Using a server as a gaming rig?

[Derek12]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I will give you the details tomorrow. I'm going over to see it. He said he would give me it for £75 (which is an absolute steal imo) Thanks again!

If it has a PCIe x16 slot, then you are fine

people seem to think servers are godly fast uber machines, but truth is they're slower than gaming systems - they're just designed for 24/7 stability, over speed.
.

Nope I was said the Registered/buffered RAM is slower than normal one, and the Boot times are also slow, but the multiple CPU and hard disks SCSI/SAS arrays are normally very fast.

Servers are often intended to process large quantities of data so must be very fast

 

[mrw1986]

http://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2008/12_w52/t89639/dell-pe-1900.jpg

I found this picture online, does it look anything close to it in the inside?

If the MB is the same it has 2xPCI-X and 4xPCI-e (x8) and a special slot for the RAID controller (I think). If there isn't any other configuration of the slots than I guess there isn't much chance you will get a graphics card to work there.
The only option which doesn't always work is to cut the PCI-e slot to fit a x16 card in there. But it may not work.
I tried that with my ML350G4 it wouldn't even post.

Hmm, I don't even recall what it looks like, haha!

 

[Mussels]

Nope I was said the Registered/buffered RAM is slower than normal one, and the Boot times are also slow, but the multiple CPU and hard disks SCSI/SAS arrays are normally very fast.

Servers are often intended to process large quantities of data so must be very fast

servers are designed to multitask fast. not game fast. it can have four quad core CPU's, and it dont mean squat because the single threaded performance is what matters most with gaming.

 

[Derek12]

servers are designed to multitask fast. not game fast. it can have four quad core CPU's, and it dont mean squat because the single threaded performance is what matters most with gaming.

Don't games actually use multithread, multicore or multicpu? (besides GPU obviously)

 

[repman244]

servers are designed to multitask fast. not game fast. it can have four quad core CPU's, and it dont mean squat because the single threaded performance is what matters most with gaming.

And don't forget about slower RAM (Loose timings lower frequency and it's ECC which impacts the speed).

Don't games actually use multithread, multicore or multicpu?

They do but the problem is that server CPU's have lower frequency, slower RAM.

 

[Mussels]

Don't games actually use multithread, multicore or multicpu? (besides GPU obviously)

you can run multiple tasks, but you cant split one task over multiple cores. so for example if the AI is one thread and it needs more CPU power, more cores wont help you. you'll still lag.


servers are always about more cores, more threads, more ram, more drives - so they can do more things at one time, not do one thing faster.

 

[Frick]

servers are designed to multitask fast. not game fast. it can have four quad core CPU's, and it dont mean squat because the single threaded performance is what matters most with gaming.

But this has been improved a lot in recent years. It's not perfect, but it has come a long way.

 

[Mussels]

But this has been improved a lot in recent years. It's not perfect, but it has come a long way.

it hasnt improved at all, its how the tech works. games still mostly care about your single threaded performance above all else - yes, they now often benefit from having more cores, but a quad core at 4GHz is better than a 6 core at 3GHz, despite the 6 having better overall performance.

 

[Derek12]

They do but the problem is that server CPU's have lower frequency, slower RAM.

Yeah that's what I commented, they have ECC or registered/buffered modules but I think they can run in quad channel? (I am not sure )

you can run multiple tasks, but you cant split one task over multiple cores. so for example if the AI is one thread and it needs more CPU power, more cores wont help you. you'll still lag.


servers are always about more cores, more threads, more ram, more drives - so they can do more things at one time, not do one thing faster.

But aren't Xeon more powerful (per thread) than a consumer one? I thought they were (I am not very familiar with servers anyway)

 

[repman244]

Yeah that's what I commented, they have ECC or registered/buffered modules but I think they can run in quad channel? (I am not sure )


But aren't Xeon more powerful (per thread) than a consumer one? I thought they were

The channels depend on the CPU (or NB on older platforms), ECC is there to prevent errors that may occur, the buffered RAM isn't in use anymore AFAIK, it was used on DDR2 RAM to increase the density and reliability but it ran really hot and used more power (we are talking about temperatures of 80C here).

Xeons are the same as the desktop parts in terms of per clock performance, the only thing that's different is the lower power consumption (lower voltage), ability to use ECC RAM and such, ability to use 2 CPU's.

 

[Mussels]

But aren't Xeon more powerful (per thread) than a consumer one? I thought they were (I am not very familiar with servers anyway)

same performance per clock, and almost always clocked lower. its all about multiple cores on mutiple CPU's for the multi tasking, as i keep saying.

 

[Derek12]

The channels depend on the CPU (or NB on older platforms), ECC is there to prevent errors that may occur, the buffered RAM isn't in use anymore AFAIK, it was used on DDR2 RAM to increase the density and reliability but it ran really hot and used more power (we are talking about temperatures of 80C here).

