Apologies for the cryptic subject line.

I would like some real life experiences here for a dedicated server.

Assuming 30-100 users ... lets assume 50% use mySql / forums ...

What sort of setup is best .. I know Intel is good for servers but the new AMDs are also good ... I know compaq in general is expensive .... any suggestions ?

Also memory 128/256/512/1G ??

I realise 128 is probably too little ... do i Really need 1Gb mem ??

What are your experiences and when do you upgrade ?


As always, thanks all for the comments

Well I have 2 ded servers:

#1 - 1.3 ghz Intel Celeron, 512mb RAM -- Hosts about 30 sites ... lots of SQL usage/forums/php/etc. Handles nice.

#2 - 1.4 ghz AMD XP 1500 (I think 1500); 256mb RAM -- High memory usage with no sites on it -- Upgrading to 768mb of ram today ... will run excellent then I'm sure. I've not got any sites on it yet so I Can't tell you if it's better than the Celeron.

I don't think you need 1 gig of ram unless you're hosting heavy data handling stuff. 512mb definitly ... unless you're doing maybe all static sites.

I'd stick to Intel/AMD for a server (Only XP AMD chips though.)

I have a ded server using AMD XP1800 with 1GB RAM. Hosting around 100 websites with php, cgi, JAVA, MySQL... The average CPU loading is still under 8%. The performance is similar to my PIII and Celeron boxes. But it is cheaper than the others ;)

From my experience memory is the last thing you should save on. RAM is really cheap nowadays. 512 Mb should be the minimum even if you are not going to host a lot of users.

There were reports some time ago that AMD Duron processors have a such a serious problem as overheating but the new AMD processors are probably as good as Intels.

And who told you that Compaq is expensive? As far as I know it's one of the cheaper brands on the market...