Server Bottlenecks?

[donnacha]

Following feedback on this forum, I have decided to hedge my bets and start my new VB site with a less powerful/less expensive server set-up, with the option to upgrade to something better/more servers at a later date.

Will the following specs be enough to grow my community to a reasonable size? And where should I expect bottlenecks to occur?

2.4 Ghz Intel CELERON
80GB Hard Drive
1024MB RAM
1000GB of Bandwidth
5 IP's
FreeBSD

$79.00/mth, $99.00/setup

(Jumping up to an equivalent P4 2.8 800FSB would cost an extra $50/mth, would it really be worth the extra expense? Particularly when you consider I could almost get another Celeron and a whole new batch of bandwidth for the same money?)

The site itself won't be particularly graphicly intense, although I will be integrating a few hacks including either vBindex or vBadvanced HomePage.

The server will be used only for vB, no hosting or anything.

As ever, I appreciate all advice and opinions.

Thanks,

Donnacha

[filburt1]

Everything looks fine except the Celeron, which is notoriously the worst of Intel's current 32-bit processors.

I would definitely pay more per month for a P4--especially that one because it likely supports hyperthreading (pseudo-dual processors) and significantly more cache. I don't know about paying that much more per month, but it would be worth an extra expense.

[Reeve of shinra]

Celerons are good for grandma who needs to check mail once in a while but in my opinion thats about it. I would deffinitely opt for the P4, especially if you plan for significant traffic in the first six months or so.

[donnacha]

Thanks Reeve and Filburt, I appreciate your advice.

Originally Posted by filburt1

... I don't know about paying that much more per month, but it would be worth an extra expense.

That's the problem, though, isn't it? Is it worth $600 pa extra simply to jump from a 2.8 Cel to a 2.8 P4? Obviously the P4 is a better chip but, for that money, might I be better off buying TWO Celeron's, each with their own 1000GB bandwidth and round-robin between them?

Complicated business!