Making a team fortress 2 server

[imod]

Hey there!
I'm just wondering what hardware would make a good team fortress 2 server (running the orange box engine) and also is some cheap hardware as well. - Thanks

 

[WR2]

Hello imod;
The server hardware requirements are very light. Even a 4 or 5yr old PC is a good candidate for a dedicated server. Have an old PC (or PCs) laying around you can scrounge for parts? If not, what budget are you working with?

The server bandwidth requirements are a bit higher. You'd want a fat internet cable connection for a 24 person server.
Have you looked over the

 

[imod]

Anything under $500 dollars should work for me, and anything easy to set up, I'm not all the hardware savy. Also something I can run linux on would be nice (and easy I presume).

 

[imod]

Also, if I'm going to run an idle server, could I run more that one server on the same machine? If so, about how many idle servers do you think I could run?

 

[WR2]

Here is something that should work good for a personal game server.

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz & ASUS M4A785-M 785G motherboard $125 Core unlocking MB and integrated HD 4200 graphics
Sunbeam CR-CCTF92-4 92mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler $32 and $15 rebate
G.SKILL 4GB DDR2 800 $90
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 320GB HDD $45
LG DVD Burner $18
Antec 300 case and Antec EarthWatts EA-380D 380W PSU $85 and $10 rebate
~$395 before $25 in rebates


Running multiple instances of TF2 is possible. The limiting factor will be the upload bandwidth of your internet connection.
With a fast cable connection anything more than 1x 24 man busy game will saturate the internet bandwidth.
It's possible you could use 2x 12 man games. For a DSL 3GB internet connection a busy 12man game would saturate the internet connection.

 

[imod]

And this server would work well for other things such as number crunching and files storage?

 

[WR2]

Yes it would.
What are you using for your current gaming PC? Possible you might improve your current build.
We should look to see if there are any parts need swapping around.

 

[imod]

Using a laptop

~2.13 GHz Intel processor
4GB RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 9800m GS 512MB

and 300gb hd or something around that.

I use it for personal use and gaming of course

 

[WR2]

Won't be swapping any parts around... Still, maybe a change or two...
Antec Three Hundred case & Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU $100
HIS HD 4850 $103 and $10 rebate

~$488 after rebates (plus any taxes and shipping)

 

[imod]

Why would I need those?

 

[WR2]

Playing Team Fortress 2 on the desktop while you host the server on the laptop.

 

[imod]

I'll just stick to running the server on the desktop