10 replies to this topic

[WOLF_TEAM_LEADER]

I am going to be getting a server type rig from the US for hosting games and doing a lot of F@H (not at the same time).
Currently looking at these specs:

ASUS KGPE-D16 SSI EEB 3.61 Server Motherboard Dual Socket G34 AMD SR5690 DDR3 800/1066/1333 - $429.99

2x AMD Opteron 6272 Interlagos 2.1GHz Socket G34 115W 16-Core Server Processor OS6272WKTGGGUWOF - $1079.98

8x Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) ECC Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9S/1G - $103.92

2x Noctua NH-U12DO A3 for AMD Opteron workstations and Servers CPU Cooler - $169.98

Total $1783.87


I am new to server type rigs so I just wanted to check that I haven't done anything wrong.
I won't need too much RAM and as it's mostly for folding I am trying to budget on everything apart from the CPUs and Mobo (which are pretty cheap anyway).
Those CPU coolers are pretty expensive so I might switch to some smaller versions, also there is a bundle I can get with the mobo and 1 cpu that saves a bit of money.
I will be using a HX1000W from another rig as it has the DUAL 8 Pin EPS. It will most likely sit in the Lian Li P80R but looks aren't important.
Hopefully 4 DIMMs per CPU means it will run with Quad Channel ok.
If the specs are fine then I will just have to find someone to ship it all over
It needs to have at least 16 cores for the upcoming -bigadv requirements so 32 should work great.
It will be running on Linux ofc.
I will salvage any other parts (HDDs etc.) from other PCs, I might sell some parts from a weaker rig or something however I won't bother if I am only getting peanuts.
It's either this new rig or a new SSD for my gaming rig however everything is pretty quick on the F3's and I would rather the extra PPD and Game Hosting capabilities (now I fixed my port forwarding issues).
I would rather not spend anymore than $1800 on the hardware if it's avoidable, it doesn't have to be amazing just stable and good for F@H.

Peace

Edited by WOLF_TEAM_LEADER, 08 December 2011 - 08:44 AM.

[mihapiha]

You just have to make sure that you get the right bios version with the board.

[WOLF_TEAM_LEADER]

mihapiha, on 08 December 2011 - 09:01 AM, said:

You just have to make sure that you get the right bios version with the board.

I don't think that's going to be easy

[mihapiha]

I don't understand why you're spending that much money on that anyways. You have to import it to Australia for crying out loud!
Shipping + import tax will kill ya. And I'd not get that type of a system anyways. Save another couple of months or maybe a year
and then spend the money on a finished quad-socket server type build. These two CPUs do 115k PPD average, not more!

With four of them you'd be in the 300k PPD average. Then the money wouldn't be wasted as badly.

P.S.: Don't worry, I won't pass you in the F@H stats. I'm trying to help out an other team as well, so if that ranking is important
to you, I can guarantee that I won't pass you if you'll maintain 80k+ PPD average.

Edit:

You mustn't use the onboard graphic card. for some reason it slows down the F@H performance!

Edited by mihapiha, 08 December 2011 - 09:23 AM.

[WOLF_TEAM_LEADER]

Shipping won't be that bad say $100 max as that board is a bit big for normal boxes and if the stated value is less thank $1000 you don't have to pay any customs (i.e. pretend it's 2nd hand goods).
I don't really want to wait as I am kinda using good exam results and the "xmas spirit" to avoid any "wasting money" issues .
I was thinking how much more future proof and beastly a Quad Socket build would be although it's certainly out of my current budget.
Maybe I should just start a little fund where I can deposit money into until I have enough for a ridiculous machine
I do want to use it for a gaming server as I have fixed my internet but paying for monthly hosting online doesn't cost too much although you lose some freedom ofc.
IDK how long it would be till I could get a beastly Quad Socket rig...
It would be $3k for the Quad Socket board and 4x 6272's D:
I will try and see if there is somewhere you can get the Asus board with the updated bios, I would probably have to wait till the end of next year before such an expensive quad cpu rig could be bought seeming as I kinda do owe some money (with no interest) but idk what's going on with that.
My F@H goals are related to where I sit overall in F@H and not really where I am on the team.
I am ranked 1006 atm so I will make my goal of the top 1000 Folders by the end of this year!
Before most of our folders left/stopped we were kinda headed for top 100 teams by the end of the year so if you are out folding me by 100000000 PPD I don't care as long as our team is going strong
I'll post back when I work out what I am doing, a nice new SSD for my games would be good

[WOLF_TEAM_LEADER]

I have kinda decided I am going to wait till I can get a 64 Core set-up by hopefully mid 2012.
By the end of December I should have around $1400+ in my account which means client builds, other jobs and w/e I can get from my B'Day in May will have to be enough
to take it to about $3.5k (prices might go down a bit by then as well.)
That would make it a much greater upgrade and the mobo's should be outfitted with new BIOS versions by then

Thanks

[mihapiha]

The quad-socket's price ain't that horrible. It's the case and PSU which is really the problem.
By the way: Go with the Noctua NH-U9DO A3s

The 92mm fans are big enough. Remember that you can't really overclock a Server and I regret going with the big U12DOs. The smaller ones would have been enough.
I get 18°C idle temperature and 30°C load on the cores if CoreTemp is correct. So nothing, and the smaller noctua would be good enough.

There must be one company somewhere in Australia selling server/workstations. Maybe you can mail them and ask for a build. Their's might in the end cost less.

