Dedicated game servers have become extremely popular among multiplayer gamers and game developers in recent years. By renting an entire server all to yourself instead of sharing resources on overcrowded shared hosts, you get much better performance, lower latency, increased security and tons of customization options.
But with so many hosting providers and configurations to choose from, picking the right dedicated game server can get overwhelming quickly if you don’t know what to look for.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about finding the best dedicated game servers in 2023 – from comparing technical specs, understanding hosting features, evaluating providers, optimizing performance and even automating server management at scale.
Let’s get right into it!
What Are Dedicated Game Servers and Why Choose One?
A dedicated game server is a standalone server rented from a hosting provider to run multiplayer games. The entire server hardware, including the CPU, RAM, storage and bandwidth is allocated just for your games rather than shared.
This isolation provides several benefits:
Higher Performance and Lower Latency
As you don’t compete with other users for resources, your game traffic gets much faster processing and routing. This significantly reduces lag allowing for very responsive, real-time gameplay – crucial for fast-paced FPS and MOBA games.
Better Stability and Uptime
Dedicated hardware minimizes server crashes that ruin games. Some providers offer 99.99% uptime SLAs along with professional server management.
Increased Security
With no neighbors to worry about, dedicated servers minimize attack surfaces for DDoS attacks or exploits used in shared hosting. Providers also offer advanced firewalls and anti-DDoS protection.
Greater Control and Customization
From administrator access to kernels and software, you get much more control compared to shared hosting. You can heavily modify configurations tailored to your specific game or community.
Flexibility to Scale
It’s easy to upgrade CPU cores, RAM and storage as your player base expands without migrating servers. Auto-scaling algorithms can also spin up more server capacity to handle traffic spikes.
Now let’s take a look at the key technical factors while choosing a dedicated game server.
Finding The Right Server Specs – CPU, RAM, Storage and More
The hardware specs directly impact the game performance and how well your server handles player loads. Here are some vital components to evaluate:
Game Server CPU
This processor runs all your game’s logic and physics calculations. Newer and faster multi-core CPUs like Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC with higher base and turbo clock speeds provide better performance.
Some examples include:
- Intel Xeon E-2386G – 3.5 GHz (Base) / 5.1 GHz (Turbo)
- AMD EPYC 7543P – 2.8 GHz (Base) / 3.7 GHz (Turbo)
For low latency, having fewer physical cores with higher clock speeds is better than lots of weaker cores.
RAM Capacity
Having sufficient RAM allows hosting more concurrent players, AI bots and mods. 16GB or 32GB is optimal for most multiplayer games. For large 100+ player servers or mini-games, go with 64GB or above.
Game Traffic Volume
Look for unmetered bandwidth or at least 5 TB monthly limits as game traffic can spike heavily. Insufficient bandwidth causes lag, rubberbanding and timeouts.
Storage Space
SSDs and NVMe drives provide faster load times than HDDs. Have at least 250GB, better 500GB+ for handling game installs, updates, maps and player data.
Additional Factors:
- Uplink Port Speeds – 1Gbps or higher
- Operating System – Linux or Windows
- Processor Caches – More L3 cache improves latency
- Database Support – MySQL, MongoDB for stats
- Game Panel – Pterodactyl, GameCP, TCAdmin etc.
Now let’s move on to specialized game hosting features.
Key Features To Look For In Game Servers
Beyond just the hardware, optimized game servers offer many software enhancements:
Low Latency Game Network
Specialized game hosts route traffic through uncongested networks between regions and use gaming data centers with peering partnerships for the shortest routes. This significantly cuts ping times and lag.
DDoS Protection
Powerful DDoS mitigation absorbs massive floods of malicious traffic ensuring your game stays online. Look for providers offering dedicated scrubbing centers and anycast network routing.
Daily Backups
Your entire game server including mods, maps and player data should be backed up daily allowing you to restore after crashes or roll back after updates.
Modpacks and Game Mode Support
The best hosts allow installing modpacks like Bukkit for Minecraft and game mode plugins to heavily customize gameplay without needing root access skills.
Automated Deployments
Pre-made templates and ISO images help spin up servers rapidly for games like Counter-Strike, Minecraft and GTA V with just a few clicks.
Developer APIs and SDKs
APIs help manage numerous servers programmatically – spawn, configure, scale and run updates across an entire game server fleet.
Free Server Migration
When upgrading hardware or game versions, providers should transfer your entire server for free without downtime or having to reconfigure everything.
Server Clusters
Group multiple game servers to pool resources and allow players to seamlessly switch shards as population scales up and down.
Choosing Between Windows vs Linux Game Servers
Game servers are hosted on either Windows or Linux operating systems. Here’s how they compare:
Windows Dedicated Servers
- Natively supports more DirectX games
- Easier to use for novice administrators
- Deploy games like Minecraft Bedrock and Halo
- Prone to higher resource usage
Linux Dedicated Servers
- Typically cheaper and uses resources efficiently
- Supports larger player counts
- Customizable with bash, mods and file access
- Works for CSGO, TF2, Minecraft Java etc
So consider which games you want to host and your admin comfort levels while deciding the OS. Software like Pterodactyl also allows running both OS on the same host.
Finding a Reliable Game Hosting Provider
While comparing specs, don’t forget to extensively evaluate hosting providers too based on:
Years of Experience
Choose companies specialized in game hosting for 5-10+ years indicating reputable long term service.
Worldwide Data Center Coverage
Global infrastructure helps minimize latency for players worldwide by routing them to the nearest server.
24/7 Expert Support
Gaming communities need round the clock assistance. Tech experts well-versed in server configurations provide much better troubleshooting.
