What server configuration should I take?

[ThorstenA]

I have a forum with around ~ 150 - 300 users online. I am writing a new feature where probably 20 users will probably want to see 10 pages / minute where each page is taking 10 queries. That will be 20 users * 10 pages * 10 queries = 2.000 queries per minute.

After research I think most speed advantage is having database completely in RAM. I have three options:

Stick with P4 3 GHZ 1 GB RAM IDE
Athlon 64 3400 2 GB RAM SATA
Dual Opteron 242 4 GB RAM SATA

What server configuration should I take? Thank you very much.

[AllenSam]

Well wouldn't dual CPU's and 4GB definitly be the better deal? Because it has more resources than the other two configurations. Or are you on a budget and are only shooting for what you have to?

[ThorstenA]

Dual Opteron is three times the price than my current system. I am just interested for opinions, which system would fit my needs. As for my forum now, there's no difference in speed if I would let it run on a dual opteron or on my actual server since it's running very fast now.

[dan35]

# P4 3 GHZ 1 GB RAM
# Athlon 64 3400 2 GB RAM SATA

Of course stick with Athlon 64 3400 2 GB RAM SATA. Faster CPU, hard disk, and more RAM.