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Boxen for ~$150.00 !?

1.5 ghz for 150.00. sounds like a good deal.

I think there is a thread on here where somebody rated that line of processors more or less as savages ripping through protein.


I've saved up about 400 bucks... I'm gonna get me a fat ole P4 combo or maybe a 64 bit AMD... I'm still researching.
 
Sweet, but it doesn't have memory, either. Throw in a few $$ for that. And a hard drive if you're planning on making it a stand-alone folder (i.e. not net-boot)
 
does it have a cooler? that's another $5 right there (and say $40-$50 for memory) so probably $200 actually... but still a good deal, esp if you sell the cdrom drives for $20/each, bringing the price down to $180 - or meaning you can get another one for "free" for each 10 you buy.:p
 
rogue_jedi said:
does it have a cooler? that's another $5 right there (and say $40-$50 for memory) so probably $200 actually... but still a good deal, esp if you sell the cdrom drives for $20/each, bringing the price down to $180 - or meaning you can get another one for "free" for each 10 you buy.:p
Click to expand...
hehehe, buy 10 get 1 free...we can rationalize this to SWMBO

"honey, honest...i thought the first number was in binary, and the second number was in base 10..and i promised the guys...i can't back out now :(" :p
 
Nah man, don't get that. If you want real folding power, you need one of these bad boys. ;) The term powerhouse doesn't begin to describe them. I guarantee you'll be astonished the next time you check your stats after implementing one of them.:D


Theres is also this CPU/Mobo combo. A bit more expensive, but can dramatically lower your heating bill this winter.;) :p

The board, I regret to say, might be complete shit. But the processor is cheaper this way than buying it alone, and you have a backup board just in case.
 
okay then. i think this is possibly the most ghetto folding rig. ever.


ASUS Terminator Barebone System for Socket A at 333MHz FSB AMD CPU, Model A7VT
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=56-110-025&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
--$103.00

AMD Sempron 2200+ 1.5GHz, 333MHz FSB, 256KB L2 Processor - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=19-104-201&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
--$46.00

Rosewill 184-Pin 128MB DDR PC-3200, Model RW400/128 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-223-007&depa=0
--$21.00

IOplus PocketDisk 16MB USB Flash Drive
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=712154&CatId=379
--$8.99

Cooler Master CPU Cooler for Socket A/ 370, Model "DP5-5G11B"
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=35-103-126&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
--$4.99

TOTAL: $183.98

so, we use the CD Drive to boot up knoppix in text mode. (-20MB of available RAM, so we're down to 108MB). We download FAH to the USB Pen Drive, and run it from there.

1.5GHz box that will OC like a bitch. For under $200.00. I feel like a gawd. :D
 
You're going to put SDRAM into a DDR board? Interesting...I'm curious how you'll get it in the slots.;)
 
why use a CDROM at all? ebay it, and use the money to buy a switch for all these you're gonna buy. then netboot them. if you need to, use floppies to boot them initially (like i'm doing) you might have to add more memory, though. even without overhead from netbooting. at times my F@H take >100mb memory, so 128 probably won't cut it.
 
rogue_jedi said:
why use a CDROM at all? ebay it, and use the money to buy a switch for all these you're gonna buy. then netboot them. if you need to, use floppies to boot them initially (like i'm doing) you might have to add more memory, though. even without overhead from netbooting. at times my F@H take >100mb memory, so 128 probably won't cut it.
Click to expand...
heh, i don't know how to do this whole netbooting thing , so that config is the best i can come up with..if someone wants to explain/link me to an explanation that would be appreciated :eek:

as for FAH taking >100MB of memory, when you config the client, say yes to change advanced options, and when it asks you whether or not you want to get the large work packets that are 5MB just say no. i think that'll fix it.
 
well, i still get really high memory usage on some WUs even with >5mb WUs not being accepted. it isn't that often, but it happens.

and http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=798705 contains a guide my brother made on setting up a netboot server... with some linux knowledge you should be able to make it work. i think that he has updated it to do some more stuff, but you can probably just PM him (unhappy_mage) and ask for the newest version.
 
rogue_jedi said:
well, i still get really high memory usage on some WUs even with >5mb WUs not being accepted. it isn't that often, but it happens.

and http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=798705 contains a guide my brother made on setting up a netboot server... with some linux knowledge you should be able to make it work. i think that he has updated it to do some more stuff, but you can probably just PM him (unhappy_mage) and ask for the newest version.
Click to expand...
sweet, thanks :)
 
Old school method:

(does require some luck, skill, and more knowledge than those you buy from)

