[need help]Inexpensive server build

[Shank099]

Hello all, just joined because someone mentioned on another forum as being good for advice and having a lot of people that know there shit.

Back to topic, I am getting my job next week so ill have some cash in my pocket and one of the first things i wanna do is build an inexpensive server to run programs for my own benefit without leaving my computer on as it's loud as hell. I don't know much about building my computers but I do know my way around a computer pretty fairly.

Details:
Budget- prob about 300-500$, don't really wanna spend much more then that. (I don't know if this is unrealistic or not)

Applications/games- well i want it to run runescape botting programs so in our terms the nexus client and rsbot.org program-needs quite a bit of ram because i usually run more the once when i can.

Monitor- well basically i wanna be able to set it up for remote access from my desktop or a netbook but not need a monitor of its own

Software- doesn't really need anything besides the OS and the rest is pretty much free

Other- I want it to be pretty quiet and stay pretty cool as its gonna be running like max ram, if i can't keep it cool inexpensively then I can try to place it somewhere else in my house or I can work around keeping my room cool.

Where i live- Connecticut, US

Any questions for me just let me know, thanks everyone in advance!

[derlicious]

Well for a very demanding game like rune scape i think you'll be needing an athlon x2 build
Rofl kidding
Urm so no high end graphics requirements i presume
Do you have any space issues?

[Shank099]

No really high end graphics needs, may seem stupid but wasn't sure if i needed a video card because i wouldn't actually need a monitor. Space isn't really an issue, but if you suggest something that wouldn't work that ill let you know.

[butre]

I'll throw something together on newegg real quick.

[editline]01:22AM[/editline]

but first, do you want it running Linux or Windows? You'll have an easier time with remote access if you use Linux and understand the Linux command line. I don't know what exactly you need to run, so if you need Linux that's an extra hundred bucks I can put towards hardware.

[Shank099]

I have linux running on a vps but im not sure if i could set it up on my server or not successfully. I set it up on the VPS because i followed a detailed guide lol. But i'm not sure if it would be the same kinda thing, never worked with linux on a single computer in and of itself.

Could you do me a favor and put together one with and one without? and maybe one with windows and that extra 100 bucks of hardware if that makes sense?

[derlicious]

Linux is just like setting up windows

[Shank099]

That's the thing, never set up either of them when building a computer. So I might be able to do it.

[butre]

[url]http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9544749[/url]
[url]http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9544769[/url]

The Windows one obviously ends up being more expensive because Windows isn't a free operating system.

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=ButtsexV2;22739787][url]http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9544749[/url]
[url]http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9544769[/url]

The Windows one obviously ends up being more expensive because Windows isn't a free operating system.[/QUOTE]

I like both builds and thanks alot for them, but i really don't need that much hard drive for what i'm doing unless i wanna make this my porn downloading server which would be a negatory, what you would recommend in the way of like a 250g hdd? Or am i better off taking the extra space instead of reducing a little cost in case my needs change later?
Also isn't there a cheaper windows 7? like home basic? or is it not worth it?

[drummerundrcovr]

Hey I live in CT too :buddy:

Wait wait wait, I doubt you need a quad core. An AMD athlon 240 should do you just fine, i use it to play bad company 2 with my 4770. My pentium 4 2.66ghz is able to host ics and files to 5 computers simultaneously fine at LAN parties anyway...

Lemme try and put something together...

[Shank099]

I have a quad core on my current gaming computer and when i run 4 nexus clients which is what im usually using as its the nice program i have, it runs max on all 4 cores and eats most of my ram.

Like right now im running 4 clients, mozilla, itunes, msn, skype and few other small programs and im using 100% of my cpu and about 75% ram.

[drummerundrcovr]

I gotta go to the post office so that'll be like an hour. When I come back I'll build one as cheap as possible. for starters you can use this motherboard: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186188[/url]
$15 cheaper

[editline]10:28PM[/editline]

Also, I can't find xp or 7 basic on newegg. I'll look elsewhere

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;22740497]I gotta go to the post office so that'll be like an hour. When I come back I'll build one as cheap as possible. for starters you can use this motherboard: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186188[/url]
$15 cheaper

[editline]10:28PM[/editline]

Also, I can't find xp or 7 basic on newegg. I'll look elsewhere[/QUOTE]

Okay, sounds good thanks. I appreciate your time, if I'm gonna use a windows OS i would like to stick to windows 7 but it might come down to xp for the price.

Mind if i ask what your going to the post office at 10:30 at night for?

[drummerundrcovr]

I had to rma my gaming rigs motherboard; one of the ram slots died :saddowns: Closest post office is 20-25 minutes away in New Haven and everyone's been too busy to bring me.

Anyway here's a build, the same price as buttsex's windows build but this one's got a quad core instead of tri. [url]http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19427548[/url]

What cpu do you have? if it's one of the amd 9xxx quad cores, you could probably get away with a tri-core; amd's new line of cpu's are a bit more powerful

[butre]

[QUOTE=Shank099;22739916]I like both builds and thanks alot for them, but i really don't need that much hard drive for what i'm doing unless i wanna make this my porn downloading server which would be a negatory, what you would recommend in the way of like a 250g hdd? Or am i better off taking the extra space instead of reducing a little cost in case my needs change later?
Also isn't there a cheaper windows 7? like home basic? or is it not worth it?[/QUOTE]

home basic is oem only iirc

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;22742564]I had to rma my gaming rigs motherboard; one of the ram slots died :saddowns: Closest post office is 20-25 minutes away in New Haven and everyone's been too busy to bring me.

Anyway here's a build, the same price as buttsex's windows build but this one's got a quad core instead of tri. [url]http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19427548[/url]

What cpu do you have? if it's one of the amd 9xxx quad cores, you could probably get away with a tri-core; amd's new line of cpu's are a bit more powerful[/QUOTE]

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6700 @2.66GHz 2.67GHz

[derlicious]

Core2Quads are still amazing. I have a q6600 and i just over clocked it to 3.6ghz.

