Chatroulette/omegle text only clone

i have a website which is basically a omegle copy (text version only) - it connects 2 random users in a chat. I hosted it on a shared hosting and also on a VPS but it "eats" the whole resources when i have 50+ users online. It "refreshes" the page every 2 seconds (its usin开发者_StackOverflowg ajax+php+mysql database). I was told, it could not be optimized any further, only delaying the refresh period. So now Iam trying to make it run many users without this problem, basically i found two options:

1. Make the chat using node.js+socket.io (or alternatives like APE). I dont have the knowledge and time to make this myself so I asked som freelancers about it - they can make this, but it would cost me $600 (which is too much for me :( )

   1. Make it using Flash and buy a complete software from this site maybe http://www.chatroulette-clone.com - I can edit it after buying it, so I would delete the webcamera option from it. They say, that it utilizes the newest Flash technology and it should make very little server load. It would cost me only $100. What disadvantages has this solution?

I need it quite fast and I dont have much money left :( . My current site has many users and its always crashing because of this, so I need a solution fast. Would the Flash version be OK?

The flash version of this setup has proven to be highly effective for this problem. Personally I would use this rather than using server side JS to do the work.

There is no point reinventing the wheel, especially when someone is trying to offer you the exact type of wheel you require.