Folding Cluster for the poor

[ferrari12508]

I am looking to build an SMP cluster, but it is not something I have $5000 to spend on, I am only 17. I was thinking of using the following parts

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813153120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145539
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817256032

It is a $130 set up and linking about 5 of those together on a netboot would be cheap and somewhat effective. So far I have only found 1 result stating that on an SMP the 5200+ gets about 800PPD. Just wondering if someone could verify this. Also, if someone could make any constructive comments then go right ahead. I am trying to make it as cheap as possible because as previously stated im am not rolling in cash and I am not going to buy all of these at once.

If you add an extra $90 you can put in an 8800GTS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130410

According to this post an 8800GTS would bring in nearly 4K points. This will stop the SMP client from running, but for less than twice the price, it will allow for an increase of 500%. I am looking into making a few of these systems just to get some extra PPD and thought I would share with you. This computer will probably not be the greatest thing to use and I would advise if you want to it be a multitasker to upgrade some parts. I just built the cheapest thing I could throw together in 20 minutes. Have fun folding!

[Cajun_Don]

Everything looks fine, for a cheap, low performance system, except for the PSU, if you plan on running a extended Video card. I would recommend at least a 500 Watt PSU with a single rail of 26 Amps min. The one thing you do not want to skimp on is the PSU. With a 400 W PSU you would be running it close to 100% all the time, which is not good, and causing it die sooner.

I have been building systems for 26 years.

I would spend a little bit more for better performance with each unit, and reduce the total number of systems.

If you want max PPD, I would go with 2 Phenom Quad Core systems. Then you only need 2 of every thing, instead of 5 systems,, get more PPD, and less power bill.


1. OCZ Technology, Inc. OCZ600MXSP: $94.99
2. FOXCONN A7GM-S: $66.99
Combo Discount: -$40.00 Combo Price: $121.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDeal ... mbo.142819

3. AMD Phenom 9950 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor - Retail $169.99 Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103291

4. mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Desktop Memory - Retail $44.99 Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146756

Total of 1 system: 316.96

You can then add the video cards with no problems.

I'm getting 12,572 PPD with a Phenom 9850, with 2GB Ram, running 2 SMP Clients and 2 GPU Clients with a Nvidia 9800GX2 Video card.

[Tigerbiten]

It a question if you want to SMP fold or not if your going for cheap folder.
Going pure GPU folding could work out better.

MSI K9A2 Plat + 45w Brisbane core CPU.
Drop in 4 nVidia Video cards, 2 Gb ram, 1 hard drive.
600-1500 watt PSU depending on the cards.
4x 9600GSO's will give you 12-20k PpD. Will draw around 400 watts.
4x 98GTX's will give you 16-24k PpD. Will draw around 500 watts.
4x9800GX2's will give you 30-45k PpD. Will draw around 900 watts.

Luck ..........

[ferrari12508]

The newer MSI K9A2 plats do not support SLI, they support Quad CrossfireX though.

[Tigerbiten]

The newer MSI K9A2 plats do not support SLI, they support Quad CrossfireX though.

You dont want to use SLI when you fold, so thats ok.
I've got 4x 9800GX2's in a K9A2 Plat, running 8 clients on them.

Luck ............

[ferrari12508]

Wow I was so dumb, I spent like half an hour looking for a board which supported Quad SLI even though I knew that F@H can't use SLI. I feel so dumb.

[Lgringo]

Wow I was so dumb, I spent like half an hour looking for a board which supported Quad SLI even though I knew that F@H can't use SLI. I feel so dumb.

Ferrari, relax, it could have been worse, it could have been an old fossil like me cruising down that dead-end, in which case it would have been half a day, not half an hour ..... it's OK to lighten up on yourself now.
Happy Trails, folding & otherwise!

[tear]

70%+ efficiency is good enough for $20 PSU IMHO [Silverstone has been my personal preference for some time now but nevermind that].

For dedicated SMP however, I'd go with 3+ core CPUs; make sure to pick xx50 series (if any) as they are not affected by infamous TLB cache erratum.

Cheers,
tear

[ferrari12508]

I'm actually looking at the 9850BE and the K9A2 and start out with some SMP. As more cash comes in, I will fill it up with GTX260s.

[bruce]

I am looking to build an SMP cluster, but . . .

You may or may not be aware of the fact that FAH is not designed to run on clusters. The basic hardware requirement is a single machine. I won't begrudge the folks that are giving you answers, but the purpose of this forum is to support FAH so you're really asking in the wrong place.

[flarepath]

I am looking to build an SMP cluster, but . . .

You may or may not be aware of the fact that FAH is not designed to run on clusters. The basic hardware requirement is a single machine. I won't begrudge the folks that are giving you answers, but the purpose of this forum is to support FAH so you're really asking in the wrong place.

Well maybe Ferrari should consider cruising over to Rosetta@home,
http://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/
also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta@home

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7242

Dollars-to-doughnuts they'd be REAL HAPPY to accept whatever species, variety, or kind of CPU cycles he has to offer, clusterized or othewise.

[Beberg]

One issue to keep in mind for the "poor" system, and a HUGE issue we confront in the world of large clusters and buildings full of computers, is that electricity costs are now the dominant cost over the life of the system, over hardware, space, buildings, and the rest.

The good news is that this is because hardware is now so cheap, yay! The bad news is that when you figure out what a computer costs, you have to do some math on the wattage, and how many kilowatt-hours that will turn into on your electric bill.

That said, looks like a decent folding system.

[fractal]

The original parts list will cost $750us for 4000 ppd and will consume around 500 watts.

A MSI K9N SLI-F with the least expensive x2 you can find along with two 8800gt's or 9600gso's will cost less than $500us for 7000-9000 ppd depending on WU and will consume around 200 watts.

You can get a few more PPD by going with an X4 and running the SMP client along side the GPU clients, but it was never worth the hassle to me.

The k9a2 is a fine board. I have one with two 9600gso's in it. I plan on adding a third. But it costs $150 and it is tricky to run more than two cards in. I had the GPU's in a board similar to the k9n before I swapped mother boards. Rebuilding the system with the k9a2 was "slightly" more work than the original build due to the size of the board and slot layout. The k9n is $65 and takes two cards just fine and was a "no hassle" build. In my mind, the two card solutions are the best "punch for the buck". Cheaper to buy, easier to work with and you are still in the range of inexpensive power supplies.

[ferrari12508]

@ Bruce - I always like it when someone with a status replies to my messages, thank you. You to beberg! When I say cluster, I know it means many computers hooked together to form one, but I just mean a few similar computers, such as 4 of my machines i'm looking to build all sitting in a rack together. Sorry about that misuse of terms.

@Fractal - PPD is a concern of mine as I am competitive, but I already have a GPU client cranking out 5K PPD, and also a uniprocessor client running. I want to throw in some SMP because a GPU can't do the work an SMP can and vice versa. I do not know where you are getting the $750 for the originally stated parts, because as I have previously stated, its $210. I do like the idea however of getting a board with only 2 PCI-e slots in it. I like the K9A2, but I will never use all of those slots. I will definitely be getting a quad core though as I would like to do some SMP work.