Hello,
I just recently joined the F@H effort (2 days ago) and am currently running it on my home PC (I5, Radeon 5800). I've had a mini windfall at work by getting quite a few of their old servers they were replacing:
5x Dell PowerEdge 2950's
2x PowerEdge 1850's
Fujitsu RX220
HP Proliant DL580
I was thinking of setting these up to fold. Would they be efficient or is the architecture too old? I haven't opened them yet to see what they have inside. I'd really appreciate it if someone cared to advise on the viability of folding on these and what the recommendation is in terms of O/S etc.
Kind regards.
Multi Server Setup - Advice Needed
Moderators: Site Moderators, FAHC Science Team
Re: Multi Server Setup - Advice Needed
FAH works find on any equipment that is as new as early Pentium chips which supports SSE and on Windows/Linux/MacOS. If used exclusively for FAH, 64-bit Linux is (very) slightly faster, but probably not worth the effort to switch. Newer technology tends to reduce the heat generated and power consumption so the electrical costs are often what drive people to upgrade from old equipment to newer but that's a personal decision and may be part of the business decision that led the company to discard useable equipment although tax law is an important consideration for them, too. You can make your own decisions in that regard. FAH is grateful for whatever you choose to contribute.
Servers like those generally have a lot of disk space which FAH won't need. Unless the graphics has been upgraded with a modern GPU (which is unlikely) you won't be able to fold on the video subsystem.
Servers like those generally have a lot of disk space which FAH won't need. Unless the graphics has been upgraded with a modern GPU (which is unlikely) you won't be able to fold on the video subsystem.
Posting FAH's log:
How to provide enough info to get helpful support.
How to provide enough info to get helpful support.
-
- Posts: 10179
- Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:30 pm
- Hardware configuration: Intel i7-4770K @ 4.5 GHz, 16 GB DDR3-2133 Corsair Vengence (black/red), EVGA GTX 760 @ 1200 MHz, on an Asus Maximus VI Hero MB (black/red), in a blacked out Antec P280 Tower, with a Xigmatek Night Hawk (black) HSF, Seasonic 760w Platinum (black case, sleeves, wires), 4 SilenX 120mm Case fans with silicon fan gaskets and silicon mounts (all black), a 512GB Samsung SSD (black), and a 2TB Black Western Digital HD (silver/black).
- Location: Arizona
- Contact:
Re: Multi Server Setup - Advice Needed
Not sure if you could sell a few and build one or two faster and more efficient systems. The new builds would also pay back over time using less electricity.
How to provide enough information to get helpful support
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
-
- Posts: 2948
- Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:36 am
- Hardware configuration: Machine #1:
Intel Q9450; 2x2GB=8GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460; Windows Server 2008 X64 (SP1).
Machine #2:
Intel Q6600; 2x2GB=4GB Ram; Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Motherboard; PC Power and Cooling Q750 PS; 2x GTX 460 video card; Windows 7 X64.
Machine 3:
Dell Dimension 8400, 3.2GHz P4 4x512GB Ram, Video card GTX 460, Windows 7 X32
I am currently folding just on the 5x GTX 460's for aprox. 70K PPD - Location: Salem. OR USA
Re: Multi Server Setup - Advice Needed
You can CPU fold on any or all of those machines using Linux or Windows (Excluding Windows Server 2000 or NT). Their productivity will depend on their specific CPU's which is unknown and will likely vary. GPU folding will be determined by what GPU's they have but it is unlikely that they will have a card recent enough but you can add one if any have a PCI-E slot.
I agree with 7im, selling them for one or two modern machine(s) will likely be more productive.
I agree with 7im, selling them for one or two modern machine(s) will likely be more productive.
Re: Multi Server Setup - Advice Needed
Thanks guys, that is great advice! I'll try to open them in the coming week or 2 to see what they have inside.