New web server - some general computing tips needs

[admin]

I need to get a new web server, but I'm not sure which type to get. The principles of a web server and a home computer is basically the same, except a web server will have 24/7 hard-disk access.

What I want to know is which of these setups will have the most processing power (most interested in difference between 1 and 2, and 1 and 3):

1. Intel Dual Xeon 3.2GHz Processor
2. Intel Xeon 3060 Dual Core Conroe Processor
3. Intel Xeon 3210 Quad Core Kentsfield Processor

For disk access speed, which of these setups would be the best (again, most interested in difference between 1 and 2, and 1 and 3):

1. 2 x 146GB 10K RPM SCSI in RAID 1
2. 2 x SATA 250GB Hard Drive in RAID 1
3. 4 x SATA 250GB Hard Drive in RAID 10

[soup]

I think everybody knows by now I have limited knowledge, so I asked this question of a friend that I trust & this was the feedback I got.

The disk one was easy > # 3. The proc is harder > because software is a big deal > I'd say go with the quad.

[admin]

I think everybody knows by now I have limited knowledge, so I asked this question of a friend that I trust & this was the feedback I got.

Thanks for the tip (and thank your friend for me as well). I think I have a clearer picture now.

The new server hosting this forum is actually the quad core (the previous, now broken, server was a dual Xeon 2.8), but with only a single SATA hard-disk. It does seem a bit faster than the old dual Xeon, which was struggling a bit towards the end. This is just a temporary server until I can find a better one with at least RAID 1 to avoid the recent server problems due to hard-disk failure.

Due to pricing and package availability, it looks increasingly like I will have to get one of these packages:

1. Intel Xeon 3060 Dual Core Conroe Processor + 4 disks in RAID 10
2. Intel Xeon 3210 Quad Core Kentsfield Processor + 2 disks in RAID 1

I think 2. will be definitely be fast enough, just not sure if RAID 10 over RAID 1 will be more improvement than quad over dual core. I think the quad is probably faster, due to the requirements of the server to service many processes at the same time. But on the other hand, the server will benefit from a faster file system due to the various large databases and file transfers required.