2p build suggestions

[slider11]

im pricing out a 2p build and i would like some of the pro's opinions on it

ill most likely run ubuntu

i already have an extra 1tb hdd i can throw in and ill use a usb disk reader for when its needed. also i have a 700 watt power supply i plan to use

here is what im looking at. id like to net about 100k ppd from this rig so my question to yall is will this do it? should i change anything while staying in this price range?

[Maniac]

Maybe you should look into 2P AMD (preferable 4P, though that'll jack up the price). I'm not really sure how many points 8 cores @ 2.26 GHz will really net you.

PatonB has 2 hex core Intel processors in his server rig @ 2.3 GHz and is not happy with them.

[slider11]

ok good to know. i was thinking intel because of the hyper threading but if amd is better at server chips i may look that direction

[MattSharkey]

AMD has affordable 12 core procs. jmossman has a 4 12-cores getting him about 600k PPD. you can find them used for about $500 each.

even if you were to go for 8 core procs by AMD, 8 physical cores will outperform 4 hyperthreaded cores. while you can also look at 16 core procs, they are inefficient. i think most people here will convince you to go for 4p 12-core magny-cours

[jimh425]

If you want a 2p Intel board, go with the eVGA SR-2 so you can overclock. Get hex cores and make sure you buy procs that can run in a 2p config. Not all xeons are able to run in a 2p config.

You can considering going with a single hex core overclocked like the 3930K. It will be much simpler and probably return more ppd when it is overclocked compared to 2 quads.

Otherwise, 6100 series AMDs are the probably the way to go because you don't have to flash to use 12 cores, but you do for 6200 AMDs. It's a hassle even if you have a 6100 to boot with.

A word of warning, don't buy a complex server board from Newegg unless you feel lucky. Their return policy is pretty bad for mbs, and of the three server mbs that I've bought from them, 2 of the 3 have come to me DOA.

Finally, the quick return bonus is where it is at for max ppd. A little faster can be quite a bit higher ppd. If this is going to be a folding only box, consider a 4p. You can start with only 1p to begin with.

[PatonB]

Originally Posted by Maniac

Maybe you should look into 2P AMD (preferable 4P, though that'll jack up the price). I'm not really sure how many points 8 cores @ 2.26 GHz will really net you.

PatonB has 2 hex core Intel processors in his server rig @ 2.3 GHz and is not happy with them.

Not happy is n't quite right, but deffinately discoraged.

My 2 l5639s at 2.23 (x17 multi only) gets me 60k in a ubuntu vbox image.

Yes the 2.26 would turbo to 2.6, but have 8 more threads cancels that. PLUS they've figured a dual 1366 2p needs to be around 4.0Ghz to make the newest deadlines. Hexs are bout 2.6Ghz.

I'd suggest like everyone go with a 4p amd. Start with 1 6172/4 from ebay which run $480 and build up.
or there are still l5639 es xeons from China for $300 but theyre gimped at 1 extra turbo like mine.

[jmossman]

Sorry didn't check the boards yesterday. Have an abscessed tooth and can't use painkillers cause we have a history. Been staring at a prescription of perocet all night. Hopefully the penicillin stops it before it destroys what's left of my brain.

Yeah the AMD's just give a lot more bang for the buck. Since they use real cores instead of hyperthreading, each core has a dedicated L2 cache and math processors. You will see people make arguements over which AMD chips to go with, namely whether to use Interlagos, or Magny-Cours, but that's pretty much it. I went with magny-Cours chips and couldn't be happier. My only regret was going with a 2P first, cause I ended up doing a 4P soon after lol. Thank God I went with the right chips to begin with though, cause I just added 2 more and was in good shape.

General rule of thumb is a 2p in the $1500 range and 4p in the $3000 range. 2p maxs out around 178,000PPD, and 4p around 500,000PPD.

I would say the most important decision overall is most likely the board, 2p or 4p. If you're sure on a 2p then I still have a great board for cheap lol, but would very much advise to be positive rather than be sorry later. With a 4p board, you can also take advantage of cheaper deals on processors in the future. To my limited knowledge I don't think you can mix procs in these boards. I obviously know you can't mix different kinds of procs, but mean it's not possible to mix even different model magneys in them. Would be interesting to know however.

[slider11]

yea that extra 1500 is what worries me. if i do end up doing this it will be a slow process. well actually no it probably wont but ill be surviving on ramen for quite a while which worries me

Additional Comment:

im gonna order a 2nd 570 either tomorrow or day after and possibly a 3rd but im not sure yet so that should jump my production up to about 50-55k ppd. im doing high 20's low 30's if i let it run all day long and my smp bonus should kick in here shortly

[PatonB]

As far as i know, a 6172 and a 6174 can be put on 1 board. It'll act like ram does.. Only go as fasgt as your slowest one.

[jmossman]

A 2p is still a good option and won't break the bank the same way a 4p will. Cuts the heatsinks and memory in half. Can actually fit in a decent amount of cases too, while a 4p takes a case the size of a garage lol. Still have mine sitting on a bench in the corner, trying to decide where to mount it. The 2p fits in my HAF 932 nice though. If you go that route, then you can have mine for quite a bit less than I paid. Free memory included. I tried better cas memory and it didn't make a lot of difference honestly, so it's the same stuff I'm running in my 4p.