Xeons are the same as the desktop parts in terms of per clock performance, the only thing that's different is the lower power consumption (lower voltage), ability to use ECC RAM and such, ability to use 2 CPU's.

same performance per clock, and almost always clocked lower. its all about multiple cores on mutiple CPU's for the multi tasking, as i keep saying.

Many thanks for the clarification, about the buffered ram, I worked not long ago on a brand new server which had DDR2 buffered RAM (I can't remember the model, but I am sure the RAM was buffered, because normal or ECC RAM of the same technology (DDR2) didn't fit the slot)

 

[repman244]

Many thanks for the clarification, about the buffered ram, I worked not long ago on a brand new server which had DDR2 buffered RAM (I can't remember the model, but I am sure the RAM was buffered, because normal or ECC RAM of the same technology (DDR2) didn't fit the slot)

It could be that it was DDR3 RAM, I don't think that Fully Buffered DDR2 and ECC DDR2 (unbuffered) have a different layout.
This could give you a better idea of the registered (buffered) RAM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_memory

EDIT. you are right it does have a different layout.

 

[de.das.dude]

someone here has a quad opteron server as gaming rig as i recall.

 

[yogurt_21]

a modern server would simply need a gpu upgrade to be able to game, the psu's will easily handle mid-level gpu's without issue and have plenty of cpu performance. (very few cpu demanding games don't take advantage of multi cores)

there's just a couple issues

1. can you really think of no use for a personal server?
2. compared to a 500$ gaming machine the performance will be similar, but the gaming machine will use less power, be quieter, and run cooler
3. if it's an older server say 771 based, that 500$ gaming rig would kick its ass.
4. seriously there's all kinds of things you can do with a personal server


so it's money well spent, but really you can make it worth so much more by using it as a server rather than a gaming rig.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Just to correct a few comments I read here:

1./ Some servers and their CPUs CAN be overclocked. BIOSes generally dont have this option, but sometimes they can be softmodded, so they boot at clock and then you overclock using software utility.

2./ It is also possible to HARDWARE overclock some server CPUs. Look into BSEL mod. I did this to get two s771 Xeon 2.5Ghz up to 3.0Ghz.

3./ Multi-core servers will rape a gaming rig at map loads and also (sometimes) have smoother framerates albeit possibly slightly lower. Map and texture loads involve loading off disk and/or decompressing zipped data and textures. Server architecture is good at this.

4./ I have found that memory bandwidth is not going to affect your gameplay. GPU then CPU then total RAM then HDD access speeds are the first four bottlenecks to worry about.

5./ Some server CPUs have monstrous cache which negates any performance loss on memory bandwidth, and might even take a "win"

6./ There is a strange tingly warm feeling you get running a server/workstation platform as a gaming rig. It's worth doing for fun even if you only get "95%" of the max framerate compared to a gaming rig.

7./ Er, don't go about spending more money than you need to! Stay efficient with your wallet

 

[FordGT90Concept]

As long as it doesn't have ECC memory (performance penalty), a relatively high clockspeed (>2 GHz), at least one PCI Express x16 slot (for a graphics card if it doesn't have one already), and either a spare PCI/PCIe x1 slot for an audio card or audio integrated it should work fine for gaming.

Oh, verify it works before buying. It might be DOA which is why they're selling it for cheap. If it is using a server socket, it will cost $100s of dollars to make operational again.

 

[bpgt64]

I would be concerned about sound, most server sound like freight trains.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

Okay, so games can't be split between processors, right? So if you put a good enough GPU in there you could play 2 games of BBC2 at the same time? Easy way to level up ;3

 

[LordJummy]

Okay, so games can't be split between processors, right? So if you put a good enough GPU in there you could play 2 games of BBC2 at the same time? Easy way to level up ;3

Your thought process is highly illogical.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

Could the two procs run independent? or would it just put more stress on the first proc? I've never even touched a server so I don't know much. It seems kinda awesome though..

 

[ShiBDiB]

This thread is a shitshow.. the original poster said he'd get us info and now a mod and a user derailed this with a multithreading arguement

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

Sorry

 

[m4gicfour]

This thread is a shitshow.. the original poster said he'd get us info and now a mod and a user derailed this with a multithreading arguement

Welcome to TPU. I see you've met Mussels

</sarcasm>

Ontopic, If you don't want that $75 server, I'll take it... probably.

 

[Derek12]

This thread is a shitshow.. the original poster said he'd get us info and now a mod and a user derailed this with a multithreading arguement

First of all, isn't off topic, so don't claim falsehoods as "derailed" or "shitshow".

Second. It's interesting to know. because if servers are slower than desktop counterparts, they may not be used for gaming even if has dual processor.

fourth, he asked if a server has gaming computer is possible with a server because of logical or physical limitations. server RAM being slower and slow processing for thread as Mussels stated are limitations.

The arguing wasn't only about threading but also from RAM at the end with another user. Which in servers is slower.

and you precisely YOU did want you said, derailed the thread with your attack.