Joining the 4p club

M

mashtub651

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
193
I am looking to further my folding addiction and thought what a better way than one or two 4p systems. I need help choosing a motherboard, but pretty sure Supermicro is the way to go. Also does the support for 1600 speed ram have that big of an effect on performance.
 
RAM does help, and when multiplied 48x times, a small bump = larger result.

SM is the only way to fly. OC-ing options are quite nice as well.
 
SM is really the way to go. I also suggest getting 1600 CL8 or CL7 RAM, rated at 1.5V.
 
mashtub651 said:
Also does the support for 1600 speed ram have that big of an effect on performance.
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If you go with Magny Cours chips (and you definitely should), support for 1600 memory will not matter. Any of the SM H8QGi, H8QG6, or H8QGL boards will be fine.
 
Lower cas, you can't raise the mem speed per se

Or atleast that's how I figure it, chips only support a certain speed, lowest cas at that speed is where you make gains.

I think atleast, I haven't touched the memory on my 4P tho cuz I have a Tyan and don't think I can do anything
 
Vaulter98c said:
Lower cas, you can't raise the mem speed per se

Or atleast that's how I figure it, chips only support a certain speed, lowest cas at that speed is where you make gains.
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Vaulter, you are spot on. The max DRAM speed I can run with my overclocked 4P is 1333. Anything that can be done to boost memory performance is going to come from tightening the timings.
 
mashtub651 said:
Which gives better performance lower CAS or higher mem speed?
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The first thing you need to make sure of is that the memory you buy is 1.5V or less. Much of the performance memory on the market is 1.65V, which you do not want.

The CAS ratings are in reference to the rated memory speed. While not quite true, a good rule of thumb is 1333 C7 = 1600 C8 = 1866 C9. You usually end up paying more of a premium for higher frequency memory, which is why so many are running the G.Skill 1333 C7 Ripjaws at $60 for 4 x 2GB. For this application, 1333 C7 is faster than 1600 C9 (which is a common frequency/CAS combination for 1.5V memory.) If money is no object, you can get the Eco series at 1600 C7 (1.35V) or the Ripjaw series at 1600 C6 (1.5V.) Either are faster than the 1333 C7 stuff, and both will cost you $100 or more for 4 x 2GB.

References:
Ripjaw 1333 C7 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231492
Eco 1600 C7 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231330
Ripjaw 1600 C6 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231444
 
Not to hijack a thread, but i've been out of it for a very long time. I noticed that the Interlagos 16 cores are selling at a huge discount on Newegg compared to the Magny Cours. Does this mean that Interlagos was a total bust for folding purposes?

Just mulling my options in case I can get back in to folding.

We know that the Zambezi 8 cores have been pitiful.
 
amdgamer said:
Not to hijack a thread, but i've been out of it for a very long time. I noticed that the Interlagos 16 cores are selling at a huge discount on Newegg compared to the Magny Cours. Does this mean that Interlagos was a total bust for folding purposes?

Just mulling my options in case I can get back in to folding.

We know that the Zambezi 8 cores have been pitiful.
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Pretty much, they are not as fast as the equivilent Magny chip core for core and they suck up more power. Think i read somewhere that a 16 core IL chip was as fast as a 12 core MC but used a shit ton more power. Most hope that piledriver will restore some of the lost performance and reduce power, hopefully it might mean cheaper MC chips as well.
 
Nathan_P said:
Pretty much, they are not as fast as the equivilent Magny chip core for core and they suck up more power. Think i read somewhere that a 16 core IL chip was as fast as a 12 core MC but used a shit ton more power. Most hope that piledriver will restore some of the lost performance and reduce power, hopefully it might mean cheaper MC chips as well.
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From what I read last year, Piledriver was supposed to yield perhaps a 10% greater IPC ratio than Bulldozer. That just isn't going to cut it.

I browsed Newegg for the first time in a very long time and was shocked to see the Interlagos 16 cores actually selling for a fraction of the price of the MC's.
 
Its been debated at great length as to whats wrong with BD, i think its biggest problem is that the front end cannot feed the execution units data quick enough.

It will be interesting to see what piledriver brings to the party - also interesting is that it is now on g34 as the socket was due to change
 
IL has always been cheaper than MC, just the way they designed it. And yea, 12c MC is where it's at, and you don't even have to spend as much now since you can OC on the SM boards
 
Vaulter98c said:
IL has always been cheaper than MC, just the way they designed it. And yea, 12c MC is where it's at, and you don't even have to spend as much now since you can OC on the SM boards
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I'm reading that as this is some seriously awesome stuff. Of course you void the warranty of your SuperMicro board, but it is nice to have an SR2 like option for the AMD side of things.
 
Ok have a pair of 6180's on the way, will have a second pair probably next week. Does anyone know how well they will OC? Also will 4 Gig dimms have and better/worse effect than 2 Gig dimms at same specs?
 
mashtub651 said:
Ok have a pair of 6180's on the way, will have a second pair probably next week. Does anyone know how well they will OC?
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It seems to vary quite a bit depending on the CPU. We have some stable folding at 230 (can likely go a bit higher), while others are not stable at 220. You will be limited in your OC based on the worst CPU. So, if you have one that is only stable at 217 and three others that are stable at 230, then you will have to run at 217.

I have a 4x6180SE system that is currently running at 2.875ghz (230 bclk, 15% OC). I had to swap a cpu out of another system to OC that high. One of the original four CPUs I tried was not stable at 230.
 
mashtub651 said:
Ok have a pair of 6180's on the way, will have a second pair probably next week. Does anyone know how well they will OC? Also will 4 Gig dimms have and better/worse effect than 2 Gig dimms at same specs?
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Nice to hear...I'd have loved to bite on those myself, but like Jebo the extra $$$ just aren't available right now. Thought passing along the info to other [H]ardFolders would be a better option! :D

Ax
 
Right now I use t32 just because I started folding with them. However, most of my technical info has comes from here regarding the 4p. So I was thinking about letting the 6174 rig fold for this team.
 
Posidon42 said:
Right now I use t32 just because I started folding with them. However, most of my technical info has comes from here regarding the 4p. So I was thinking about letting the 6174 rig fold for this team.
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You should switch (to the dark side) we have cookies.
 
Hmmm... Need more info on these cookies ;)

And I am building my second 4P system right now.
 
Well this weeks flavor apparently come with a cupon for 6180s ;)
 
Posidon42 said:
Ok, ok, I am building the rig right now!
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I'm giv'n her all she's got Cap'n
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scottywithgirl.jpg
 
Haha. You got it!

Actually I am working through some issues right now. I have the board put together but it won't power on for some reason. No beeps, no nothing. Very strange.
 
Posidon42 said:
Haha. You got it!

Actually I am working through some issues right now. I have the board put together but it won't power on for some reason. No beeps, no nothing. Very strange.
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If you need help, log onto irc so we can get ya rolling
 
ok, figured out my issue. I didn't have this problem with 4P number 1, as I had four processors in it. Since this one currently only has three, I didn't read that one small sentence in the instructions that said you have to put a cpu in the cpu 1 slot. Moved one of the cpus around and it works great now. I am actually burning the Ubuntu image as we speak on my laptop and will get to installing. You guys are a great help.
 
I will have the first pair of chips in hopefully by Tuesday. I will be buying enough parts to get the system up and running tonight when I get home from work. pics will follow when I have things to take pics of
 
very nice! I am pondering upgrading my 6128's to the 6180's but need some more money and a bigger power supply. I don't think my TX750 would care for 4 of those buggers. Post some pics when you get a chance.
 
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