Ok, so i'll admit that i know nothing about gamehosting or Server running, The best thing i can do is manage gameservers.

But my friend and I were thinking how great it would be to make our own dedicated server, that we could run as many servers as we would need. Specifically Counterstrike Source Servers.

The idea was to build our own server and have a company host it on a fast connection, as we know that even fast home connections are not fast enough.

So far we came up with a decent rig, but its just a desktop really:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.50GHz 6MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - OEM £145.99
Asus P5E3 Premium/Wifi@N Intel X48 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £246.74
OCZ 2GB DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Platinum (2x1GB) Dual Channel DDR3 x2(4gb) £211.48
Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM £78.71
LiteON DH-20A1S-18C 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Asus ATI Radeon EAH2600 Pro HTDP Silent 256MB DDR2 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £49.34
Coolermaster Real Power 850w Modular Power Supply £146.86

Total : £933.97

This is the rig we were gonna set up, assembly and overclocking can be done by us easily. We still havnt decided on cooling yet.
But we were wondering about software, I was planning to go with linux and control the server through something like putty, but are there any suggestions?

ALSO, by looking through your forums i see a completely different setup of hardware, and also i was wondering about buffered server memory Since this is a 1-time investment, is it really worth getting buffered memory ect

Could someone suggest a better rig if they come up with it, and also explain to me the difference between my rig and theirs? Much appreciated

One of the first things I'd do is decide where you want to colo it depending on geographical location and connections between the server and your intended customers/you and pricing. Then you'll know whether you can build in a tower case or whether you have to build in a 2u or 1u case depending on how their pricing is setup. If it's advantageous to build in a 1u case this will have implications on the components you can choose.

ok, your gonna need to break that down to idiot talk for me ^^

Decide on where you'll colocate (host) the box -- the planet doesn't offer one-server colocation any longer -- and see what their rates are.

E.g. it might make sense to spend an additional $500 to build a 1u server vs. a tower server if the colo rate is $100 less per month for 1u vs. tower. Or 1u might be the same rate as 2u (making a 2u case a better option IMHO because of better airflow, more room for components, etc.) Or it might be that they breadrack servers and towers are the same rate as 1u to colocoate.

If you are going to build your own rack-mount server (1u, 2u, 5u, etc) make sure you understand airflow.
Rack servers are a better way to go when working in data centers because there is always space for small racks.

Anyways, since the server won't be very accessable, you need to make sure the system is flawless.
An advantage to buying a good IBM or DELL 2u rack server is they have the air-flow design already optimized for rack environments and that is one less worry.

Now, if you know what you are doing when building a custom rack server, that is cheaper and a better option than buying from IBM or DELL.

I have not ever custom built a rack server, but I know people who have and there can be issue if not done correctly.
Although, I am sure these days you can buy a case with the air-flow thing already figured out. IDK.

ThePlanet has tower servers you can rent for a monthly fee. They support the hardware in the system.
IDK how much it costs at places to Co-locate but you will want to make sure you have support.
If you are not near the data center and you have a hard drive failure, you could be down for days.

If you rent a server from ThePlanet, they are responsible for replacing your hardware and is just part of the monthly fee.
Plus, you are on a great network.