but was looking at the
core i5 2.8,
phenom II x4 3.4

I can build the phenom system for about 375, where as the i5 system jumps up. Im not worried about bandwidth as im on a 10meg up/down connection in a colo.

Can anyone give me some real world results as far as how many people you can host without lag and what proc you're running?

 

Search ebay for used hardware, this is what I built my server off of:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SuperMicro-6015..._EN_Servers&hash=item4159e6a76b#ht_2180wt_905

sooner or later minecraft should be multi-core enabled

 

<3 xeon x3470

 

Have you considered that it might not be the machine? I could be your bandwidth.

When it starts lagging check your CPU and Memory Usage to see if thats really the issue.

 

Its the CPU, its an OLD processor. Ive spent more time than id like to admit working on this. Worked with the folks at centos. Disabling hyperthreading helped me get to about 25. Im on a 100meg pipe in a data center, so throughput isnt the issue i dont think. The network adapter on the poweredge is a gig port.

how many people can you run with that setup?

EDIT by Moderator: merged posts, please use the edit button instead of double posting.

 

I haven't found a max yet, I assume well over 20, more once minecraft becomes multithreaded

 

im aiming for 50+ Im pretty confident my $400 build would be able to achieve this. Im gonna stress test my Phenom 965 at my desk today, although I only have 4 gigs ram at the moment. The one im building has 12.

 

for that many players your probably going to need a SSD to run the server on. I'd say go for future biodegradability not just something that is going to solve your needs today. Sooner or later minecraft should be multithreaded and you may also use your server as a webserver/irc/ftp etc.. so hopefully that helps

 

Im gonna continue to use my poweredge for the webserver purposes. I have a 6 GB/s drive for the server, plus I plan on using a ramdisk.

 

Since it's single threaded you'll get more bang from clock speed than number of cores. That said, the Core-i architecture is far more efficient/cycle than the Phenom II. You'd have to read some reviews and benchmarks to see which will give you the best bang for the buck.

I don't know what your feelings on overclocking are, but I'd rather have the K variant of the i5 and overclock it a bit. I've running an overclocked Core i7 2600k at 4.8 ghz. It's been running rock solid 24/7 for nearly a month now. Albeit on very beefy air cooling.

 

Thanks for the input @Phaedrus
After much research I've ordered the following

ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Kingston 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7K3/12G

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K


Memory is cheap, but I can replace that later if needed. Right now, my server is using DDR2, and according to the cpureports i found earlier, my CURRENT cpu score per processor is 594!!! the new one is nearly 7100 non-overclocked.

Thanks for the advise, what do ya think about the selection?

 

@fffizzz I think you'll find it noticeably better.

I have some concerns about using only 3 sticks of ram though, since 1 channel will be missmatched. I would go for 4x4gb instead for a total of 16. I'd also recommend using a ram disk for your server files and just baking up to the Hard Drive on a schedule.

For my build I chose an i7 2600k, 40gig intel SSD for a boot drive, Asrock mobo, 16 gigs of corsair DDR3 1066, and a 640gb Caviar Black for backups. Running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and MySQL for database. DataRam Ramdisk free version for a 1gb ramdisk. Case is Fractal Designs, Corsair 750w PSU, Thermalright Silver Arrow cooler. And a super cheap passively-cooled ATI video card. Backups are handled by a set of batch files: http://forums.bukkit.org/threads/world-backup-utility.3794/ They do incremental backups of each world folder every 15 minutes, and do an overviewer render every hour.

It wasn't a cheap build, but it'll make a hell of a gaming rig once I'm done with server hosting.

 

How many people can that handle?

Ya, i was thinking about that, but it was already 150 more than I wanted to spend.I was going to run MineOS or CentoOS, but since I can get some licenses for Server 2008 I may look that route as well. Solid State drive would be next after getting the 16gig ram. Unfortunately, funds are low since im preparing for a wedding.

 

@fffizzz

Honestly, I have no idea how many that can handle. I run a lot of plugins, and my internet connection is only 5 meg up. I'm guessing I could probably host 40-50. The most I've had on at once was 15, and there was no lag at all. 3-4 gigs ram usage and maybe 5% cpu usage. But I was uploading a fairly steady 200 k/s

The 40gig intel drives are ~100$. Less if on sale.

12 gigs will be fine. And the board should handle 3 sticks just fine too.

If you're capable with linux, go for it. definitely less overhead. server 2008 R2 is very fast though. It's very light weight as well. And I prefere a gui. So far it's been very slick to use. It's a nice change from server 2003 that I'm used to.