Inexpensive quad core system for BOINC

R

rflcptr

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Mar 27, 2008
Messages
7,063
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz - $164.99
ASUS P5N73-AM LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 Micro ATX - $49.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 - $49.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 - $44.99
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s - $41.99

It's coming to $351.95. I decided to go caseless for a bit of savings and so I don't have to worry much about space, cooling, or an mATX PSU. I think this is a decent "template" for a cluster of these. Any thoughts or recommendations?
 
Are you planning to OC or stay stock? If OC, you'll want to add a cheap HSF, but remember you'll be running this at 100% load all the time so don't go too cheap.

If you're planning to run WCG only and are planning a small farm, you may want to spend a little more on the CPU to get a better return on your overhead (memory, MoBo, & PSU and what not). The Q6600 is still pretty easy to get to 3.2 with the higher multiplier. If you went with the Q6600 you can go with DDR2-800. Two of these would be fine. It would only be another $15 or so above your current template.

 
not bad of a system if you dont like overclocking.. q8200 isnt one of the best overclocking processors out there..
 
capreppy said:
Are you planning to OC or stay stock? If OC, you'll want to add a cheap HSF, but remember you'll be running this at 100% load all the time so don't go too cheap.

If you're planning to run WCG only and are planning a small farm, you may want to spend a little more on the CPU to get a better return on your overhead (memory, MoBo, & PSU and what not). The Q6600 is still pretty easy to get to 3.2 with the higher multiplier. If you went with the Q6600 you can go with DDR2-800. Two of these would be fine. It would only be another $15 or so above your current template.
Click to expand...
Nope, no overclocking, simply stock settings. Is there a retail Q6600 available in the $180-$190 range?
 
rflcptr said:
Sounds great, but:

It doesn't seem to ship with an adapter, either.
Click to expand...
It has an 8-pin, and half can be split off to become a 4-pin.

I would also go with this Intel chipset board as well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357
rflcptr said:
Is there a retail Q6600 available in the $180-$190 range?
Click to expand...
Not that I'm aware of, but Sunin is selling some used Q6600s for $150 each here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1398580
 
If you're not going to OC, then I guess you can stick with the Q8200.

If you're not going to OC, you may also want to take a look at AMD offerings as well. You may be able to find higher Stock clocks (with retail HSF) for cheaper than you'll find the Q8200. You'll be able to find similarly priced MoBos.

If you're not going to OC, you can save yourself some money on the Memory and consider DDR2-667 or DDR2-800. You'll gain NO benefits (since no OC) with DDR2-1066. Also, consder saving yourself a few bucks on the HDD. I run my dedicated boxen on 40GB SATA II or PATA drives.
 
Okay, lemme re-compile my list as well as throw together an AMD one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top