Can you use a server computer for traktor?

Can you use a server computer for traktor?

Hi guys,
I had a question regarding a computer for traktor. Basically i don’t have a proper budget(150 euros) but I’m looking for a better computer to dj on with traktor. I was wondering if it is possible to put a (desktop) version of windows on a server grade computer(talking intel xeon and stuff…) or even turn it into a hackintosh to use traktor. The reason why i thought of this idea is that people don’t want to buy second hand servers(and therefore are reasonably cheap) because their not meant for anything other than server use(no proper sound/graphics) and they use massive amounts of power but since i don’t need great graphics, have a proper usb soundcard and don’t care about power usage…

Can this be done or am I missing something?

thanks in advance,
DJmad

btw right now i run traktor on a dell d310 intel pentium M 1.7GHz 1gig winXP with maya44usb, hercules dj control mp3 e2, akai mpd 18,…

Keep running Traktor on what you have. That server isn’t going to help anything.

Also, get on the buy/sell board and try to get an old copy of Traktor 3.x.x to run on that beast of yours. Trying to run Pro on it with an older low-spec machine will not be any fun for you.

Just for a frame of reference, I gigged with Traktor 3 on a Dell laptop made in 2001 for years before I could afford a new machine, and I had absolutely no problems. You can do it too, assuming the machine and your XP installation is in good shape.

The thing is that I know someone who can lay hands on a server with dual 3GHz xeon processor… compared to a 1.7 GHz pentium m that’s gotta make a difference right?

The main difference you will see is how long it takes Traktor to analyze tempo. The difference will be milliseconds. Every other area in Traktor’s usage will either not work or suffer badly.

That server isn’t made to run applications in Windows or OSX with any kind of performance. It’s made to run apache and serve websites. These two tasks are so different it’s like trying to eat a cheeseburger with chopsticks.

xeon doesn’t mean much as the i3/i5 processors are xeon’s afaik. what tends to make a server a server and not a work station is more down to the form factor, drive hot-swap-ability, redundancy (power suppples, yada yada) and raw i/o throughput utilising technology like fibre channel+scsi verses crappy sata etc.

you also don’t tend to get awesome video and sound built in on a server ofc :wink:

if the actual cpu+memory are fast enough and you can add in compatible video and sound cards then it should all be good - assuming u can live with the actual size of case etc.

how good the actual planar+cpu are in the server depends on which u go for ofc. there’s absolutely nothing to say that a server grade system with some audio+video upgrades isn’t as capable as a more dedicated workstation system.

Thanks for helping me out. I guess i’m going to see if I can get one cheap enough and find a graphics card + utilize my usb soundcard.

Dude use the old machine, traktor requires basically nothing.