Hello everyone,

I know that atom processors weren't meant to host game-servers, but since the price went down on them lately, I would like to know if you could host a quality server off these machines, and the quantity of them.

So, let's say I want to host 100tic TF2 servers on Intel Atom 330 Dual-Core 1.6GHz with 2GB of ram, 2TB Bandwidth(which I don't think matters in this case), and 100mbps port.

So again, my questions were, how many servers would I be able to host, and would the gameplay be any smooth?

Hope you understand my question

I play tons of games, thousands of dollars in gaming consoles...

I still had to look up what TF2 was :) I doubt you'll find many answers on this. In either case, it's probably not been tested. The atom is powerful for it's purpose but doesn't get anywhere close to real processing power required for most games. However, game hosting is different. It really depends on what kind of resources it requires... *shrug* no idea the specs.

I cant give you any specifics, but I will say that I wouldnt bother trying to host gameservers on an Atom.

The main drawback is going to be the tiny amount of cache you have. I may be completely wrong as I've not done any gameservers for a while, but I doubt it will handle more than a single 12/16 slot 100tick server.

For single apps Atoms can perform well, but even with hyperthreading they are just not that good for running lots of thing simultaniously.

use phenom amd is always a cheaper option and with the new x6 (6 cores) from just £155 for the processor you cant really go wrong. beats the i7920 so thats what i would advise.

You're lucky when you get one game server running on the Atom, but I would say no. It also depends on how many slots you want.

You're lucky when you get one game server running on the Atom, but I would say no. It also depends on how many slots you want.

Pretty much, Atom's are garbage for game servers. Also TF2 doesn't run at 100tick.

Bare minimum should really be a decent dual core CPU for game servers, depending on the number of game servers and slots you are looking at running a quad core is even better

Pretty much, Atom's are garbage for game servers. Also TF2 doesn't run at 100tick.

Thanks for that input, so I am guessing the best and cheapest way to run the servers is from quad cores and dual quad cores with lots of ram?

Thanks for that input, so I am guessing the best and cheapest way to run the servers is from quad cores and dual quad cores with lots of ram?

At least normal dual cores to start with.

At least normal dual cores to start with.

Any specific specifications for the dual cores?

Any specific specifications for the dual cores?

Yes, server CPU's and no desktop/Atom stuf. Although Desktop stuf can stil be used, but it isn't designed to function in a server.

If you want to play safe: order a server with a hi-end CPU, at least XEON nehalem or even better.

I think I'm going to start offering fax machines to run game servers on.

I think I'm going to start offering fax machines to run game servers on.

Why not Phones ^^ Saw a vid a few days ago with the Google Nexus one connected to a screen, why not running game servers instead:agree:

Running a TF2 server on a Atom is not a good idea.

If you are looking for a cheap cpu solution, i would recommend AMD.

Running servers on an Atom processor would not be the most cost efficient method at all.

Having said that, it all depends on the tickrate and slot size of the servers you're running. There's a possibility that a 16 slot server may be OK though, as game servers are mainly RAM reliant.

If you decide to use the atom I hope you have your own servers and enough rackspace to give you the discounts you need. But from my experience in overall gaming even though intel is a proven power house AMD Seems to run games smoother and is a little bit more power efficient wise. Not sure how the Newest intel processors are running though. Give us an update and tell us what you chose to do.

If you got with an intel their are some extra parameters you can add to your .exe file for better smoother running. I don't remember what they are though.

I'm not even sure that you could run 1 reasonably sized game server on an ATOM. Just too slow.

If you want to go budget check out an AMD X2 based machine.

There's a possibility that a 16 slot server may be OK though, as game servers are mainly RAM reliant.

If you're talking about valve games (as the rest of the thread seems to suggest), in my limited experience I think that couldn't be further from the truth. I tried running one on a machine with no shortage of ram but a garbage CPU and the results were less than stellar. On the other hand, I've ran a server on my Sempron desktop with 512MB RAM and it ran great... no FPS drops at all.

As long as you've got enough RAM where the gameserver data won't get swapped out at all, I think CPU's the most important commodity. While an Atom makes a great little light-weight webhosting server, they're just not fast enough per-core to run FPS servers.

Running servers on an Atom processor would not be the most cost efficient method at all.

Having said that, it all depends on the tickrate and slot size of the servers you're running. There's a possibility that a 16 slot server may be OK though, as game servers are mainly RAM reliant.

i'have ran an 12 slots CoD4 1.7 on notebook with
sempron 3300+ 2.0ghz 128 cache
512 ddr rams
80 gb ide hdd
sure it was lagg free
and yes cod4 does'nt have advanced configurations like tickrate
:D

cstrike planet has a tutorial on how to set up a CS:S server, maybe take a look there and see if that might help you? It mentions minimum/recommended internet speeds, ram requirements etc... Though I think TF2 is more resource intensive, so you may be better off buying a VPS and using that (though on the long run, buying that computer you want may be more cost-effective)

http://www.cstrike-planet.com/tutorial/1

I would advice to just try it out if you can, if you can try it then monitor how many resources is used for each game server. I would advice temporarily installing webmin to monitor, then remove it afterwards (Webmin uses RAM and CPU uage)

tf2's a pretty cpu-intensive game to run as a server. an atom wouldn't likely suit that application terribly well. as others have said, something with a bit of oomph -- core 2 arch xeon, multi-core a64 cpu or better (quad preferred) would likely fit the application a lot better.

i've got a dual core box w/4GB of RAM and 100mbit port that i tested running a 16-man vanilla tf2 server on and with a full compliment of players, it was pegged at near 100% cpu utilization and that's without any adjustments to the default cmdrate/tickrate. so unless you're running timy games an atom would likely be a no-go.

use phenon as they replied its MUCH cheaper and its good since its AMD ;) i mean for real the new 6 cores phenon its like KABOOMM and its cheap as hell compared to intel ofcourse but it will do the work :)

Atom is way to slow. This is a surprise.

...

phenom*

My experience with TF2 has been that you will want loads of memory and a fast CPU to keep up. The ATOM most likely will run a small game server but I wouldn't have very high expectations for the quality of the gameplay.

You better off looking for a Core2Duo or Athlon X2 based dedicated server as a start. If you out grow that look to a quad core.