Build Help - Ideas on Parts Needed

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Jon855

[H]ard DCOTM January 2008
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Guys,

As it has been made a public knowledge to some today, I am in the process of acquiring two Intel Xeon X5550s. However, I've been somewhat stuck as to what configuration I could put together for an additional ~ $2000. If I want to overclock these babies, I'll need to use a X58 motherboard and that in essential will end up as two rigs instead of one. My only dilemma here is that I am unsure as to whether I should run one or two rigs and still be able to fold for the highest PPD as possible as per the cost I have budgeted.

Parts purchased/obtained:
2x Intel Xeon X5550s

Parts to purchase/obtain:
Case (I may run it naked)
Mobo
RAM
PSU
HDD
GPUs

So what I'm asking you for is to help me determine what would be the most cost effective solution in piecing together a kick ass rig or two for approximately additional $2,000.
 
well it really depends if this rig(s) going to be daily use and folding rig or just straight folding rig.. if they/it's just going to be a folding rig theres plenty of options out there.. and if so i wouldnt spend a ton for a motherboard.. just something simple with 3 or 4 pci-e x16/x8 slots.. then just run a bunch of GTX 275's.. they are the best bang for the buck PPD wise currently..

for outright PPD you are better off running 2 rigs.. but for the cost it would probably be cheaper just to run it as a dually..

now is the 2k dollar budget including the 2 processors or just for the extra hardware?
 
As for its usage, I most likely will be using it as a primary desktop with occasional gaming. I most likely will end up with a dually.

The CPUs have been purchased for, and does not counts toward the budget.

Probable configuration thus far are the following

Dually Xeons
Most likely 12 GB ram kit
2-3 GPUs (I don't know if I will be able to game on one while the others are folding on the others)
 
That is a pretty nice looking system you have coming up. I had given thought to getting Nitro's Xeons, but don't need the dually quite yet. For that same amount of money, I can get quite a few more GPUs
 
Not a hardware tip, but if you're running a dually config on those Xeons, use the -smp 8 switch and watch the frame drop and fly by. :D I'm getting 3-4 minute frames on my servers with 53 series Xeons, so your's ought to be even nicer.
 
Well if it were me.

X8DTH-6F
12gb GSkill RAM
Corsair HX1000(Dual 8 pin) + Corsair HX620
4x XFX GTX295s

XP x64
Run two linSMP -smp8 VMs and 8 GPU2 clients.

Should be good for about 80k PPD, and you then have the highest PPD in box ever!!!
 
nitrobass24 said:
Well if it were me.

X8DTH-6F
12gb GSkill RAM
Corsair HX1000(Dual 8 pin) + Corsair HX620
4x XFX GTX295s

XP x64
Run two linSMP -smp8 VMs and 8 GPU2 clients.

Should be good for about 80k PPD, and you then have the highest PPD in box ever!!!
Click to expand...

This. Though I don't think you could fit 4x 295s using that board since the first PCI-e slot is blocked by the RAM. Also, you'd be a bit shy of 80k.
 
As long as there is no Ram module in that slot it should be a non-issue.
 
When you are running 3 or 4 GTX295's (or just about any other GPU for that matter), are there concerns with heat? I know that when I sandwiched 3x9800GX2's together, the middle card had a lot of issues with EUEs due to heat. Wouldn't you have the same concern with GTX295's?

I guess if you were running naked, it wouldn't be too bad, but if you were running in a case, you would run into issues.
 
I had 3 GX2's sandwiched in my Norco 4020 without issues.

But it has jet engines for fans.
I wedged some rubber gromets between each to get a little space inbetween and attached two 80mm fans on the top blowing down towards the cards.

Loud but it worked.
 
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capreppy said:
Hmm. I will definitely keep THIS in mind when I need to build my dually. But the price point would be high for a dedicated folding rig
Click to expand...

ehhh not really.

When you consider it would cost you a $600 board, plus the $500 on PSU's another 300 for the case.

It really comes out about the same if you were to do it yourself, maybe even less. 1400w redundant PSUs aint cheap ya know :)
 
Actually I didn't see the redundant part.

Ok. Must stop looking at other people's builds. Causes me to try and justify the expense!!!
 
nitrobass24 said:
Well if it were me.

X8DTH-6F
12gb GSkill RAM
Corsair HX1000(Dual 8 pin) + Corsair HX620
4x XFX GTX295s

XP x64
Run two linSMP -smp8 VMs and 8 GPU2 clients.

