Building a compact, power efficient game server.

[xplosiff]

Hey people, I am currently planning to build a compact and power efficient game server. I have listed what I have in mind with prices in AUD.

What I would like to achieve, is to put all of this into the smallest case possible for the least amount of money. I am in Australia and would prefer not to purchase from America due to shipping costs and wait time.

I do have a gaming computer, but it is noisy and chews power like there's no tomorrow. Also, it is extremely overkill for server hosting.

I would like this server to be up 24/7 for at least 4 months, and as this is the case, it would need to be power efficient and have quality components.

The game I am hosting for is Modern Warfare 2. I am using alteriwnet, as they have dedicated servers. They say any CPU could run the dedicated server, but I need to host for 18 players and run a mod at the same time. I may even host a second server at the same time.

What I have in mind:
Aywun MW-100 case - $100
ASRock H61M-ITX - $120
Intel i3-2100T 2.5Ghz Dual Core (35w) - $185
ADATA 2x2Gb 1333Mhz Memory - $20
Toshiba 64GB SSD (THNS064GG2BBAA) - $125

The total cost would be $550 And if I am correct, would barely use more than 45 watts under full load. I have not included an optical drive as I will install windows 7 ultimate off an external HDD. I like the Aywun MW-100 case as it is small and includes a 60W external PSU, and on top of that, looks good. As for a monitor, I may not need one after I set it up. I will have it automatically start the server via a batch file on launch. Right now, that is all I need to press to start the server. if I do need a monitor, I will just get a samsung U10 as it is cheap ($100 off ebay) and small.

What are your opinions of this build? Is it worth the money or is it overkill?

Thanks

[Indigo]

FYI, installing Windows 7 from an external hard drive can be problem ridden. You CAN however do it from a flash drive (which is much faster than the HDD anyway)

Just a little experience there, do what you're comfortable with of course.

The choices look fine, though if I may suggest a couple other brands here.

RAM - G.Skill offers products that are consistently the highest rated online, and they're inexpensive. ADATA is good, but I've had problems with their DDR in the past 6 months.

Toshiba is not a brand I equate with Trust. This is just opinion of course, but they still have a high failure rate where I work, and we don't like them at all. They usually fail within months, and I would hate to see it here. Other SSD brands worth checking out are Intel, Patriot and Corsair.

What kind of power supply are you using? If it's the one with that case, be careful - 60 watts isn't going to last very long at all. You're better off getting a MiniATX with a 300 watt unit than that case for longevity's sake. The SSD and RAM would be fine, but by the time you add the CPU & motherboard, 60 watts is pushing it pretty hard. Note that 60 watts in the case is a lot different than 60 watts from the wall outlet.

[xplosiff]

Originally Posted by Indigo

FYI, installing Windows 7 from an external hard drive can be problem ridden. You CAN however do it from a flash drive (which is much faster than the HDD anyway)

Just a little experience there, do what you're comfortable with of course.

The choices look fine, though if I may suggest a couple other brands here.

RAM - G.Skill offers products that are consistently the highest rated online, and they're inexpensive. ADATA is good, but I've had problems with their DDR in the past 6 months.

Toshiba is not a brand I equate with Trust. This is just opinion of course, but they still have a high failure rate where I work, and we don't like them at all. They usually fail within months, and I would hate to see it here. Other SSD brands worth checking out are Intel, Patriot and Corsair.

What kind of power supply are you using? If it's the one with that case, be careful - 60 watts isn't going to last very long at all. You're better off getting a MiniATX with a 300 watt unit than that case for longevity's sake. The SSD and RAM would be fine, but by the time you add the CPU & motherboard, 60 watts is pushing it pretty hard. Note that 60 watts in the case is a lot different than 60 watts from the wall outlet.

I forgot to update this post. I changed the setup to the following. The case below includes a 200w power supply. I am however unsure if the graphics card will function without upgrading the power supply aswell, but the cpu is 65w and the mobo, memory and ssd should only add about 10-15w, leaving about 120w for the graphics card. I read that the 6670 is supposed to use about 63w, but I will go off the 6750 rating of 86w. I believe 200w should be enough to power this system.

Aywun MW-100 case - $65
ASRock H61M-ITX - $115
Intel i3-2130 3.4Ghz Dual Core - $165
Kingston 4Gb 1333Mhz Kit - $31
OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD - $121
XFX HD6670 1GB Graphics Card - 112
Total Cost: $610.20