[doctor killer]

Is there a reason why you would absolutely use server memory in there?

Because you could go for 2 of those instead: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231491

Actual Quad channel memory and more of it!

Or look at those:
http://www.newegg.co...ICE&PageSize=20

[Xavier Zepherious]

WOLF if you have an older BIOS version and need flashing(for the 16-core) go to the EVGA forum and post in the thread for G34 rigs
there is a loner program that one of the users there has offered to people needing to flash their boards
http://www.evga.com/....aspx?m=1332079


currently the an older chip is moving from person to person - flashing their boards to update their BIOS

it will be a strange site seeing you posting back at EVGA (when you do)

Edited by Xavier Zepherious, 08 December 2011 - 03:54 PM.

[WOLF_TEAM_LEADER]

mihapiha, on 08 December 2011 - 01:56 PM, said:

The quad-socket's price ain't that horrible. It's the case and PSU which is really the problem.
By the way: Go with the Noctua NH-U9DO A3s

The 92mm fans are big enough. Remember that you can't really overclock a Server and I regret going with the big U12DOs. The smaller ones would have been enough.
I get 18°C idle temperature and 30°C load on the cores if CoreTemp is correct. So nothing, and the smaller noctua would be good enough.

There must be one company somewhere in Australia selling server/workstations. Maybe you can mail them and ask for a build. Their's might in the end cost less.

doctor killer, on 08 December 2011 - 03:15 PM, said:

Is there a reason why you would absolutely use server memory in there?

Because you could go for 2 of those instead: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231491

Actual Quad channel memory and more of it!

Or look at those:
http://www.newegg.co...ICE&PageSize=20

Xavier Zepherious, on 08 December 2011 - 03:53 PM, said:

WOLF if you have an older BIOS version and need flashing(for the 16-core) go to the EVGA forum and post in the thread for G34 rigs
there is a loner program that one of the users there has offered to people needing to flash their boards
http://www.evga.com/....aspx?m=1332079


currently the an older chip is moving from person to person - flashing their boards to update their BIOS

it will be a strange site seeing you posting back at EVGA (when you do)

@Miha I certainly won't be trying any OC'ing in the OS or anything like that so I will go for the 92mm versions to save on costs.
Case and PSU is taken care of.
Buying from Aus is a no go as I can't find anyone who stocks Interlagos apart form a few chips that popped up for 2x what it costs in the US.
I suppose there will be some in Australia soon enough however prices will be ridiculous as always thus I mainly buy expensive items from the US now days.

@DK It would be nice to have 2 or 4GB DIMM's instead of the 1GB ECC memory.
If I get the ASUS board I will certainly look into that as it does work with some non-ECC memory.

@Xavier Hopefully it won't be an issue if I wait to buy a Quad CPU board however if I can't get my hands on a board with a compatible BIOS when I do buy then that looks like a pretty good path.
Shipping to Australia wouldn't be much for such a small package and customs costs only apply for >$1000 packages.
I don't fold for EVGA atm so it would be a bit harder to gain trust so I can lone out the CPU...

In general I will wait till I have the funds that I was going to (or will) spend on the Asus Dual Socket setup and make a decision from there.
If I decide to save for a Quad CPU setup then boards with a newer BIOS will most likely be out.
Going for a Quad Socket rig would probably warrant selling off some of my GPU based folding hardware as the massive PPD increase from a 64 Core Folding Monster would be great enough that having a few extra cards folding wouldn't really change anything.
Also power bills would go down quite a bit if I cut out some of these cards such as the 295's. Although I wouldn't wan't to sell my collection of Red's for a mediocre price D:
My location makes it 10x harder to get rid of low cost items as the shipping turns most buyers away

Thanks for the comments, I won't be buying anything immediately if you were getting excited however I am not trolling and will surely get a nice Opty rig whether it be a super budget 32 core around xmas or a fully fledged 64 core as soon as possible in 2012

If anyone has interest in buying some of my hardware which includes 4x EVGA GTX 295 RED, 2x MSI Cyclone GTX460 768MB, XFX 9800GX2, 2x EVGA 9800GT w/ Zalman coolers + Stock coolers, MSI 890FX GD70 with a 1055t (can take 4 Dual slot cards), EVGA 4 Way Classy or anything else found in my specs below (apart from my P67 set up) then please PM me.
If I choose to sell anything or not I will most likely have an unusable rig after I take the HX1000 and P80R away...

Sorry for the long and jumbled post but stick with me and the F@H farm will have a new upgrade as soon as I can manage

Thanks!

EDIT: I am going to measure the P80R to see if it would fit a MEB sized board!
EDIT EDIT: I measured it to be 16.5" from the top of a motherboard to the bottom of the case which is just a bit longer than the Tyan Quad G34 board on the egg.

Edited by WOLF_TEAM_LEADER, 08 December 2011 - 04:41 PM.

[Xavier Zepherious]

I think someone from TSC was lent the cpu(or at least one of them)...(only 3 posts and barely on EVGA)
you have a past there...so I think it won't be an issue

shipping it to the next person or back home(to owner - if you are the last one) would be up to you and your cost
just as the person who had it last has the responsibility to ship to you.

anyways - I sent the link here so you can inquire when the time comes


PS: you can always post your parts at EVGA - we have a few users from Australia that might be interested

Edited by Xavier Zepherious, 08 December 2011 - 06:57 PM.