1) Abit BE6-II RAID motherboard with celeron 500 processor - $15 at Marketpro show
(CPU and slot 1 adapter dumped on e-Bay for $5)
2) IBM 60 GXP 40 GB HDD - $10 at Marketpro show
3) 2 x 128 mb SDRAM sticks - 133/CAS2, preferably Crucial - $25 from the FS/T section
4) 3Com ethernet card - $3.00 at Marketpro show
5) Intel Tualatin Celeron, 1.1 GHz rating; boxed - $25 at eBay
6) 300 watt Channel Well PSU - $10
7) nVidia GeForce 2 video card - $20 shipped from FS/T section
8) Slot T adapter for motherboard - $15 at Stratton Computer
9) old briefcase & motherboard tray (FREEBIE)
10) Keyboard and mouse (FREEBIE)
11) SuSE Linux 8.2 (FREEBIE)

Above combination should overclock easily to 136 FSB; giving us a |3 0 X 0 r capable of aforementioned 1.5 GHz. In fact, with a PCI vid card, might get 150 FSB out of it...(1.65 GHz)

TOTAL - $118
 
kunsunoke said:
Old school method:

(does require some luck, skill, and more knowledge than those you buy from)

1) Abit BE6-II RAID motherboard with celeron 500 processor - $15 at Marketpro show
(CPU and slot 1 adapter dumped on e-Bay for $5)
2) IBM 60 GXP 40 GB HDD - $10 at Marketpro show
3) 2 x 128 mb SDRAM sticks - 133/CAS2, preferably Crucial - $25 from the FS/T section
4) 3Com ethernet card - $3.00 at Marketpro show
5) Intel Tualatin Celeron, 1.1 GHz rating; boxed - $25 at eBay
6) 300 watt Channel Well PSU - $10
7) nVidia GeForce 2 video card - $20 shipped from FS/T section
8) Slot T adapter for motherboard - $15 at Stratton Computer
9) old briefcase & motherboard tray (FREEBIE)
10) Keyboard and mouse (FREEBIE)
11) SuSE Linux 8.2 (FREEBIE)

Above combination should overclock easily to 136 FSB; giving us a |3 0 X 0 r capable of aforementioned 1.5 GHz. In fact, with a PCI vid card, might get 150 FSB out of it...(1.65 GHz)

TOTAL - $118
Click to expand...

sure, but the semprons OC like crazy so we're expecting like (i think) almost 2.0GHz from the sempy

also, alot of your parts are conditional, like the freebies, and the stuff bought from ebay; those prices vary. at any rate, it's still a killer set up (although i'd say Mandrake 10.0 over SuSE ;))

 
God knows I love to build boxen, but over the past few years I have learned a few lessons.

In the end really cheap parts will cost you more. Keep in mind we run these things at 100% 24/7 365.

Really cheap PSU’s quickly end up in the garbage.

Older Intel stuff, Celery or P-3 simply aren’t worth the power they consume anymore.

Cheap HSF’s can cost you a CPU because of fan life and or CPU heat, and even if you find a bad fan first the replacement fans cost more then what you spent to begin with.

I have found building a few fewer boxes, but faster boxes that can be upgraded is in the long term a better choice. That type of box can be sold to pay for a new, faster box.

Having just thrown away boxes of broken useless parts (representing more money then I care to think about) I speak from experience.

Build more boxen, yes, just spend a few more bucks for the long term. ;)
 
only things i see that are cheap could be PSU / USB Pen Drive / HSF
HSF cured by the ghett0 shroud (since it's a "box" (box shaped) HSF just wrap the bottom fins in masking tape, so that the air is pulled/pushed by the fan from the middle as well, this eliminates the dead spot of air in the center of the box heatsink)

so i guess the PSU really could be a problem... :(
oh well.
 
BillR said:
Build more boxen, yes, just spend a few more bucks for the long term. ;)
Click to expand...

Point taken. Building from ground up, without donations, you are spot on. And AMD tends to rule the roost, thanks to its advantage in floating point ops.

My mainbox is a late-model XP-M at 2.6 GHz. Running full bore it can rip through work units like nothing else around.

I also have a second box set to run a 2500+ Barton at 2.3 GHz. Though this particular unit is low on RAM, it still knocks the GROMACS cores down.

Box #3 is another XP - this time, a DUT3C 1700+ at 2.0 GHz / 200 FSB. My favorite of the bunch (my first briefcase mod).

Once you factor in the stuff you get as freebies, though, the equation changes a little bit.

For example, corporations tend to use Intel. Their donations tend to be i440BX or i820-based. The former is more valuable and more upgradeable than the latter.

To get the "freebie" with a 350 MHz P-II from getting in its own way, a proc swapout is a necessity.

My cheapie of choice for those older boxen is the Celeron-II / 667 MHz in the cCO flavor. This little bird almost always clocks to a gigahertz. No memory or subsystem changes are required. Just pop the thing into a properly-jumpered Slocket adapter and run it. You can usually bag these things for less than $10 shipped on e-Bay. Slocket adapters run about that as well. Buying bulk is best, as ever.

Stock AMD HSF combinations work with the older Celerons, once properly modified.

I still like the Tualaterons. These can be used to get an aftermarket BX platform (perhaps the penultimate SDRAM platform) into the gigahertz range and beyond. They also run cool. No noisy HSF is required. And you won't piss off SHMBO.
 
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