I am looking at doing an AMD build for a multipuprose home server. Would you recommend an APU or an fx to take advantage of the cores. I would like to have it as a NAS/Streaming/Possible teamspeak server/small dedicated game server (ark to be specific). Im looking at doing 32gb of ddr3 2400 for sure, and storage I got an idea already. Just not sure about the cpu since I have been out of touch with AMD for a long time. Any inputs would be greatly appreciated.
Isn't the point of APUs the integrated GPU? Which would be useless in a server.
depends which is cheaper. an apu was cheaper where i live so i went with that. you dont nessecarily need all that power. linux is not something that need alot of power to run. even your microwave could run it ;).
unless you're transcoding media though i think a cpu would be the best choice for you.
dont think op was looking for rack mounted nas. but i love your enthusiams
i shall reward you with fire my good sir. enjoy it at your earliest convenience
For a small server I would tend consider using either an AMD FX or an Intel E3 Xeon, as when coupled with the right motherboard they support unbuffered EEC Ram.
Why would you want to use EEC memory? Simple, it reduces the likelihood of mystery problems or corrupt data; this is particularly an issue if the server is going to be running 24/7/365 and performing memory intensive tasks. If it will only be on a few hours a day and just storing your film/music collection and forwarding emails then it's not so important (although a decent RAID, ZFS or ReFS configuration might be).
rack mount is a little much for what i want to do lol. The only reason i was considering an apu is because im considering having it connected to my tv and watching video off of it. thanks for the input so far
I would consider an Opteron processor. If you search on Amazon, they are cheaper than ever. You can get a really cheap graphics card and stream video.
I would not use an apu for a server, just No. don't do it.
You might want to check out the Gen8 HP ProLiant MicroServer. In the UK the base build is available for £100 after a cash rebate which is excellent VFM considering it includes a dual core CPU, 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 16GB), dual NIC's and is certified to run SuSE/RHEL or Windows Server.
EDIT: I thought that was such a fantastic deal that I would order one - they are out of stock and the rebate is only valid if you take delivery before 30th June :-(
You will be fine with pretty much anything you pick. If it's just a home server, you don't need a xeon or an opteron, or even an FX cpu. An APU, i3, or even one of the G series Pentiums.
I had one office running a server off of a Phenom II X4 940. Nearly all of the APUs today are faster than a Phenom II X4 That server has been working for years with no issues. This server has 10 users and 8GB ram. It hosts a small SQL database, a CRM, and performs file and print sharing. It ran 24/7. Never had issues with it. Just recently it was replaced by a Xeon E3, and the old Phenom was moved to be a secondary domain controller on the network. It was replaced simply due to it's age and increasing risk factor.
You mentioned running a teamspeak server as well. Im not sure of the hardware requirements of teamspeak, but I have a VOIP PBX server running on an i3 with 4GB of non ECC that can host 32 simultaneous calls. Not sure if that helps you or not.
You don't need 32GB of DDR3 either, unless you are going to run a linux OS with zfs. ECC is not a bad idea but it is not necessary unless you use alot of ram. I have an RDS with 32GB of ECC RAM. With 8-10 users logged in at once running office and web applications, it barely peaks above 18GB of RAM usage.
My best advice to you would be
Quad Core or higher CPU, doesn't really matter
8GB of RAM or higher. (you may want to go with 16 for the ARK server, however since you said this is a home server, your will most likely bottleneck on bandwidth from your ISP before you need more than 16GB of ram for ARK)
One or more Intel NICs so you have the option to load balance or do NIC teaming
Take all the money you saved on tons of RAM and super expensive CPS and .....
Use as many SSDs as you can afford.
Or at least put the OS on an SSD.
Then again, if I had the money I would blow it all on super sexy hardware just because it's awesome.
He will need more than 8GB of ram since he will be doing game hosting. but 32 might be more than he needs.
Agreed. All assuming his internet connection will support the amount of players required to consume that much RAM. He can start with 8GB and work his way up if he sees the need for it. At least that's how I would do it.
thanks everyone for your suggestions.