Spec me... a headless linux minecraft server!

strange · 4 Dec 2019 at 23:33

Hi

Going to be running a modded minecraft and file server from home (mad, I know).... I got this far with a basic build, only splurge is on 32gb of memory so it can run three instances at once. I have no idea if I've picked a sensible combination of parts... and not sure if I need a cooler too. I'll also likely add a second 1TB+ drive for the file share/backups and so on from home network.

I didn't have much to go on in choosing a processor, went on price and having four cores. Any thoughts/advice/specs much appreciated!

(and I now realise I haven't added a PSU, not sure what would work with small form case/mobo?)

thanks

s

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Intel Core i3-9100F 3.60GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £82.99
1 x Asus Prime H310M-K R2.0 Intel H310 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £56.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD432G2= £99.95
1 x Gigabyte 256GB M.2 PCIe x4 NVMe SSD/Solid State Drive= £35.99
1 x Aerocool CS-100 Advance Micro-ATX Case - Black= £24.95
1 x Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST Black Fan - 120mm= £5.95

Total: £318.52 (includes shipping: £11.70)

s

LuckyBenski · 5 Dec 2019 at 00:23

A standard ATX PSU will fit fine.

I don't believe that board has an M.2 slot so your SSD might need rethinking.

Otherwise the setup looks fine - although someone else may come along with some better suggestions

strange · 5 Dec 2019 at 09:10

Thanks!

I could upgrade to this board, which has M.2 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...151-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-6bj-as.html

Will take a look at PSUs.

Audigex · 5 Dec 2019 at 16:56

strange said:
I didn't have much to go on in choosing a processor, went on price and having four cores. Any thoughts/advice/specs much appreciated!

For running a single Minecraft server, single core clock speed is what matters most... anything more than dual core (to avoid system tasks locking up your server thread) isn't going to show much benefit, but a faster single-core clock will make a noticeable difference. That said, I don't think there's a CPU that will beat that one by much on single-core-clock anyway without spending at least double the money, so I think you've accidentally chosen correctly.

For multiple server instances, more cores are beneficial

And yeah, you're gonna need the M.2 slot so that motherboard isn't much use to you. Definitely stick with the NVMe SSD for faster server restarts and chunk loading etc

strange · 5 Dec 2019 at 17:13

Thanks for that - ideally will have multiple instances, so multiple cores, plus dynmap etc, so good to know I chose well, if accidentally. Yup, going for the next mobo up that will have M.2...

strange · 5 Dec 2019 at 19:31

OK, I got to the basket below. Does it look sensible? Wondering what wattage PSU I need, maybe 500w is overkill for this setup, could drop to 400 or 300w? I'm assuming the retail CPU has a stock cooler...

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Intel Core i3-9100F 3.60GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £82.99
1 x Asus Prime H310M-A R2.0 Intel H310 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £64.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C16 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK32GX4M2A2= £104.99
1 x Gigabyte 256GB M.2 PCIe x4 NVMe SSD/Solid State Drive= £35.99
1 x Seagate 2TB BarraCuda 7200RPM 256MB Cache Internal Hard Drive (ST2000DM008)= £50.99
1 x Aerocool CS-100 Advance Micro-ATX Case - Black= £24.95
1 x Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST Black Fan - 120mm= £5.95
1 x Kolink Core Series 500W 80 Plus Certified Power Supply= £34.99

Total: £417.54 (includes shipping: £11.70)

Many thanks for the help!

s

Kurgen · 5 Dec 2019 at 20:51

The PSU probably not that great, this one seems to get recommended a lot. I would add another fan, 120 at front and also have one blowing out the side

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 450W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £59.99

Total: £70.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)

strange · 6 Dec 2019 at 10:48

Sanity check - that H310 board plus an I3 91200F will drive a display for initial install, won't it? The processor has no gfx, and I'm confused whether the mobo actually has gfx or just 'support for integrated graphics'...

s

LuckyBenski · 6 Dec 2019 at 10:54

strange said:
Sanity check - that H310 board plus an I3 91200F will drive a display for initial install, won't it? The processor has no gfx, and I'm confused whether the mobo actually has gfx or just 'support for integrated graphics'...

s

Motherboards generally don't have graphics these days. You'll need a graphics card.

strange · 6 Dec 2019 at 11:06

I might have to rethink this!

So is there a basic motherboard with gfx? Or, a cheap low-power gfx card that would do the job?

Sorry about all the questions!

LuckyBenski · 6 Dec 2019 at 23:12

Any old graphics card will do for an output while you set up the machine. You could use one from another PC and then set up remote access/SSH on the headless server.

You could also buy something cheap and second hand like a GT 210/310/710 as it's not doing any real graphics work.

I don't think you'll find a motherboard with integrated graphics at all.

No such thing as a stupid question, some people on here love giving advice

Kurgen · 11 Dec 2019 at 11:20

get a quadro nvs295 for £5 from the bay

Quartz · 11 Dec 2019 at 11:35

strange said:
The processor has no gfx, and I'm confused whether the mobo actually has gfx or just 'support for integrated graphics'...

The motherboard does not have GFX, just support for IGP.

strange · 12 Dec 2019 at 20:11

Thx all, got a cheap gfx card... now just wait for the order to arrive!