Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Specialty Hosting and Markets : Game Servers : Looking for a Dedicated Gaming Server

[JDelis]

Hi I was hoping to get some feedback on getting the best Dedicated Gaming Server for around $500 for the year?

I was hoping to find a server were I could possible run up to 2 games like Battlefield Bad Company 2.

I'm looking for a server that could easily run a modern game and have No hiccups and Lag.

Now I have seen some dedicated servers run for $400 and up a month and unfortunatly thats right out of our price range.

I would basically like to know what I can get? or if it's even possible?

Please if you guyz could give a Newb some advice it would be muchly appreciated

[gordonrp]

You're not going to be able to rent a new high spec dedicated server for $500/year. What you need to rent is a "gameserver" from a gamerserver provider, you will choose which game you want a server for. They set it up with a fixed number of players and mods, and you pay per month. Typically anywhere from 70cent-$2 per player slot per month. Your gameserver will be hosted on a beefy machine with other customer's servers, and typically you don't have any ssh/web/ftp access.

In terms of dedicated servers, $500/year gets you an atom or old dual core proc which aren't going to run the latest games/gameservers with lots of players.

[JDelis]

Thanks for the Info! Unfortunatly thats what we are running now .
We have been finding that when we have 32 players the server has lag spikes so thats why I was wondering about a dedicated server.
What kind of dedicated server do we need to run games? Does it need to be high powered? What kind of specs do we need?

[gordonrp]

I'm not an expert regarding gameservers, but there is a "specialty hosting" section on this site which may be of help to you. My understanding is that typically the newer 32 player games you want extremely fast disk access (RAID 10, and/or SAS) along with a decent CPU (read: xeon/multicore).

Realistically, your best option might be to contact your current host and complain about the lag, if they don't fix it (by reducing number of clients on the machine) then you should find another gameserver host. I believe some offer "no lag" guarantees.

Good luck, happy fragging!

[LVPSHosting]

do you need any specific location? For example if your players are located in Europe you may want to get an EU based server because of the "lag" better ping response time etc...

[net]

Moved > Game Servers.

[iWeb-Foo]

FPS-oriented gaming servers will usually require low latency, this is first and foremost achieved by getting a server that will be physically close to your audience.

If your players are on the east coast, for instance, you will want to look at getting a server from the USA or Canada with which you will be satisfied with the response time.
Don't be afraid to ask potential providers for tests such as traceroutes, looking glasses or download files.
In traceroutes, try to count the amount of hops from your origin to destination. Fewer hops will mean fewer chances that something will go wrong inbetween. A tool like visualroute (http://visualroute.visualware.com/) will help you visualize that.

Then, you'll want to look at the hardware you have right now and figure out the bottleneck and find a server that will solve that issue.
Are you running a Windows or a Linux server ? Are you able to verify your server load ?

Do your lag spikes occur regularly ? Do you have scheduled tasks that could be done off peak hours ?

Hope this helps,

[JDelis]

Originally Posted by netxmas

Moved > Game Servers.

Thank you!

[JDelis]

Originally Posted by LVPSHosting

do you need any specific location? For example if your players are located in Europe you may want to get an EU based server because of the "lag" better ping response time etc...

I would say 99% of our players are from Canada and USA. As for location I think anywhere in North America that is a good hub and has good dedicated servers for a fair price.

[JDelis]

Originally Posted by iWeb-Foo

Hope this helps,

Wow Thanks for the link and info
I really appreciate you taking the time to help!

[RichardPerez]

An option is to always host at home Use your 40some you plan to use a month and upgrade your ISP

Otherwise, you will not find that MUCH for a great gaming machine, try serverpronto.

[Kurikami]

You might want to see superb.net offer, if you don't need more then 1gb of ram it should fit your budget http://www.superb.net/dedicated-serv...nniversary.php

[JSCL]

Go checkout xfactorservers - Derek is a great guy and they specialize in dedicated servers and gaming.

Good luck.

[JDelis]

Originally Posted by JSCL

Go checkout xfactorservers - Derek is a great guy and they specialize in dedicated servers and gaming.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info JSCL. I have tried to contact them numerous times today by live chat which is down and not working
I called there 1-800 number 4 times since 8:00 am Westcoast time and couldn't get through to speak to anybody about some details about there servers
I would like to get some info on there game servers. Do you maybe have Dereks company contact info you could PM me or post?

[JSCL]

Originally Posted by JDelis

Thanks for the info JSCL. I have tried to contact them numerous times today by live chat which is down and not working
I called there 1-800 number 4 times since 8:00 am Westcoast time and couldn't get through to speak to anybody about some details about there servers
I would like to get some info on there game servers. Do you maybe have Dereks company contact info you could PM me or post?

derekxfactorservers is his AIM