Question about using old Xeon server

[historydigger86]

I have been folding for many years, but it has always been on a desktop PC. I have a need to bring up another system for a project (home use) using Ubuntu. 90%+ of the time the server will be idle. I have been offered a choice from a friend a Xeon 4x - X7350 server or an single processor i5 (not sure of the actual number). My question is: will the Xeon server perform better than the i5 with a cheap GPU? I don’t want to put a lot of money into beefing up the machine. I know this is somewhat vague in total information. I am just trying to see which would be better, and if either would actually be worth running FAH vs just shutting down when I am not using it. Thanks for any help.

[JimboPalmer]

The Xeon has four real cores running at 2.93 Ghz. http://ark.intel.com/products/30796/Int ... 66-MHz-FSB
It takes parity DDR2 RAM

The i5 can be anything.

[historydigger86]

Thanks, I found out the i5 is a 3439. Two years old. My gut tells me that the Xeon is the right choice as it has a total of 16 cores vs only 2 on the i5. I am just not sure how FAH works with the Xeon chip compared to x86 (I think that is the right nomenclature) chip. Any idea on what the expected PPD would be for either? I would just hate to spend a day or two getting the server set up only to find that it only puts out 100 PPD. I hate to sound so green, but until now I have only run FAH in a very basic fashion, download -> install -> forget.

[ChristianVirtual]

I hate to sound so green, but until now I have only run FAH in a very basic fashion, download -> install -> forget.

No need to hate to sound green
Talking about green: you might want to look for the power consumption of a 4P system vs. a single i5 with let say a GTX 970.
Not sure how many PPD such a 4P will make but your guess around 100k might be even too much. Others will jump in with more experience. When I recently get a CPU:16 on Amazon I make around 50k on modern Xeon E5. Not so exciting; PPD-wise. My GTX 970 makes around 280k (with around 120W).

So it depend on what the project you mentioned is about. If that require a 4P or an i5 is enough.

[Nathan_P]

That 4p machine will burn a lot of power, far more than its output maybe worth, it will depend on your electricity costs. Personally I would take the i5, save some money and put either a 750ti or 960/970 in there as long as your Ubuntu project can run on the 2 cores of the i5

My dual x5670 gets 13,008 on passmark, the quad x7350 gets 9,238. PPD wise I can get about 65k PPD for 298w, on yours I would estimate about 40k PPD for about 450-500watts. Not an ideal comparison but its all I can currently find

[bruce]

Just a comment about ubuntu: When you install the GPU, you'll have to update the drivers to the open or proprietary drivers from nviida. The default drivers are fine to drive a screen but they won't fold.

[historydigger86]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I had not really considered the power costs. Looks like the i5 is the right choice. Great having some place to ask these questions.

[Nathan_P]

The i5 won't get many points - but it won't eat much power either, and it should be upgradeable.