How to turn an old PC into a dedicated gaming server

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This story was originally published on our sister site Maximum PC. Check out their features page for more how-tos and guides to PC hardware.

Don’t let your computer’s parts off the hook just because they were swapped out in an upgrade; put them back to work! Half of the top-ten most-played games on Steam come with the option to customize your entire gameplay, right up through running your own dedicated server. Are you going to sit back and play the game how somebody else envisioned it, or are you going to grab the goat by the horns, run your own server, and make it personal?

Why run the server on your LAN instead of remote hosting (rental server)?

There are many reasons why people rent a server from a remote provider; ranging from bandwidth availability, dedicated support, or even to eliminate any latency advantages between player and host.

Remote hosting can sometimes be a headache. Some server rental hosting services don’t consistently update the site’s server software for many days after a game update rolls out. By hosting the server yourself on a separate machine, you’re able to take command and update it as soon as you like, and the cost is only in the electricity required to run the system. All you need is to save the parts you replace when you upgrade, and build a new system out of it. Sure, it may be old tech, but most dedicated servers for games don’t require a lot.

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