I WILL be a DC'er!

D

dot_Zen

Gawd
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
720
Okay, I know I'm a bit lazy. I originally intended to join the [h]orde right after I sub'd my membership, but I've had a lot going on in the past year or so. And, in all honesty, the next 5 years are pretty well committed, too.

But, I have all these boxen (I've been freelancing from Home over the past 6-9 months) from my workstation builds and 2u-4u servers my pops brings me from his work (all old, Sun engineering samples(ES) mostly). I also have a PS3 at my disposal.

So, I've read a little on what to do to get started with the various clients, and I've got just a little more reading to do before I actually put some boxen online. But, I kinda wanted to introduce myself, and maybe meet some folks who can take me under their wing. Or at least razz me enough to get the ball rolling. :p

My first order of buisness is deciding which boxen to start with, weighing the pros and cons of current configs, planned upgrades, and future needs:


  • Test rig #1 & 2:
    Single Core P4 620 w/ HT (will be updating to e6600 in the next few weeks);2GB RAM (will possbily increase, but not sure how much this matters);8800GTX (used to have an old 7900GTX, but the mem burned out-- may try the oven trick and get a whole other box after upgrade to this rig. Also have vanilla 6600 used for troubleshooting, so it's an option.); 1TB betwen the 2
  • 2u #1
    Single Xeon 5040 with (2.8ghz) 1GB RAM; onboard video and 1.5TB in RAID 5.
  • 2u #2
    Single Xeon 5040 (2.8ghz) with 2GB RAM; onboard video and 1.2TB in RAID 5.
  • 4u #1
    I think DP'd Xeon 5355 (2.66Ghz) with 4GB RAM (may upgrade soon); onboard video and will soon have 9 TB in RAID 6. However, I'm seriosuly considering this to be a dedicated WHS box. But, it still may get used in a crunch.
  • PS3
  • I would list my workstation rig, and I may use if I ever go 9-5 (with the economy, it's a toss up) but I don't plan to have it idle until dusk, and then it's running backups most the time.
I also have some spare parts that I could throw together depending on the needs or help those in need; i.e. Server boards (ES), RAM (including FB-DIMMs and SO-DIMMs), older cpu's, and a few old HDD's (IDE, SCSI, SAS, SATA)etc.

So right now I'm trying to figure out which rigs need what upgrades to get optimal WU-age.

Is there any other tips anyone can offer? Specific clients that are easier to use (linux, SMP's, GPU2, et al)? Like I said, I'm still wading thru the abundance of info and links in the FAQ, and [H]orde Guides.

I have vague knowledge of Linux installs, and a decent amount of knowledge on Windows Server and desktop OSes--if it matters.

Oh, and, Howdy from the ATL!
 
the first rig will be nice once you get the e66 in there, but that P4 wont do a thing really. My 8800 GTX would put out about 5k on the GPU client and my e66 puts out about 2k-2.4k depending on OC for the CPU client. On the three servers, best bet is running a SMP VM on them, the guide in the horde guides will tell you all you need to know on that, if you have an ?'s , look into the 10 page original thread, TONS of info there

ANYWAYS...

SO ya, the rig with the GPU, run a notfred's VM and a GPU2 client, youll get like 7k or so from that rig, makesure you have WIN AFC set up (in the VM guide) to ensure your card gets what it needs, might not hurt to put a bit more ram in there

the 2 2u servers, Id really try to get both to 2gigs RAM, and if you can run a VM on those chips, do it. If not, then the windows SMP client is your next best bet I think (those are dual'ies right?)

4u, same thing, your good on ram tho, but seeing you put 9 TB's on there, is this going to be a server for home or for work? If for home, I'd dabble in the RAMdrive thread to keep your folding off the HDD's and leave them open for whatever else, if its for work then I'm not sure I'd fold at all (for performance reasons)

PS3 , mine gets around 1k PPD, not much, but set it and forget it. If it has power, it will fold.

