Is a Core 2 Quad Q6600 enough for a small minecraft server?

[questkid44]

Hi,
I have a Dell XPS 420. Specs are:
CPU: Core 2 Quad Q6600
RAM: 4gb DDR2 RAM
GPU: Radeon HD 2600 XT Overclocked
PSU: 375 Watt Dell OEM
Hard Drives: 160 gb Boot Drive
1 TB HDD
250 Gb HDD
Wifi: 802.11 N 600 Wifi Card ( I cannot use Ethernet)

When i stress test the CPU w/ prime 95 i get quite low temperatures(50~ ish degrees)

I need this PC to host a mine craft server for approx. 10 players in vanilla and moderate modded environments.

Thanks,
Falcon

 

[okcnaline]

First, get an air cooler. Next, you'll want more RAM, maybe even replace the GPU. But this could do probably 12-15 without mods.

 

[questkid44]

I have a air cooler and am considering upgrading the RAM to the max 8 gbs. Do i really need to upgrade the gpu? i am only running the mineceraft server 24/7 Thanks for answering!

 

[okcnaline]

Uh... Yeah. Running the MC server 24/7. No, I am kind of unsure about the HD 2600 XT's ability to handle TNT explosions.

 

[dudio]

You dont need a GPU upgrade for a *server*.
Not sure about the CPU, probably is fine, but I'd be concerned with RAM.
Using wifi may be an issue as well

 

[okcnaline]

For Minecraft servers, you do need a bit of horsepower to handle TNT and other effects, you know.

 

[megamanx00]

It should be more than enough. It's not like mine craft uses the GPU even if you run a client on that machine. If you're only going to run 10 clients you should be fine, but if you have other background jobs running on that machine then you may want to put more RAM on it. If it's just for mine craft then you can probably get to about 20 players before you need to start thinking about more RAM.

 

[questkid44]

but doesn't the machine that connects to the server do the rendering? I may be misunderstanding but i thought that the server just provided the blockdata and the client rendered it .

 

[okcnaline]

Exactly, the client renders, but the server's GPU calculate the block data.

 

[questkid44]

okay! thanks for explaining. I will see if i can upgrade the GPU. are the temperatures a problem? They are 52.4 degrees centigrade under prime 95 small FFT's load? also, you said that wifi would be a problem? my internet connection is 210 down and 82 up. i have a 802.11AC 3200 Netgear router so, would that cause lag? I am using this to connect to my friends for a youtube channel i have.

 

[okcnaline]

1) The temps are probably a bit of a problem, but reapply the thermal paste, and if it improves to be under 40°C, then it'll be fine.
2) Check ping in cmd. Type "ping -t www.google.com". Stop whenever you want, then tell us the max, minimum, and average.

 

[questkid44]

4 ms is my ping, and thanks for all of your help, im kinda a noob to creating servers xD. EDIT: 10 ms max. 2ms min and 4.998 average

 

[questkid44]

would this ram work as an upgrade to this pc?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8GB-Nanya-4X-2GB-DDR2-800-MHZ-PC2-6400-240-PIN-Desktop-memory-RAM-DIMM-/331747124267?hash=item4d3dab642b:g:A5MAAOSw8-tWZ26I

 

[okcnaline]

I don't know. Dell could be using custom RAM here. And you may want to pick up another set instead of this, it's sold.

And ping is good; you're good to go.

 

[questkid44]

Thanks for all of your help, I am in search of RAM and i reapplied the thermal paste, and temps dropped drastically.(down to 41 load) Since i am enforcing a 12 player limit on my server, i think i will keep the 2600 xt. I am going to set a auto-kick for huge TNT explosions. Thanks for all of your help, and teaching me about how the server sends block data. Thanks!!

 

[okcnaline]

You're welcome!
P.S.: Would you mind PM'ing me the IP to the server? I hope I still have my MC skills... 😉

 

[MrNamegame]

Thanks for all of your help, I am in search of RAM and i reapplied the thermal paste, and temps dropped drastically.(down to 41 load) Since i am enforcing a 12 player limit on my server, i think i will keep the 2600 xt. I am going to set a auto-kick for huge TNT explosions. Thanks for all of your help, and teaching me about how the server sends block data. Thanks!!

