RackNerd Buffalo VPS: A No-Frills Performance Deep Dive

Looking for a solid US VPS that won't break the bank? You're probably wondering if RackNerd's Buffalo location can actually deliver. Here's the thing—while everyone chases after Los Angeles or New York servers, Buffalo sits quietly in upstate New York, offering surprisingly decent connectivity to both coasts and Europe. Let's see what this little-known datacenter can really do.

So I got my hands on a RackNerd Buffalo VPS and decided to put it through the usual battery of tests. No marketing fluff here—just raw numbers and what they actually mean for you.

What RackNerd Actually Offers

For those who haven't heard of them, RackNerd is an infrastructure provider that's been quietly building a reputation in the budget VPS space. They're not flashy, but they cover the basics pretty well:

VPS Hosting: KVM-based virtual servers across multiple US locations (LA, San Jose, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Ashburn, Manhattan) plus a few international spots. The Buffalo location is one of their East Coast options.

Dedicated Servers: Both single and dual-processor configurations if you need more muscle.

Colocation Services: From single servers to full racks across 8 datacenters worldwide, with 24/7 support and free hardware receiving.

What makes them worth considering? A few things stand out:

Geographic Spread: 20+ datacenters globally covering North America, Europe, and Asia. Good news if latency matters for your use case.

Hardware That Doesn't Suck: Recent Intel Xeon processors, choice between SSD and HDD storage. Nothing cutting-edge, but solid enterprise-grade stuff.

DDoS Protection: Built into the network layer. Not bulletproof, but better than nothing.

Support: 24/7 availability. Response quality varies, but they're there when things break.

Now, if you're considering budget hosting options and want something that balances cost with reliability, 👉 check out what makes RackNerd a smart choice for developers and small projects—especially if you need East Coast presence without the premium pricing.

The Test Machine Specs

Here's what I'm working with:

• CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2680 v2 @ 2.80GHz (single core)

• RAM: 979 MB

• Storage: 14.7 GB

• Network: IPv4 only

• Location: Buffalo, New York

• ISP: Routed through HostPapa's ASN36352

Yeah, it's a basic setup. But that's kind of the point—let's see what the bare minimum can handle.

CPU Performance: Not Winning Any Races

The single-core Geekbench 6 score came in at 301 points. The multi-core? 263. That's... actually lower than single-core, which tells you this is a seriously limited allocation.

Sysbench gave it 665 points on a single-thread test. For context, that's enough for basic web serving, small databases, and development work. Don't expect to compile large projects quickly or run heavy computational tasks.

Real talk: This CPU allocation is fine for lightweight workloads. If you're running a WordPress site with moderate traffic, a small API server, or using it as a VPN endpoint, you're golden. Trying to host a Discord bot with heavy processing? Maybe look elsewhere.

Memory Performance: Surprisingly Quick

Single-thread read speeds hit 13.3 GB/s, with writes at 10 GB/s. That's actually pretty respectable for a budget VPS. Memory-intensive operations won't be your bottleneck here.

Disk I/O: The Pleasant Surprise

This is where things get interesting:

4K Block Performance:

• Read: 69.67 MB/s (17.4k IOPS)

• Write: 69.86 MB/s (17.4k IOPS)

1M Block Performance:

• Read: 651 MB/s

• Write: 694 MB/s

For a budget VPS? Those are solid numbers. Database operations should feel snappy, and file-based workloads won't make you want to pull your hair out.

Network Speed: Mixed Bag

Here's where location really matters:

Domestic US:

• New York: 899 Mbps down, 829 Mbps up, 19ms latency

• Toronto: 404 Mbps down, 810 Mbps up, 3ms latency

• Los Angeles: 62 Mbps down (yikes), 714 Mbps up, 52ms

Europe:

• Amsterdam: 823 Mbps down, 802 Mbps up, 85ms

• Paris: 840 Mbps down, 660 Mbps up, 85ms

• London: 786 Mbps down, 756 Mbps up, 81ms

Asia:

• Tokyo: 738 Mbps down, 229 Mbps up, 139ms

• Singapore: 129 Mbps down, 314 Mbps up, 244ms

The takeaway? Buffalo shines for East Coast and European traffic. West Coast US and Asia? Not so much. That LA download speed is particularly rough—blame routing, not the server itself.

Chinese Network Routes: The Usual Suspects

If you're serving Chinese users (or are one yourself), here's what you need to know:

• China Telecom: Routes through CN2 backbone via LA

• China Unicom: CU169 backbone, typical routing

• China Mobile: CMI routing, no premium CMIN2 unless you're heading to Chengdu

Nothing special here—standard commodity routing. Latency to mainland China sits around 230-270ms. Usable, but not ideal for real-time applications.

Streaming & Services: Surprisingly Unlocked

This was unexpected. The Buffalo location unlocks:

Working:

• Netflix (US region)

• Disney+ (US region)

• YouTube Premium (US region)

• Amazon Prime Video (US region)

• HBO Max (US region)

• Paramount+, Discovery+, most major US streaming platforms

Not Working:

• Most Asian streaming services (expected)

• Some European platforms

• Hulu (network connection issues during testing)

If you need a VPS for accessing US content, this location delivers. Whether you should use a VPS for that purpose is between you and your conscience.

Email Port Status: Mostly Open

Most outbound email ports are open, though some providers (QQ, 163, Gmail IMAP, etc.) have selective blocks. If email delivery is critical, you'll want to do your own testing with your specific providers.

IP Reputation: Clean Enough

The IP scored:

• Fraud score: 65/100 (moderate)

• Abuse score: 0/100 (clean)

• Hosting classification: Obviously flagged as datacenter/hosting

It's marked as a datacenter IP (because it is), but there's no history of abuse. For most legitimate use cases, you'll be fine. For stuff requiring residential IPs, look elsewhere.

What This Buffalo VPS Is Actually Good For

After putting it through its paces, here's my honest assessment:

Ideal Use Cases:

• Development and testing environments

• Small to medium websites (WordPress, static sites, basic web apps)

• East Coast API servers

• VPN endpoints for US presence

• Lightweight automation and bots

• Media streaming access (if that's your thing)

Not Great For:

• Heavy computational workloads

• Real-time applications serving Asian users

• Video encoding or processing

• High-traffic production databases

• West Coast-centric applications

The Bottom Line

RackNerd's Buffalo location isn't trying to be anything it's not. It's a budget VPS in a strategic East Coast location with clean IPs, decent disk I/O, and solid connectivity to the right markets.

For $20-30/year (depending on when you catch their sales), you're getting legitimate enterprise hardware in a tier-2 datacenter. The CPU is limited, but everything else punches above its weight class.

If your workload fits the profile—lightweight, East Coast or Europe-focused, not latency-critical for Asia—Buffalo delivers solid value. Just don't expect miracles from a single-core allocation.

For developers, small businesses, or anyone needing a reliable East Coast presence without premium pricing, 👉 RackNerd's Buffalo location offers genuine value that's hard to beat in the budget VPS market.

Quick Recap: RackNerd Buffalo gives you stable infrastructure at budget pricing. The single-core CPU limits heavy processing, but strong disk I/O and clean network routing to the Northeast US and Europe make it a solid choice for the right workloads. At its price point, it's tough to find better value for East Coast hosting needs.