Minecraft server builds?

I have two old computers that I'm using for servers. Both are running Ubuntu 10.04 Server 32-bit since each only have 2GB of DDR RAM. They run off of Intel Pentium 4 2.4Ghz single core processors. I've been able to turn one into a Minecraft server for three people and for the most part it runs pretty well. But I'm looking to upgrade.

So I'm wondering what I should put into the system. There are a few routes I can go. One of them is to build a completely new system. I would plan on going with an Intel desktop processor for the server and I would probably stick with cheap parts that aren't really needed for Minecraft to be fast. From what I know 2GB of RAM and a fairly fast is good for Minecraft. I'll only have a few users online at a time since it will just be a private server with some friends. So a max of 5 people should ever be on at a time. So I'm asking you for any suggestions on processors and other components for the server.

As for the other route I could go is by upgrading my desktop machine and using the old parts for the server. My desktop was built earlier this year and has 4GB of RAM and a 2500K processor. I would probably buy whatever Intel processor is better than the 2500K next year and then use the 2500K and motherboard if Intel changes the socket for the server. If not I'll use the 2500K and buy a new motherboard and new RAM.

So I'm wondering what exactly I should do for this server. Build a new server or use older parts. I'm looking for what would be best for my money.

Update:

I built a system about a month ago with 16GB of RAM and a Core i3-2120 processor. The machine is running ESXi 5.0 and I setup a Server 2008 R2 VM for the Minecraft serer and it works great with 5GB of RAM.

Now I just need to get a better internet connection at least as far as upload speed goes for the server.

parts minecraft server

asked Aug 18 '11 at 19:24

Liam Quade
7.4k●92●121●197

edited Feb 18 '12 at 17:16

5 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Don't waste money on a fancy Processor, Maybe a Pentium Dual core Nothing more than an Intel i2 if you don't have Fibre Internet with a decent up/downstream. Definitely increase the RAM though, No more than 8GB though, this is because although Hardware-wise, your server may be good, Your Internet connection can't always handle it. ADSL - You're Pushing Your Luck, FTTC - Reliable enough to handle it, FTTP/H - If You're gunna overdo it :P

answered Aug 18 '11 at 19:54

adamjweeden
116●2●4

A lot of the gaming will be done LAN only. And I have a Gigabit LAN.

(Aug 18 '11 at 20:16) Liam Quade

I think this is the best answer here. As someone else stated above, there are arguments you can make to the command line so that Java will use more than one core of a processor. One thing though-- Java and Minecraft especially LOVES RAM. Honestly the more RAM the better. For 5 people 4 GB should be plenty, but to be safe and to give everyone on the server an enjoyable experience, I really wouldn't go less than 4. If it is feasible it certainly wouldn't hurt to go with more, especially if eventually there might be more than 5 people.

(Aug 18 '11 at 20:43) AlanStryder

How does the AMD A6-3650 sound for a processor. I'll get 4GB of Crucial DDR3 with that.

(Aug 18 '11 at 20:50) Liam Quade

Hmmm... Yea... Biggest most important part is to up the RAM to 4GB at least, use Sun Java runtime and maybe splashout on a good SSD or Hi RPM HDD, Pref a SSD...

(Aug 18 '11 at 21:05) adamjweeden

For processors, from what I've read, 2-4 cores is just fine so the AMD A6-3650 is a good choice.

(Aug 18 '11 at 21:12) AlanStryder

Update.

Something fast but cheap. No point in a 990x etc. 4GB of RAM would be best.

answered Aug 18 '11 at 19:45

tj00139
551●7●14●21

edited Aug 18 '11 at 19:57

MineCraft only uses one core..... One big core is better that lots of little ones.

(Aug 18 '11 at 19:48) Jackster1337

Minecraft only uses one core if you specify it to run only one core... there are Java arguments you can use when starting the server via .sh or .bat, you know?

(Aug 18 '11 at 19:49) Wolfy9247

Still better to have it one one core.... I host a lot of game servers I know how they work.

(Aug 18 '11 at 19:55) Jackster1337

Sorry. My server work is very deferment from... Minecraft. lol

(Aug 18 '11 at 19:56) tj00139

I don't know how you can use that much RAM. When I was runnnig a server with a large map and 30+ plugins I was using less than a Gig of RAM. The most important part is definitely your internet connection.

answered Aug 19 '11 at 01:27

korin125
576●2●5●12

With the 3 or so users on my server it only uses about 300MB of RAM max. For me it's the processor that's being used a lot since I have an old one. I have a pretty good Internet connection to. I plan to probably just go with 4GB of RAM anyways though since it will only cos t me like $20 which is no big deal. But I think 8GB and on is pointless, even my desktop PC doesn't use more than 4GB of RAM.

(Aug 19 '11 at 07:49) Liam Quade

You'll ruin your SSDs with a minecraft server, I recommend using Ramdisk to host the world to help preserve your SSD(s). As for 15 players, I have 40+ plugins, a few of them being Spout, SpoutEssentials, an orebfuscator. I never have more than 300mb used with one player on. That's using Bukkit and not having ramdisk setup. If your just running vanilla server you would be more than fine with 4GB for 15 players. I recommending not trusting canihostaminecraftserver.com AT ALL. It's really inaccurate. I recommend setting up a temporary server and seeing how much memory/internet you actually use. Then basing it off of that whether or not you need something better. In console while using Bukkit, it might throw you the "Did the time change or is the server overloaded?" message. It's really not. If you tell the Java process to use almost all of your memory it's going to think your out when you're really not. There's really no definitive answer to this.

answered Feb 11 '12 at 21:34

Josh S
1

If I'm brutally honest, you could have the best server in the world and it would never run well. We have our server running on a 1Gbps connection and there are still times when under load it's a little bit slow.

Your best option would be to host on a VPS. Currently we pay $60 a month and we run an i7 with 16GB of RAM and 2TB hard drive space.

Those specifications may be a bit overkill to start with on a small server but there are lots of other lower end packages for less.

answered Feb 12 '12 at 05:17

Tim Fontana
15.5k●136●202●377

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