Reseller Reviews and Reputation
Checkout expert gamer forums, Reddit, TrustPilot and third-party reviews to gauge quality of service and support.
Free Trials
Test out unused servers without commitments to measure real world performance for your specific game.
Budget/Value
Compare pricing of multiple providers to find the right server specs at reasonable costs for your scale. Beware very cheap hosts sacrificing key features.
Some top dedicated game hosting companies include SurvivalServers, Host Havoc, Pinwheel and GameServers. But don‘t just take our word for it – carefully evaluate them yourself with free trials.
Now let’s jump into optimizing your game server performance.
Server Configuration Tips for Lower Latency
Carefully tuning software settings is key to operating a lag-free game server. Here are some tricks:
Pick Locations Closest to Players
See where your gamers are geographically concentrated and host nearest to them. Tools like CloudPing help choose lowest latency regions.
Limit Bots and NPC Counts
Too many non-player characters also consume resources affecting ping. Set firmer caps before lag creeps in.
Reduce View/Simulation Distance
Lower visibility range in worlds so servers render less objects to process per user especially in exploration games.
Disable Unused Animations/Texture Packs
Get rid of resource heavy assets not vital to core gameplay. For example, remove high resolution texture packs.
Only Load Required Maps
Don’t preload a server with too many map options. Keep it lean and focused to conserve resources for active game use.
Add Memory Boosting Mods
Mods like Optifine boost available RAM though optimization for certain games like Minecraft.
Through rigorous testing, you can balance between max players and responsiveness at lowest viable settings.
Integrating Voice Chat for Better Teamwork
In-game text chat isn’t enough for strategic team games. External voice tools like TeamSpeak and Mumble combined provide seamless communication:
Text Chat
- Great for casual conversations
- Plans and commands in writing
- Channels to separate groups
Voice Chat
- Crucial for tactical gameplay
- Real-time player coordination
- Personal banter and reactions
So consider bundling voice servers along with your game hosting for best experiences.
Proactive Server Maintenance and Management
Like any dedicated server, game hosts also need active maintenance for optimal uptime.
Regular Reboots
Reboot at least once a week or upon game/mod updates to clear memory leaks. Some providers offer automated restart schedules.
Backing Up Files
Download administrator access and your entire game folder via FTP periodically in case you need to migrate or restore after issues.
Monitoring Performance
Check CPU usage, lag and player counts using dashboards. Set alerts for exceeding limits indicating a need to upgrade.
Updating Drivers and Games
Proactively install vendor security and performance fixes for operating systems and game executables.
Automating Deployments
Script server config edits, mod installs or engine version updates across fleets using CI/CD tools like Jenkins instead of manually.
Testing Prior to Pushes
Leverage dev/staging environments identical to production server infrastructure for testing updates before hitting live worlds.
While this may seem intimidating initially, managed services help take care of the heavy lifting work for you.
Finding the Right Game Genre Server
Not all games have the same hosting requirements. Here is an overview of popular genres and top picks:
First Person Shooters
Fast paced arena games like Counter-Strike demand ultra low latency. Nitrado provides global low ping servers perfect for FPS gaming.
Battle Royales
Handling 100 simultaneous players requires serious power for the likes of Fortnite and PUBG. SurvivalServers have excellent scalability.
RPGs like GTA V
World simulation and AI traffic takes tons of resources which LiquidWeb is great at providing.
Simulation Games
From communities in Second Life to eco-systems in Forest, games mimicking reality render heaviest. Omzetf has excellent specifications for these.
Minecraft Servers
The king of sandbox creativity relies on mods with sufficient RAM and storage for terrain edits which Bisect Hosting delivers flawlessly.
So rather than a one-size-fits all approach, choose servers tailored to each game’s needs.
Getting Started with a New Game Server
Once you’ve purchased hosting and logged into the control panel, here are typical next steps:
Pick a Data Center
Based on the geographic density of players, select the nearest server location for lowest latency.
Install Your Game
Upload the game ISO or use pre-made templates to deploy your server OS, software and mods rapidly.
Configure Settings
Tweak configs for max players, resources allotted per user, map rotation and more based on hardware.
Whitelist Staff IPs
Allow administrator access to only your staff’s IP ranges on top of account authentication as a security best practice.
Announce to Community
Share the server details on Discord, forums and in-game messages. Offer rank rewards for early testers and feedback.
Monitor Growth
Keep assessing performance impact as users pile on during launch period before upgrading plans.
With these steps, your game server should be off to a great start! Be sure to use any free trials and take backups while experimenting initially.
Key Takeaways on Finding the Best Dedicated Game Servers
Here are the major points to remember:
🚀 Evaluate hardware specs like CPU cores, RAM capacity, storage type and uplink speeds which directly impact game performance and server costs.
🔧Specialized hosting features like low latency networks, DDoS protection, automated deployments and mod support are huge bonuses.
🎮 Choose hosting providers with an established track record in game server management and 24/7 expert support.
⚙️ Fine tune software settings like view distance caps and enable performance boosting mods to reduce lag.
🗺️ Pick data center locations closest to your player base and leverage voice chat tools for the best experience.
🕹️ Schedule regular server maintenance like patching, updating mods and rebooting to maximize game uptime.
🏆 Carefully test configurations and infrastructure demands of each genre – FPS, MOBAs, Battle Royales etc.
🌟 Finally, closely monitor server stats and have fun building a thriving gaming community!
Game server hosting has matured massively allowing multiplayer enthusiasts to get excellent performance without breaking the bank. We covered a ton of ground here but this should give you a comprehensive overview of finding the right dedicated hosting service tailored to your specific needs.
Have you used dedicated game servers in the past or are evaluating options? Share your experiences or queries below and we’ll be happy to help out!
