There are many types of webservers and systems to choose from.  Each have their strong points,  and,  regrettably,  their weaknesses.  The topic of the best type of webserver has been long debated,  and will remain so despite the information outlined in this article.  You see,  as like any other decision in the world,  everyone is going to have their own opinion,  to which they are justly entitled.  Here I will show you my opinion,  but I will back it up with detailed facts and information.

I feel the most important thing to do is introduce to to the processing systems I’ll be reviewing.  On the Intel side,  I’ll be reviewing the Intel Pentium 4,  Celeron and Xeon processors.  On the AMD side,  I’ll be reviewing the Athlon XP and Opteron processing systems.  Before I begin,  however,  it is important that you realize that even though Pentium 4,  Celeron and Xeon are under the Intel brand name,  they function much differently,  and have different weaknesses.  The same goes for the AMD line of processors.

The Intel Celeron processor is the cheapest Intel processor you can buy,  but it also comes with the most weaknesses.  As you are all aware,  a key problem faced in servers and computers alike is cooling.  The Intel Celeron processor runs at a much higher temperature than the other Intel Processors (Pentium 4 and Xeon),  thus requiring more cooling – the problem is,  most datacenters put the same amount of cooling on the Celeron as they do the Pentium 4,  a system with a much lower operating temperature.  The higher temperature in the Celeron proves to be a major weakness in it’s design.  Many state that the Celeron processor is exactly like the Pentium 4,  and that we are made to believe that they are different.  The truth is,  they are different!  Very different,  indeed.  Do not fall under the assumption that if you’re buying a Celeron processor that you are buying a Pentium 4,  because that is simply not the case.  The Celeron has several performance flaws,  and is prone to crash even if it is at a minimum level of server load.  I,  personally,  through experience with each of the servers that I am going to talk about,  would rate the Intel Celeron the weakest of them all.  The Celeron processor is a good processor for a server holding one or two sites,  but I would not recommend it as a server to run a webhosting company on.

The Intel Pentium 4 processor,  however,  is one of the best processors out on the market today.  It is not,  however,  the best server machine,  but it comes very close.  The architecture of the Pentium 4 chipset does not have any flaws that need mention,  and does a wonderful job running webhosting servers,  but the simple truth is that the Intel Xeon processor just performs better.  It’s like comparing one brand new car to another – both of them function perfectly for their capabilities,  but one is just going to be stronger,  that’s the way it is.  I personally run all of my servers Pentium 4,  but that is only because I find Xeon processors to be overpriced.  Overall rating of this processor:  10/10 for what it’s got to work with.

The Intel Xeon processor is by far the best server processor available on the market today.  The Xeon is the ‘crown jewel’ of server processors,  so to speak.  The Xeon combines power with reliability to create a true gem of a processor.  From my personal experience,  I have found the Xeon processor to crash never or less often than any of the other processors referenced in this article.  The Dual processing Xeon is even more powerful than it’s single-processor counterpart,  and is probably the most respected processor on the market,  save the Mac OS.  The only drawback to the Intel Xeon (especially the Dual Xeon) is it’s price.  Many datacenters place the starting price on a single-processor Xeon system at $250 plus US dollars.  This is one of the main reasons why you don’t see too many webhosting companies with them.

The AMD Athlon XP processor is AMD’s equivalent of Intel’s Celeron processor.  However,  the XP is a tad bit more powerful and much more reliable than the Intel Celeron processor.  The Athlon XP runs at a lower temperature,  thus making it much more stable than the Celeron.  What’s even more surprising is the fact that the Athlon XP is generally cheaper than the Celeron,  mostly due to the inflation of the Intel brand name.  This,  like the Celeron,  is a perfectly good processor for Personal Computers,  but is weak when it comes to operating a functioning webserver.

The AMD Opteron server was created to counteract Intel’s Xeon server.  Unfortunately,  the Opteron cannot function at quite as high a capacity as the Xeon,  and is more on the level of the Pentium 4,  if not a bit more powerful.  The Opteron processor is available in a Dual Processor mode,  just like the Intel Xeon processor.  The Opteron is clearly AMD’s best processor available at this time,  but they are sure to come out with a new chipset that is even more powerful soon enough.

Although I’ve chosen the Intel Xeon processor as the most powerful of the processors I’ve mentioned here,  you’ll have to choose what is best for you.  If you’re planning to run only a site or two on your server,  then you might consider the Intel Celeron or AMD Athlon XP processors.  If you’re planning to host many sites that will require a good amount of resources and should acquire a larger amount of traffic,  it is best to look into the AMD Opteron,  Intel Xeon and Intel Pentium 4 processors.  The Xeon,  the most powerful in my opinion for the time-being,  will surely fade just like the previous processors of history have done … the Intel Pentium III,  Pentium II,  et cetera.  The future will give way to new processors with even more power and stability.

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