One more thing to note is that a machine of this age must be cared for a little bit more carefully than a modern machine, as even if you know the history of all of the components exactly, there is still the increased possibility of hardware failure due to normal wear and tear. One of the absolute worst offenders is dust...a positive air pressure fan setup can help your computer keep dust out a lot if the case allows decent airflow, but if not, do a biweekly (once every 2 weeks) dusting routine using a can of pressurized air. Another important thing is to keep on top of the recommended monthly maintenance that computer tech guys will talk about...it may not seem as important, but it will make a world of difference in the user experience and computer lifespan, especially considering that most, if not all of the components are more than 5 years old.

If the computer is not working as well as expected for a server, you can message me to get further help with diagnosing the bottleneck in performance. It's a good thing that internet connection is eliminated from this equasion already.

 

[questkid44]

Yeah, dust will be a bit of a problem. I have put the server under the maximum stress it is likely to happen during the normal course of hosting, and there was just a tiny bit of lag. ( I tested by spawning in 50 ender dragons xD) I also ran a modpack with 160 mods and it ran okay, so i think that this server will finally be able to go online and i can record my YouTube channel on it easily. I think that this computer does have positive airflow. (2 fans in front, 1 in back) so that will hopefully help keep the dust out. Thanks for your help!!!

 

[dudio]

I hope it all works for you.
I didn't know a dedicated server requires a GPU to do calculations, but thn again, I don't play Minecraft.
I'm still concerned about hosting a server thru a wireless connection as it is far from ideal. You pinging the router really doesn't mean much, but the only way to be sure is to try it... good luck !

 

[MrNamegame]

Yeah, dust will be a bit of a problem. I have put the server under the maximum stress it is likely to happen during the normal course of hosting, and there was just a tiny bit of lag. ( I tested by spawning in 50 ender dragons xD) I also ran a modpack with 160 mods and it ran okay, so i think that this server will finally be able to go online and i can record my YouTube channel on it easily. I think that this computer does have positive airflow. (2 fans in front, 1 in back) so that will hopefully help keep the dust out. Thanks for your help!!!

You're welcome! Stay crafty.

 

[Lolz Trollz]

There is so much misinformation in this thread. You DO NOT need a fast GPU. Even an ancient GeForce 2 MX400 will suffice. You only need a GPU to boot the OS and launch a command prompt, as eveything else is calculated entirely by the CPU. Second, 4GB of ram is more than plenty for a 10 player server. I've used 768MB of RAM allocated to my server with a similar player count and didn't encouter much lag. With 3GB for the server and 1GB for the OS it'll fly. What does "get an air cooler" mean? The only other real methods are water and liquid nitrogen cooling, which I doubt that he uses. He has to have an air cooler already. Also, 50°C is a "bit of a problem"? Are you kidding me? A modern CPU can run even at 80-90°C without any problems at all! (Yeah, that might be a bit of a stretch, but I'm just trying to prove my point.)

Summary:
- Keep your 4GB of RAM. It'll be enough for 10 players.
- Don't upgrade your GPU, it's a total waste as a Minecraft server computes everything with the CPU anyway.
- Your temps are not a problem at all.

 

[questkid44]

Yeah, Thanks, I already have set this up, and I "stress tested it" by getting everyone i could on (23 players), and it used 2.2 gigs of RAM, but everything stayed online, and the chunks loaded nicely.

 

[MrNamegame]

Yeah, Thanks, I already have set this up, and I "stress tested it" by getting everyone i could on (23 players), and it used 2.2 gigs of RAM, but everything stayed online, and the chunks loaded nicely.

I know it's been ages since you solved this problem, but I just wanted to say that's good to hear, man!

 

[SyMix_KD]

There is so much misinformation in this thread. You DO NOT need a fast GPU. Even an ancient GeForce 2 MX400 will suffice. You only need a GPU to boot the OS and launch a command prompt, as eveything else is calculated entirely by the CPU. Second, 4GB of ram is more than plenty for a 10 player server. I've used 768MB of RAM allocated to my server with a similar player count and didn't encouter much lag. With 3GB for the server and 1GB for the OS it'll fly. What does "get an air cooler" mean? The only other real methods are water and liquid nitrogen cooling, which I doubt that he uses. He has to have an air cooler already. Also, 50°C is a "bit of a problem"? Are you kidding me? A modern CPU can run even at 80-90°C without any problems at all! (Yeah, that might be a bit of a stretch, but I'm just trying to prove my point.)

Summary:
- Keep your 4GB of RAM. It'll be enough for 10 players.
- Don't upgrade your GPU, it's a total waste as a Minecraft server computes everything with the CPU anyway.
- Your temps are not a problem at all.

Finnaly someone said the obvious.