What server type is this, shared, VPS or dedicated?
What is your max_connections set to?
I see this is a new forum, and there is basically nothing on it, so you should not get overloaded.
Perhaps read this post,
http://ozzmodz.com/showthread.php/50...g-Spam-Is-Over and install the
Ban Spiders by User Agent and
Hostname or Useragent Registration Ban modifications, to block bad bots and spiders.