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Server Help Recommended upgrade specs for one of my servers?

Discussion in 'Multiplayer' started by squiblez, Jul 6, 2017.

  1. squiblez

    squiblez Big Damn Hero

    TL:DR(sort of) at bottom, thorough explanations are given so people don't give me answers I've already considered but tried to avoid.

    I've spent a heck of a lot of time modding and tuning Starbound for games I do with my friends, we usually just play via Steam drop ins but I feel like it's time I re-purposed my old Doom/Zdaemon/Zandronum server into a dedicated Starbound server for us(so that any one of us can play in the universe WITHOUT me needing to be online, and so someone could launch Starbound without steam to play with us)

    Unfortunately, the only spare server I have in my home to run a Starbound server instance is a dated one that I've been using and maintaining for Doom, for around a decade or so, and it has received very minimal upgrades

    (Yes I know these specs are GARBAGE, but a decade ago this was actually a fairly reliable server for a handful of games, Doom being my choice as I've been a huge doom player my entire life, and this thing has ran 10-80 instances of different doom game servers and been shared with other people to host their own games for the ENTIRETY of its poor life, and performed flawlessly)

    Current specs:
    AMD Athlon 3200+ 2.00ghz, has been replaced once during the time I've owned this thing, under very heavy load for months at a time aside from monthly maintenance which was at most a 30 minute break

    6GB Buffered memory, slow but gifted to me from a friend who owns a computer shop to replace the 8gb that had been trashed a few years ago.

    It previously had an HD6450 2GB Silent w/ low-profile brackets, but that was removed when the machine was upgraded to Windows 7, years ago, for reasons I can't remember. But that doesn't matter because no game is actually rendered on the server.

    And currently it sits inside a Dell Optiplex 7010 case with its OEM PSU(250W) modded to support any ATX mobo instead of using all proprietary pins and connectors.

    I know as it is, it wouldn't perform reliably for more than a few players, it has been running aimlessly for the last 2 months as a file server since I ended my services to doom modders and all of my personal servers, and has since been used to stream movies to the smart TVs in our home, but I have a newer and smaller machine for that now, and this thing needs a purpose.

    I've done a bit of reading and tried to find solid answers but with I highly doubt a quad-core with hyperthreading and 16gb of memory is really necessary for Starbound, me and my brother had used this same machine as a local Starbound server around 2013 or 2014 I think for us to play together before we had the option of playing via Steam alone, and it performed well enough even dealing with Doom, occasionally making us halt for a few seconds while terrain or areas were loaded or generated. And I doubt much has changed. I however KNOW this means I need a new CPU, which 100% means new motherboard because i will not find a decent CPU on Socket 754

    >>>TL:DR(Sort of)<<<
    Is there a cheap way for me to make this a more reliable Starbound server? My current idea is to find a cheap FM1 motherboard and a used A8-3850 APU with a cheap 8GB memory kit, I have several gaming and modding stations in my house that use those components, but they are not always easy to get for a decent used price(aiming for UNDER 150 USD) BUT I'm hoping, since this is ONLY Starbound, I can get away with something cheaper. We tested this on a salvage rig using an A8-3850 and 16GB of memory that I had made simply to do some case mods, and it was serious overkill, but was constructed for just under 150 USD. FYI that machine now has a discrete GPU and storage for my siblings to use so it can't be a server(before someone suggests I use IT instead)

    Any suggestions? Used part combinations? Cheap Optiplex models I could rig into the modded server chassis? All i really need is a motherboard and CPU, I have everything else. I need help finding the right specs for a 10-20 person server to run comfortably. But I don't have any solid data or reported experiences on exactly WHAT that would take. Surely someone here has experience in dedicated Starbound servers, and the resource statistics behind it.

    ALSO, any ideas for aesthetic case mods related to Starbound?
     
  2. lazarus78

    lazarus78 The Waste of Time

    Starbound seems to have issues with AMD processors, and the one you mention isn't too great, so getting a better one would be very beneficial. Additionally, an sad would improve loading for everyone on the server. Ram really depends on how many people are on it, but otherwise is not a huge priority for upgrade, unless you didn't have enough.
     
  3. squiblez

    squiblez Big Damn Hero

    8gb would be far more than sufficient for this, but it doesn't matter at this point I emailed a used server sales company and I'm going to just order a refurbished PowerEdge 1950 Gen 3 with 16gb memory preinstalled. If that isn't enough for Starbound nowadays then there is a serious problem in the server daemon lol
     
  4. lazarus78

    lazarus78 The Waste of Time

    The CPUs in that server are borderline minimum for Starbound. You could probably put that money towards a run of the mill pre-built from walmart and get better bang for your buck. Better CPU, enough ram, and hard drive space, and a hell of a lot less power draw.

    Server CPU, based on what I found:
    http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+5160+@+3.00GHz
    Overall Rank: 1359

    For comparison, a low end 4th gen i3 is vastly superior to what that server has:
    https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-4160+@+3.60GHz
    Overall Rank: 576
     
  5. squiblez

    squiblez Big Damn Hero

    When you're right your right, oh well. I've already ordered it(it was only $40 USD , 20 of that was x2 1TB SAS storage)
    When I build its new rack I'll just build a secondary slot for a new version. Happen to know a cheap old Xeon processor that would be good enough? I've always been able to pull cheap server hardware out of the void, just never thought about doing it for Starbound.
     
  6. lazarus78

    lazarus78 The Waste of Time

    Ive not really looked into server hardware, so I cant help much there.
     
  7. squiblez

    squiblez Big Damn Hero

    I can't really find anything pertaining to server hardware and Starbound. The guy I'm buying this from already made the machine and is shipping it Monday, i specifically mentioned that Starbound was the primary concern and he said he'd tested it(only a bit) before he offered me the specs & price, so I'm hoping I get lucky and it just works the way I want, he said if he was wrong and it isn't powerful enough I can return it up to 2 months after arrival and he's always done right by me so I think I'll give it a shot. After it gets here I'll do some Starbound related stress testing and post how it performs, after some more reading I'm not counting on it going well but I'm sure I can always upgrade the CPU for cheap, or worst case scenario buy a better server in a month or two.
     

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