A game server that stutters at 60 players and runs smoothly at 20 is almost never short on bandwidth. It is short on single-thread CPU, memory, or both. This guide walks through what each part of the machine does for a game, with sizing that holds for most popular titles.
The CPU: clock speed first
Most game servers run their main simulation loop on one thread. Every tick, that thread updates entities, physics and player state, and if it cannot finish in time, the tick rate drops and players feel rubber-banding. More cores do not help that loop; a faster core does.
When comparing listings, look at the processor model rather than the core count. A recent four or six-core chip with high boost clocks usually beats an older 20-core server chip for a single game instance. Extra cores become useful when you run several instances side by side, or when you add a web panel, database, Discord bots and voice server on the same box.
- One busy server: 4 fast cores is a sound starting point.
- Two to four instances: 6 to 8 cores so each gets a thread to itself.
- A small hosting operation: 16 cores or more, see high core count servers.
Memory: plan per instance
Game servers keep the world in RAM. Map size, entity count, plugins and mods all push memory up, and running out means swapping to disk, which is where the worst lag spikes come from.
| Game | Typical starting point per instance |
|---|---|
| Minecraft (vanilla or light plugins) | 4 to 8 GB |
| Minecraft (large modpacks) | 8 to 16 GB |
| Rust | 12 to 16 GB, more on large or heavily modded maps |
| ARK: Survival Evolved / Ascended | 12 to 16 GB |
| CS2, Valheim, Palworld | 4 to 16 GB depending on player count |
Add a few gigabytes for the operating system and anything else on the server, then round up. Memory is the cheapest upgrade to buy at the start and the most annoying one to need later.
Storage: SSD or NVMe
Disk speed matters at specific moments: server start, map loads, world saves and backups. On a spinning disk, a large world save can freeze the server for seconds. An SSD makes those pauses disappear. NVMe is faster again and helps most when several instances save at the same time. Pick a server with SSD storage for anything players connect to; keep hard drives for backups.
Network: port speed and protection
A single game server uses far less bandwidth than most people expect, often a few megabits per second per dozen players. A standard port is fine for gameplay. A faster port matters if you also host large map or mod downloads. DDoS protection matters more: popular community servers do get attacked. Protection differs by data center, so ask us what a given city offers before you commit.
Location: ping beats everything
Players feel latency before anything else. Put the server where most of your community lives:
- All of North America: Dallas or Chicago.
- East Coast heavy: New York or Ashburn.
- West Coast heavy: Los Angeles or Seattle.
- Europe: Frankfurt or Amsterdam.
Before ordering, have a few regulars ping each city’s test IP from the looking glass page. Real numbers from your players beat any map.
Software that makes life easier
With full root access you can install whatever you want. Pterodactyl and AMP give you a web panel with per-instance limits, scheduled restarts and backups. LinuxGSM is a lighter option for single games. Whatever you choose, schedule automatic off-server backups of world files from day one.
A quick sizing summary
For one active community server, look for a fast 4-core CPU, 16 GB of RAM and an SSD in the city nearest your players. For several servers or a heavy modpack, step up to 6 to 8 cores and 32 to 64 GB. Then browse the game server picks or the full list.