Lol ole ramen noodles. Ate so many of those. Was for different reasons, and related to the painkillers (mentioned earlier). Not looking forward to that again. Used to buy them by the case and throw italian sausage, ranch dressing, some bell peppers, maybe some cheddar cheese melted in there. Was good eating at the time, now just makes me nausious.

[slider11]

moss if i can make a suggestion for a case. providing you have the necessary skills you could make your own case... ill post a link quick to one of the guys on here who built his own case out of sheet aluminum plexi and wood and mounted it to his wall. very sick yet quite simplistic.
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=357161


also i just had a crazy idea. sli physx cards? i was messing around with settings and got my 430 running in the FAHControl client and its producing as much ppd as my 570. i already plan on ordering atleast 1 more 570 in the next few days and wondered given enough space/slots would i be able to sli a physx card? more for the benefit of folding than actual physx seing as how it would give me another gpu client to fold on and net me about 20k ppd. i added that client in and my ppd went from about 18-23k ppd to right now its sitting at 42.8k ppd

[jmossman]

I usually make use of old junk, always a good way to get rid of it lol. Thinking of taking an old cheap wood desk and modifying it. Can mount the board directly to the surface of the desk. Then open up the back for exhaust and connectors. All I really need to add is the top and front. Actually have considered making it from aluminum though, it bends very easy and is versatile to say the least.

One VERY interesting thing to me is building a rackmount deal. I install this kinda stuff every day and have unlimited ironwork and aluminum with all the harware. Would be so sweet to see everything in one nice 23" rack. For any 19" units I could just use mounting adaptors. All this is rediculous but would be fun.

As for the video cards, you can run 3 as gpu clients if the board supports that many. SLI isn't good for folding. Many people swear they can't even make them fold with it on. Mine usually works either way, but sometimes it freaks out and locks up w/ SLI enabled. I've heard of people using PCI-Ex1 adaptors to use spare x1 slots to add more video cards to fold on. Obviously they wouldn't work at that speed for gaming or anything, but work great to fold. I've never tried this so would make sure first, but I have heard of a few that did it.

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by jmossman

As for the video cards, you can run 3 as gpu clients if the board supports that many. SLI isn't good for folding. Many people swear they can't even make them fold with it on. Mine usually works either way, but sometimes it freaks out and locks up w/ SLI enabled. I've heard of people using PCI-Ex1 adaptors to use spare x1 slots to add more video cards to fold on. Obviously they wouldn't work at that speed for gaming or anything, but work great to fold. I've never tried this so would make sure first, but I have heard of a few that did it.

Actually, you should be able to just cut the end of the slot (don't touch the contacts!) so that the card fits in. PCI-E is supposed to work that way from what I understand.

[slider11]

well i just ordered my 2nd 570 so that should be here in about 10 days or so and ill probably pick up a 430 before i go to work today. i guess we will see what happens

Additional Comment:

so right now it looks like im gonna start off with the asus kgpe-d16 2p board and 1 opteron 6234 interlagos 12 core 2.4ghz processor a noctua nh-u12 g34 socket cooler and about 8x1gb crucial ram ddr3 1333. ill probably pick up a case here on base since shipping one over here will double the price of the case. right now its sitting at roughly 1000 dollars so ill probably look at starting to buy stuff in about a month or 2. depending on how much i put aside i might splurge for the 2nd 6234 and some more ram

[Maniac]

I would recommend a magny-cours over the interlagos for folding purposes...

[PatonB]

Yha MC over Inter.

You really should get a 4p, but it willk cost 400 more.

[jimh425]

4p isn't even 4 hundred more. More like 200. http://www.wiredzone.com/Supermicro-...10021077~0.htm More choices are in the fork in the road thread at HardForum.

I own the Asus board. Just say no. It seems people have much less issues with the SuperMicro boards.

Most MBs don't seem quite ready for the 6200s even after flash...it's "bleeding" edge. I know...I'm bleeding.

[slider11]

hmm that board looks quite appealing. so you would suggest a 6100 series over a 6200?

my goal is a 12 core (or better) for less than 400ish especially if im buying a 700 dollar mobo

if i ran 2+ 6128 magny cours 8 core's would i be able to run bigadv?

[jimh425]

Buy the Magny Cours. I wish I would have. It's a lot less hassle, and you don't get to use the turbo when the cores are at 100%.

Don't buy the 6128s at retail although I guess it would be ok to get the system running if you buy the 150 ones off ebay or similar.

I have two although I didn't buy them for folding. You'll be unimpressed compared to your i7. You'd be much better off with a 12 core than 2 - 8s because as soon as you added the second 12 core, you'd be 1 1/2 times the cores at higher speed.

[jmossman]

It seems the 16 cores and the 12 cores do about the same points, except the 16 core eat a lot more power and generate more heat. I'm glad I went with the 12's, and it seems most multi-processor builders go with the 12 core dodecas. What sealed the deal for me was seeing all the guys from the [H]orde going with them, and with them you know money isn't an obstacle lol. It's a dilema regardless. A 4p w/ 8-cores will beat a 2p w/ 12 cores, but if you spend the money for a 4p board, it's hard not to go 12 core lol. I finally gave up on the idea to get another 4p, at least until I see if the IRS catches up to me .