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=derlicious;22748054]Core2Quads are still amazing. I have a q6600 and i just over clocked it to 3.6ghz.[/QUOTE]

Yah i love it, it has been amazingly powerful for my since i got it a year ago but only problem is I think my computer has been beginning to get shit up so I think if i do a wipe and reinstall it should work beautifully again.

[derlicious]

Just get a nice CPU Cooler like a Hyper 212+ and over clock that bad boy. I checked some benchmarks and my over clocked Q6600 is almost as good as some really high end cards.

[editline]01:42PM[/editline]

I think the Q6600 outperforms the Athlon X4 or is slightly on par. He can just reuse his Q6600 and save moneys

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=derlicious;22748115]Just get a nice CPU Cooler like a Hyper 212+ and over clock that bad boy. I checked some benchmarks and my over clocked Q6600 is almost as good as some really high end cards.

[editline]01:42PM[/editline]

I think the Q6600 outperforms the Athlon X4 or is slightly on par. He can just reuse his Q6600 and save moneys[/QUOTE]

No because I'm not getting rid of my gaming computer, I'm just adding on my server.

[drummerundrcovr]

I can't see how 4 instances of a program controlling runescape bots could max that cpu...

In any case that's the cheapest I could make the build w/ a quad core :v:

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;22748149]I can't see how 4 instances of a program controlling runescape bots could max that cpu...

In any case that's the cheapest I could make the build w/ a quad core :v:[/QUOTE]

Thanks, well its a paid program so it's high end compared to the rest so I guess that's all i can really say for it.

How difficult is it to overclock a cpu? and how high could i overclock mine?

Now i just noticed there is no video cards included so I'm guessing i was right on my assumption that if I'm using remote access i wont need a video card?

[drummerundrcovr]

Your CPU overclocks like mad. People have hit 4Ghz with their q6600's.

I haven't overclocked with any multi-core Intel cpu's so I'm not sure if it's different, but you basically just raise the FSB in the BIOS a few Mhz at a time. You can keep going up until temps start getting high or it gets unstable (blue screens, freezing, won't boot etc..) if it gets unstable you can raise the voltage but NOTE* raising the voltage is what brings temps up. I don't know what you could hit if you have a stock cooler, maybe 3.2, 3.4Ghz?

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;22748306]Your CPU overclocks like mad. People have hit 4Ghz with their q6600's.

I haven't overclocked with any multi-core Intel cpu's so I'm not sure if it's different, but you basically just raise the FSB in the BIOS a few Mhz at a time. You can keep going up until temps start getting high or it gets unstable (blue screens, freezing, won't boot etc..) if it gets unstable you can raise the voltage but NOTE* raising the voltage is what brings temps up. I don't know what you could hit if you have a stock cooler, maybe 3.2, 3.4Ghz?[/QUOTE]

Well I doubt I have a stock cooler because I had the thing built by a friend of mine that runs a lan center and has been working with computers for years.

Can someone explain how I can check?

[drummerundrcovr]

Stress test your cpu too and monitor the temps to make sure they're not high. For a Q6xxx, you shouldn't run it higher than 60-65.

[editline]09:06AM[/editline]

automerge broken :saddowns:

Yeah just open up your case and look more towards the top left. looking for something like this [img]http://cdn1.ioffer.com/img/item/527/961/11/fanP4LGA.jpg[/img]

[editline]09:07AM[/editline]

[img]http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/676/gigabyte_ma78gm_front.jpg[/img]

white square is where the cpu is

[editline]09:10AM[/editline]

If you're computer runs fine without overclocking though, I think it's better not to. Nothing's stopping you though.

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;22748340]Stress test your cpu too and monitor the temps to make sure they're not high. For a Q6xxx, you shouldn't run it higher than 60-65.

[editline]09:06AM[/editline]

automerge broken :saddowns:

Yeah just open up your case and look more towards the top left. looking for something like this [img]http://cdn1.ioffer.com/img/item/527/961/11/fanP4LGA.jpg[/img]

[editline]09:07AM[/editline]

[img]http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/676/gigabyte_ma78gm_front.jpg[/img]

white square is where the cpu is

[editline]09:10AM[/editline]

If you're computer runs fine without overclocking though, I think it's better not to. Nothing's stopping you though.[/QUOTE]

i got a cheap masscool cpu fan [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150056&cm_re=mnsscool-_-35-150-056-_-Product[/url]

How do i stresstest and check the temp on my cpu?

[drummerundrcovr]

Doesn't look bad. If you just youtube "overclock q6600" you get a bunch of videos. Here's one I watched briefly [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bljU7116Ea0[/url]

and [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munFs4-YqhM[/url]

I can't be bothered to tell you exactly what to do. Takes way too long

[Shank099]

[QUOTE=drummerundrcovr;22748538]Doesn't look bad. If you just youtube "overclock q6600" you get a bunch of videos. Here's one I watched briefly [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bljU7116Ea0[/url]

and [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munFs4-YqhM[/url]

I can't be bothered to tell you exactly what to do. Takes way too long[/QUOTE]

K thanks, yah don't worry about it. I really appreciate all your help

Back to the main topic of the thread though, anyone else have another build for my server?

[derlicious]

Urm really dont overclock with a cheap CPU Cooler. It's a really bad idea. Just get a 30$ Hyper 212+ or something.

With that you wont be able to go over 2.9/3GHz
Overclocking is easy, just go into your motherboards BIOS and bump up the Bus speed and Multiplier

[Shank099]

I don't plan on it unless i upgrade the cooler, I have enough troubles with it right now ha.