[Nolongerinthegame]

I read somewhere that running SRCDS is multi-threaded (not multi-core) but nearly all the processes are still confined to one thread.

Does this mean when looking at a machine to run SRCDS servers, the important factor is actually the clock speed of the processor and not the number of cores it has?

Obviously I am also taking memory and bandwith/connection into account, but I dont want to be sucked into the lure of a 4/6/8 core server if clock speed is the critical factor, when I plan to run at most 3 servers.

[Zylius]

SRCDS does have multiple threads. Atleast the orangebox ones do. Still, it doesn't make much difference, and one of the threads is the most consuming one. Therefore you have to have a single core which can handle it. Though, please note, that speed of a specific core isn't defined by its frequency, architecture has much more influence.

[Nolongerinthegame]

Yep the architechture is definitely important as well. But just from the point of view of clock speed vs cores, do you think a i3 Dual core 3.2 ghz would suffice over a quad core 2.6ghz. For running 2-3 servers (CSGO)

With 8gb RAM, 100mb port.

[Zylius]

Originally Posted by nelioneil Yep the architechture is definitely important as well. But just from the point of view of clock speed vs cores, do you think a i3 Dual core 3.2 ghz would suffice over a quad core 2.6ghz. For running 2-3 servers (CSGO) With 8gb RAM, 100mb port.

If servers are not going to be 64 player zombie mode ones, I would definitely get the quad core, just for the opportunity to get more servers/stuff running on it.
I myself have a 6 core running,one core is more than enough to run RPG DM server without any spawn time with 32 players in it. Also it's running 5 other boxes.

[nightrider]

Core speed is the defining factor for orange box dedicated game servers.
Our community owns it's sever chassis so some of these points may not apply.

Having just upgraded our communities dedicated box,
from dual six core Opterons 2.6Ghz to dual six core Opteron 2.8Ghz helped CS:S spawn times, perceived hit reg and overall game play.
So for running three CS:GO servers get the fastest core speed that you can afford.

It's all about the raw core speed & CPU architecture.
Faster I/O on the box can also improve performance.
We found significant improvements going from a single 10,000 rpm drive to a fast 3 drive RAID5.