One of the most common questions about dedicated servers: what specs do I actually need? It’s easy to overpay for hardware you’ll never use. Here’s a practical guide based on real-world use cases.
Spec Recommendations by Use Case
| Use Case | CPU | RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-traffic WordPress (500k+ visits/mo) | 6+ cores | 64 GB | 1 TB NVMe |
| WooCommerce / Magento | 8+ cores | 64-128 GB | 1-2 TB NVMe |
| Game server (50-100 players) | 6+ cores (high clock) | 64 GB | 500 GB NVMe |
| Video streaming / transcoding | 16+ cores | 128 GB | 2+ TB NVMe |
| Database server (MySQL/PostgreSQL) | 8+ cores | 128 GB | 1 TB NVMe (RAID) |
| Multiple client sites (agency) | 8+ cores | 128 GB | 2 TB NVMe |
Don’t Overbuy
If you’re running a single WordPress site with 50,000 monthly visits, you don’t need a 128 GB dedicated server. A $70/month entry-level dedicated server with 64 GB RAM is already overkill for most single sites. Start smaller and scale up.
Check the full specs of InterServer’s dedicated plans on our technical specifications page.
How to Monitor and Know When to Upgrade
Use tools like htop, netdata, or Grafana to monitor your server. If CPU averages above 80% or RAM usage exceeds 85%, it’s time to upgrade. If both are below 50%, you can safely downgrade to save money.
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