As for linux, I dont think youll need to mess with that, but if you cant run a VM on the 2 2u's then native linux may be another option

Over all, you should get over 10k PPD easy, I'm not sure really where to put those xeon's at, but youll hit 8k with what I know (and run myself)

I'm jus tthrowing all this out of my ass, I'm sure others will come along and give you much better info
But, just read the guides, they are way too easy. Any ?'s, no matter how stupid (ive asked my share of dumb ?'s) ask em here, and youll get a responce

Good luck and welcome aboard!
 
dot_Zen said:
Test rig #1 & 2:
Single Core P4 620 w/ HT (will be updating to e6600 in the next few weeks);2GB RAM (will possbily increase, but not sure how much this matters);8800GTX (used to have an old 7900GTX, but the mem burned out-- may try the oven trick and get a whole other box after upgrade to this rig. Also have vanilla 6600 used for troubleshooting, so it's an option.); 1TB betwen the 2
Click to expand...
The P4 will be basically useless like Vaulter98c said. The E6600 should be good for a nice amount of points with the Linux SMP client (in a VM) for ~2500PPD and the 8800GTX for about 5000PPD. RAM isn't a big issue; even 1GB is enough for F@H. The 7900GT cannot be folded on, although you can use it in a box that's missing a video card if you do manage to get it fixed.
dot_Zen said:
2u #1
Single Xeon 5040 with (2.8ghz) 1GB RAM; onboard video and 1.5TB in RAID 5.
Click to expand...
I would recommend just running this box with native Linux if you're okay with that, and running the SMP client. Should be good for a few more points than the E6600 since it has a slightly higher clock speed. This chip is basically just a 2.83GHz Core 2 Duo in server form. If you want to run Windows, I recommend you run a Linux VM and add another 1GB of RAM.
dot_Zen said:
2u #2
Single Xeon 5040 (2.8ghz) with 2GB RAM; onboard video and 1.2TB in RAID 5.
Click to expand...
Same as above.
dot_Zen said:
4u #1
I think DP'd Xeon 5355 (2.66Ghz) with 4GB RAM (may upgrade soon); onboard video and will soon have 9 TB in RAID 6. However, I'm seriosuly considering this to be a dedicated WHS box. But, it still may get used in a crunch.
Click to expand...
X5355s are basically server versions of the Q6700. With two of those chips, you'd be pushing about 10000PPD. If you do run WHS, I suggest that you run Linux VMs (if you can; I'm not sure if it's doable on WHS) and add a bit more memory so you'll have at least 1GB system RAM plus 1GB for each VM.
dot_Zen said:
PS3
Click to expand...
Around 900PPD if I remember correctly.
dot_Zen said:
I also have some spare parts that I could throw together depending on the needs or help those in need; i.e. Server boards (ES), RAM (including FB-DIMMs and SO-DIMMs), older cpu's, and a few old HDD's (IDE, SCSI, SAS, SATA)etc.
Click to expand...
The oldest chips that are really worth running F@H on are Pentium Ds. Anything older than that, or any single-core chips, really aren't worth the power requirements.
dot_Zen said:
So right now I'm trying to figure out which rigs need what upgrades to get optimal WU-age.
Click to expand...
None of the rigs you listed above need any upgrades, except perhaps some more memory for the first 2u and the DP Xeon box if you run VMs on them. F@H's requirements in terms of memory and HD space are pretty small. The only thing you really need to worry about is if you're running VMs. I recommend a minimum of 1GB of RAM per machine, plus 1GB for each VM you run.
dot_Zen said:
Is there any other tips anyone can offer? Specific clients that are easier to use (linux, SMP's, GPU2, et al)? Like I said, I'm still wading thru the abundance of info and links in the FAQ, and [H]orde Guides.
Click to expand...
For CPUs, the Linux SMP client is really the only option to consider if you're aiming for maximum points output. It is significantly better than the Windows client and is much more efficient at using multiple cores. Setting it up is fairly easy, although it can take a bit of time if you want to run Windows as your native OS since in that case you'll need to run VMs. However, capreppy's VM guide is great and it'll lead you through the entire process. Aside from that, it's pretty simple to get everything set up.
dot_Zen said:
I have vague knowledge of Linux installs, and a decent amount of knowledge on Windows Server and desktop OSes--if it matters.
Click to expand...
Setting up F@H in Linux is pretty easy, and if you go with VMs, you can use notfred's prepared Linux distro, which requires no installations and very little configuring. If you have any problems, we'll be happy to help you out with them :).
 
Welcome to the maddness. Good advice above, can't really add anything.

Get that GPU up STAT!
 
WELCOME to the addiction dot_Zen, if you ever have anymore questions concerning DCing, of any flavor, this forum is the place to get it answered ;)

Hell, we's even got our own VJ Pande, Stanford Univ., folding BS translator (PBST inc.) by the name of Xilikon. (I know it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta' do it and you seem to be the best at it brother Xil :D)
 
Welcome dot_Zen.

Glad to have you folding with us. Most everyone here is polite and friendly! ;)

Grab a beer, two or three tamales, and a handful of popcorn!:D
 
Nice to have you onboard Zen. ;) Won't be too long before you start upgrading your stuff there and adding more "D" just to get a few more WU's processed daily!
 
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