Thinking about a CPU only cruncher

Richard Haselgrove
Richard Haselgrove
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So that MoBo has 12 memory

So that MoBo has 12 memory slots, in - I'd expect - 4 banks of 3.

Looking at the upper group (currently empty), that should take three identical DIMMs in one bank (the blue slots), and another three identical DIMMs in the other bank (black slots). It would take the manual, or trial and error, to work out which to populate first.

With the banks populated like that, you should get the fastest speed (triple channel) for that MoBo. Other MoBos will have the slots configured in even numbers, for dual or possibly quad channel speeds.

Adam Socki
Adam Socki
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Wonderful. Thanks for the

Wonderful. Thanks for the guidance!

I've (finally) got it up and running with 2 CPUs (w/ Turbo Boost enabled giving approx 2.52 Ghz) and 6 ram sticks in all the blue slots as per the guidance of the manual. I also have it running with hyper-threading so it is currently crunching through 16 tasks at once. I'm going to let it run for a bit to get some WU through to see how it performs.

It did a couple of WUs already at around 94-95,000 sec run time|88-89,000 sec cpu time.

mikey
mikey
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RE: Wonderful. Thanks for

Quote:

Wonderful. Thanks for the guidance!

I've (finally) got it up and running with 2 CPUs (w/ Turbo Boost enabled giving approx 2.52 Ghz) and 6 ram sticks in all the blue slots as per the guidance of the manual. I also have it running with hyper-threading so it is currently crunching through 16 tasks at once. I'm going to let it run for a bit to get some WU through to see how it performs.

It did a couple of WUs already at around 94-95,000 sec run time|88-89,000 sec cpu time.

As a test change the setting to 99% of the cpu so only 15 units run at a time and see if it is faster, hyper-threading uses the base cpu too and if both are maxed out your units could be running slower, giving it a little breathing space could make a difference.

Adam Socki
Adam Socki
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Will do. I changed it this

Will do. I changed it this morning so I'll wait and see how it effects the run time.

Thanks!

mikey
mikey
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RE: Will do. I changed it

Quote:

Will do. I changed it this morning so I'll wait and see how it effects the run time.

Thanks!

I do this on all my pc's, even those that the gpu is not currently being used for crunching, it's 92F in basement without them running, it would be well over 100F if they were!!

Jordan Kallinen
Jordan Kallinen
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I hate to resurrect the dead,

I hate to resurrect the dead, but why not buy a refurbished server with all the stats you listed? 

like http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-2950-III-Server-2x3-16GHz-X5460-Quad-Core-16GB-2x73GB-PERC6i-DRAC-/191421653635?hash=item2c919ea283 

I get the 2011v3 socket is more expandable, and the 2660/2670 is more efficient, but for the cost of building a xeon 5xxx system, you're breaking even on internals without getting a case

Enlighten me, I really want to crunch more.

Jordan

archae86
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Jordan Kallinen wrote:I hate

Jordan Kallinen wrote:

I hate to resurrect the dead, but why not buy a refurbished server with all the stats you listed? 

One possible issue is fan noise.  Server designs commonly don't have very much surface area to devote to air flow, so they tend to use a large number of small diameter fans running at insanely high speeds.  Last I knew (it has been a while) it was common for workers spending time in server bays to require ear protection to stay within the OSHA safety limits.

Years ago at Intel, the boss of a guy I knew was proud to have procured a server for his personal use.  My friend pulled half the fans out, and it was still far above the noise level he could share a cubicle with.  I think a means to place it in a machine room solved the matter.

Depending on where you plan to put the machine, this might be no issue at all for you, or a killer issue.  It would completely stop me from considering this path.

AgentB
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Jordan Kallinen wrote: I hate

Jordan Kallinen wrote:

 I hate to resurrect the dead, but why not buy a refurbished server with all the stats you listed? 

 

 Nothing wrong with that approach but almost always the big cost for me is mostly power.

So efficiency is important.

Comparing the two Xeons

 

  host with x5460

 shows Gamma-ray pulsar binary search tasks taking 68-70K seconds (maximum of 4 tasks / processor I believe)  - I could not find many examples.

host with e5-2660v1

 

show Gamma-ray pulsar binary search tasks taking 38K seconds (running 16 tasks / processor)

I was at the time looking for AVX and quad channel,  the e5-2660 CPUs can be purchased on ebay for about 50USD which is good value.

Some personal preferences for a tower FF, rather than a rack - and servers are very limited on choice of fans and coolers plus some server fans can noisy.

hth.

Jordan Kallinen
Jordan Kallinen
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Good point. Didn't really

Good point. Didn't really look at speed, just package deal costs. I will be building one of these CPU crunchers soon and have been trying to find good info. 

Anybody look at that 40-thread computer build? If I remember right he stayed under $800USD for the whole build and it did well on CPU benchmarks, though that's not always a great representation.

Jordan Kallinen
Jordan Kallinen
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@archae86 the noise wouldn't

@archae86 the noise wouldn't bother me at all. what might bother me is the heat. 

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