How to Build the Best Game LAN Server Computer
Building the best game LAN server computer isn't prohibitively expensive. Because you're building the server and not the client machine, you don't need to spend money on expensive video cards. Spending money on a few key features, rather than rushing out to buy the latest and greatest server platform, will ensure that your LAN game server will be able to provide hours of gaming fun and the best possible performance.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with CPU
- SATA hard drives
- 100MB/1GB ethernet card
- Server software
- Gaming software
- Server monitoring software
- Computer tools
Instructions
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Obtain a PC that will be used strictly for the game server. This doesn't necessarily have to be the newest and best, but you want one that's no more than a couple of years old. As a general rule, you need at least 1 GB of RAM. You will need to scale the CPU according to the number of players. For 8 players or less, you will need a CPU running at least at 933 MHz. For up to 16 players, a CPU of 1.6 GHz, for 17 to 32 players a CPU speed of at least 2.4 GHz. Above 32 players, your system will require at least a 3.0 GHz CPU. The video card speed and memory isn't that important, as you won't be playing the game on the server.
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2
Install the fastest ethernet card your system can handle. In most cases this will be at least 100MB or even 1GB. Do not use wireless, as this will result in network drops. You want the most stable network connection possible.
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Install two SATA hard drives with plenty of space. Try to get models with at least 250GB of storage each. You will be installing the operating system on one drive and the game on the other. This will give you the optimum performance from your game LAN server.
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Purchase and install the operating system. In most cases, this will be a version of the Windows operating system, such as XP or Windows 2000. Make sure that you get the server version, as this flavor of Windows is specifically optimized for server operation. If your game supports it, installing one of the versions of Linux would further get the most out of your platform.
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Ensure that the operating system is up to date. Download any required updates and apply any patches.
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Install the gaming server software. Follow any specific installation instructions given by the software distributor. Also, make sure that this software is up to date. Be sure that you configure the system specifically for your operating system and required gaming platform.
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Download and install game server monitoring software, such as HLSW. These software packages allow you to monitor your gaming server, sometimes remotely, and ensure that your package is configured optimally.
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Tips & Warnings
You can never have too much RAM. Buy as much as you can afford or your system will hold.
If your game LAN server is going to be on the Internet, as opposed to operating solely on a LAN, make sure that you have firewall and anti-virus software installed.
