Specs- I recommend at least a 1.5ghz processor or faster. I also recommend 512 MB of RAM or more. A Pentium 4 isn't much faster than a Celeron, but a Celeron is fine as long as you aren't expecting to run a 20 player server with no lag. If you are short on memory such as 256MB of RAM, it will run, but it may lag when more and more people start joining. I recommend Windows XP Pro. I know all of you are thinking, why not use a Server Edition or 2000? I like Windows XP Pro because once its tweaked, it can run very fast. In addition to that, it is very user-friendly unlike Linux or Server Edition for the n00bs out there. Here are the specs of my server:

 

1.06ghz Celeron

512 MB PC133 RAM

Windows XP Pro

 

It runs around 9 players without any noticable lag. The next thing that you want to count into detail is the FSB (Front Side Bus). You want a high FSB. Front-side bus is the speed at which the CPU communicates with RAM memory and the motherboard chipset. My server has a very slow FSB, at 400mhz. Most new Penitum 4 computers have a 800mhz FSB. The more you have, the better. I would say you want a minimum of 400mhz FSB. The new 64 bit AMD processors have the FSB built into the chip, so any 64 bit AMD processor has plenty of FSB. If you can afford a 64 bit processor, get it. Many servers run RAID. RAID is when you have 2 hard drives, and you put them togethor for a performance increase. This may not be a great performance increase on SRCDS though, you will not notice much of a difference.

 

If you would like me to review your specs and tell you how many players your server will run, please fill out the form here.

Internet- In addition to having a somewhat fast computer, you also need a fast Internet connection. I only recommend cable/anything faster (I recommend DSL if it has a high upload rate- see chart below for more info). Don't use wireless due to the slower speeds and sudden disconnection if there is an interference anywhere in the house. Since you will be on a network, (unless you are using the server on the same machine as you play games - I don't recommend!) try to keep as many people off the Internet as possible. If less people are on the network then more bandwidth will be available. DSL can be faster in some ways than cable, but, from experience, I do not recommend it.

 

                        Down                             Up

Cable                200 kbps-30 mbps           128 kbps-3 mbps

DSL                  144 kbps-8 mbps             128 kbps-8 mbps

 

As you can see, cable has a far faster download rate. The advantage to DSL is that it has a high upload rate. When running a server, you want a high upload rate. Compare your cable/dsl companies upload rate. The more the better. DSL can be better than Cable in many ways.

Tweaks- Its time to tweak Windows XP! The following tweaks will improve your Windows performance. Before you edit the Registry, please backup it up by opening "regedit" from the run menu. Then select "File" and then "Export". Make sure you choose the "all" button for the export range.