Server specs required to host Ark for about 4 players?

[jkoss]

Hey everyone, I'm looking into building a simple server to host Ark for myself and a few friends. We don't want to purchase a server from a hosting site online (even though I know it would be cheaper in the short term). I'd rather put some extra cash into a home server (I'll use it for other things in the future).

So my question is, what would I need spec-wise to host an Ark server for probably only 4 players, maybe 5 or 6 max.

Does anyone have a home server running and could tell me their specs and if it runs smoothly?

I assume 8GB RAM is required, but do I need an i7? Or could an i5 work?

I don't need a GPU right?

Does the generation of the hardware matter? Would I be fine buying an older processor and motherboard and DDR3 RAM? Or should I be going for newer stuff?

Just overall I got a lot of questions about what I should be looking for.

Thanks!

[margalus]

An i5 will be plenty. I host 2 servers on an old i7 2600 with 8 GB ram. Each server uses about 2-5% of the CPU and about 3GB of ram with 4players. No gpu is required. The dedicated server is a console application, all it displays is a command prompt window.

[jkoss]

Awesome, thanks for the info! Mind me asking what mobo you have?

[jkoss]

Originally posted by Silky Rough:

I recently started playing Ark again with 3 players (LAN) and host the server - with a cluster of 3 maps on *one* machine. i5-6600, 32Gb DDR4, 250Gb SSD. Runs sweet.

Point being, your main system may already do the job and you don't need to buy anything. :)

That's an interesting point. I just assumed I wouldn't be able to run the server on my computer and play Ark at the same time and didn't think about that option.

I have an i7-7700k, 16Gb DDR4 and a 250Gb SSD on my computer, would that be enough? Or would I need more RAM?

Would it be any more taxing on my computer if it's not a LAN setup?

[jkoss]

Originally posted by Silky Rough:

Originally posted by jkoss:

That's an interesting point. I just assumed I wouldn't be able to run the server on my computer and play Ark at the same time and didn't think about that option.

I have an i7-7700k, 16Gb DDR4 and a 250Gb SSD on my computer, would that be enough? Or would I need more RAM?

Would it be any more taxing on my computer if it's not a LAN setup?

It's a fairly simple job to try it out. If it doesn't work, buy your server and simply copy the server over.

16Gb *should* be enough - the server core is small. I run client from HDD and server from SSD and have zero issues. Very occasional lag when very busy eg: at start but no probs worth worrying about.

Okay awesome! Thanks for the info, I'll give it a go and see what happens! Cross my fingers it works haha

[margalus]

Originally posted by jkoss:

Originally posted by Silky Rough:

I recently started playing Ark again with 3 players (LAN) and host the server - with a cluster of 3 maps on *one* machine. i5-6600, 32Gb DDR4, 250Gb SSD. Runs sweet.

Point being, your main system may already do the job and you don't need to buy anything. :)

That's an interesting point. I just assumed I wouldn't be able to run the server on my computer and play Ark at the same time and didn't think about that option.

I have an i7-7700k, 16Gb DDR4 and a 250Gb SSD on my computer, would that be enough? Or would I need more RAM?

Would it be any more taxing on my computer if it's not a LAN setup?

The 250GB ssd is enough for Windows, nothing else. The server could fit since it's so tiny. You will need another ssd for the game itself though.

The dedicated server is extremely lightweight. You could run the server and play at the same time on your computer. But for optimal performance you would want a seperate computer, but the performance impact is minimal. If funds are too tight, run it on your current computer. If you have some spare funds, hit ebay.

My motherboard I don't know. It was an old Lenovo Thinkcentre workstation I picked up on ebay for $199 back in 2015. I did add a 500GB ssd for Windows and the dedicated server though. Nothing else was needed.

You will want ASM, Ark Server Manager to help run your server, it makes setup and management a breeze with it's gui. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=468312476