Should be good for about 80k PPD, and you then have the highest PPD in box ever!!!
Click to expand...

I think you overshot the budget by just a weeee bit ;)

I'd do 3x GTX275 or 285 cards and have the rest of the money ready for upgrades or to start up a sister box. Also with this a good 1kwatt plus PSU.

295s will bring too many headaches if your running more than 2. Having a box with a 99% uptime is much better than one that puts out more PPD, but with much lower uptime.
 
nitrobass24 said:
ehhh not really.

When you consider it would cost you a $600 board, plus the $500 on PSU's another 300 for the case.

It really comes out about the same if you were to do it yourself, maybe even less. 1400w redundant PSUs aint cheap ya know :)
Click to expand...

It's only 1400W redundant if you're outside the US (aka where it's 180-240V), else it's only 1200W
 
4 GTX275s would be your best bet for staying within your budget assuming you get a motherboard that supports 4 PCI-E video cards. 4 GTX295s would give you the most PPD but would also end up costing you a lot more than $2000 just for the cards, not to mention all the other components you'll need.
 
Should I wait for the Video Card refresher? ATi's coming with theirs only in days and nVidia is sure to respond shortly. I wonder about the price change and the PPD change with the new ones.
 
New nVidia cards are expected to be released next year, and the upcoming ATI cards probably still won't fold that well. Still, the 5000 series is expected to be introduced (at least in the sense of a paper launch) tomorrow, so you don't have that much longer to wait if you want to see how those will do.
 
I think that the new ATi cards have much MUCH more potential now, but they're still depending on a GPU2 refresh to make use of the RIDICULOUS amount of shaders. The Nvidia cards should perform superbly though.
 
Case - HSPC Top Deck Tech Station Seems to support E-ATX motherboard however from what I can see, it seems as if it only can support "7" expansion slots and will not be enough for the 4x dual slotted GPUs. Am I correct in this observation?

Motherboard - SUPERMICRO MBD-X8DTH-6F-O

PSU - Something that at the minimum can handle 2 Xeon X5550s and at least 3 GTX295s

RAM - G.SKILL 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 From my understanding the motherboard does not requires EEC RAM is this is the case then a simple 12GB DDR3 kit will do for me .

GPU - EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB I selected eVGA due to the step up program, within 90 days if there are better cards out there, I can simple just exchange them for more folding power.

HDD/DVD - no biggie, I've got one lying around that I can use.

OS - TechNet FTW.

From what I'm able to determine with the most basic deductive reasoning skills of mine - this is one motherfucking expensive build but ever so worth it. I'm open to inputs now.

I would like to order everything I can within the week if possible so let's get started... I need your help in determining what would be the most cost effective method. I'll even consider two rigs if it's more PPD effective price-wise.

Remember my budget is about $2000 at this moment. CPUs are already paid for and does not count towards the budget.

Many thanks.
 
Jon855 said:
from what I can see, it seems as if it only can support "7" expansion slots and will not be enough for the 4x dual slotted GPUs. Am I correct in this observation?
Click to expand...
Yes, it won't fit four dual-slot cards.
Jon855 said:
PSU - Something that at the minimum can handle 2 Xeon X5550s and at least 3 GTX295s
Click to expand...
I'd recommend a pair of ~750W PSUs with each on a separate 15A circuit. That PC will pull a ton of power, plus you have to consider the power for a monitor, speakers if you plan on using any, and whatever else you might have connected in the room.

If you want to go for the best, I recommend the Corsair HX750 or HX850, Seasonic M12D 750W or 850W, Antec Signature 850W, XFX Black Edition 850W, or PCP&C Silencer 910W (although that last one is already a bit overkill if you go for a pair of them).
 
I'd stick with 3 275's and just wait for the next gen. I would go dually tho, especially with the new bonus option for completing the BIG wu's. if a 8 core (4 actually) i7 can get just a wee bit bonus, then a 16 core (8 actually) server rig should be able to knock one out the park. Stanford needs those huge WU's kinda quick so they are running a bonus. by the time the bonus ends I'm sure we'll be knocking on SMP2's door so I would keep CPU folding a core priority for this unit. and 3 275's aint gonna be too shabby either, and that would let you stick with one nice PSU instead of 2 (910 PCP&C gets my vote)

either way, the most important thing to put in that rig is the number 33 when it asks for team info :)
 
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