I'm going to move to a dedicated server very soon. My site's earn enough money now to cover the cost, and I think I'm already at the point where I should be getting off of shared hosting.

I'm going to go with liquidweb.com

I'm looking at the following configuration:

Processor: Pentium 4 3GHZ DUAL CORE
Memory: 1GB PC3200
Hd1: 120GB 7200RPM SATA / 8MB Cache
Hd2: 120GB 7200RPM SATA / 8MB Cache
RemoteBackup: No Remote Backup Needed
OS: Linux - CentOS 4
ControlPanel: CPanel / Web Host Manager (+InitAdmin)
SetupFee: $350 Setup Fee
1600GB Premium Multi-Homed Bandwidth (800in + 800out)
24/7/365 Phone and Helpdesk Support
24/7/365 Pro-Active Service Monitoring
Fully managed...


I could have a $0 setup fee if I wanted, but the $350 fee reduces the monthly cost by $35. It'll pay for itself in only 10 months, so that's a no brainer for me.

Total monthly cost will be $179/month.

Anyone have any comments or advice? I'll be doing this in the next month or two.

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Depends on how large your site is.

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Liverpool FC Forum with 3 million+ posts. Powered by SMF

I posted in a previous thread regarding dedicated servers and it has always been my choice to choose (AMD) Opterons over Pentiums and Xeon processors simply because they perform better, especially the dual-core chipsets.

If you have the option, I'd switch out the 3GHz Pentium processor for a dual-core Opteron, a dual Opteron set or a dual-core dual Opteron set.

I know Softlayer(.com) has quite a few good deals on their dedicated servers.


Now, with that said, how large is your community? How many active at once? Do you have any modifications installed that is slowing performance?

We just hit 100,000 posts today, which happens to be our 6 months anniversary.
We have a little over 600 members, and average around 20,000 page views per day.
I have vbSEO installed, which is a bit resource hungry.

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In all honesty, the Pentium (presumably a Pentium D given it's dual core) should be more than enough for you, plus seeing as it's liquidweb, it's a managed box, whereas softlayer wouldn't be managed.

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Liverpool FC Forum with 3 million+ posts. Powered by SMF

I agree.

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Check the definitions of managed as each company has their own. Managed does not always mean better. I've received better support from companies offering a basic server over those offering/claiming to manage the server for me.

Most of the management can be done using CPanel/WHM as they've increased their support for overall management.

If you're not familiar with management or do not have a third-party managing your server (i.e. not your host), you really should reconsider a dedicated server and perhaps go with a VPS.

When it comes to management, if there is a security breach, you need someone there to fix it. With your hosting company, the reason may not be covered or they may incur additional charges.

Again, managed has many different definitions, so check before you buy. SoftLayer is very reputable and a client of mine has used them for some time now, which is the reason for the reccomendation.

As for the AMD processors, you can ask quite a few forum owners in regards to their preference. You'll find a great deal are using AMD Opterons as they perform better overall. I'm not saying this simply based on guessing or because I like AMD better as that's not the case, the statement is pretty much fact.

There will always be a few that simply hate AMD, though side-by-side, Opterons tend to out-perform Intel Pentium & Xeons, especially with forums/communities.

The Opterons are more expensive and I don't think I need the extra performance. I'm not biased.

I'm going with Liquidweb based on recommendations from people I trust who have used them for years.

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