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Optimize Skynet 2

Vaulter98c

Vaulter98c

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - October 2009
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May 21, 2008
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Ok, as most of y'all know I sold Skynet a little while back, and I've been planning to replace her with a SR2 rig that will do her justice. Well, refund has come in, so tell me where to tune up my rig for cheap

What I have right now
2x Xeon 5530's (d0) (18 multi, 19 on turbo)
2x Cogage TrueSpirit
6GB of this RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225
8400 GS for the video, remember, dedicated SMP here
750 TX for the power
250 GB Sata (2nd gen, not the new sata3)

What I'm buying this week
2x 120mm fans for random cooling
AS5

Further down the line (as soon as they release it)
1x SR-2 mobo
6 GB more of the same RAM
(and a fermi 470 for my gamer rig, why my budget is so tight)

Any suggestions for what to change? Should I go with a hdd faster than 7200 rpm? Any other ideas?
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EDIT:: updated with recent purchases
 
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I like running dual fans on my cpu heatsinks. Not so much for the added cooling but as insurance against a fan failure. Something to consider.
 
Will you be folding on the GTX 470 as well? If that's the case I'd wait to see how well they actually fold once it is supported by Stanford.
I don't know how accurate this is but I've been hearing that Fermi will require GPU3 to fold and maybe GPU3 will finally let the HD58xxs run to their potential too.
 
Fermi will fold on my gamer, not skynet
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MrValentine said:
I like running dual fans on my cpu heatsinks. Not so much for the added cooling but as insurance against a fan failure. Something to consider.
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I do the same. Another advantage is you can install two quieter fans and they will produce less sound than one very loud/powerful fan with similar cooling efficiency. This becomes even more important with dual sockets where everything is doubled.
 
Thanks, I'll look at buying another fan for each CPU

where or how do I tie In the 2 fans on each CPU tho?
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Vaulter98c said:
Thanks, I'll look at buying another fan for each CPU

where or how do I tie In the 2 fans on each CPU tho?
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If the HS isn't factory designed to accommodate a second fan, you will need to rig something up. I had long bolts that I poked through the fins on my Sunbeamtechs, and the friction was sufficient to keep the second fans from moving around. My Sunbeamtechs are nearly double the depth (almost square shape) than the TS you're going to use. Because the TS design is almost half the depth, I don't know how well shorter bolts will keep a second fan installed since my method is completely dependent on the fins to keep everything in place instead of a frame or wire setup. There must be other methods to do this, I'm sure. Hopefully the manufacturer considered a push/pull fan setup and incorporated that into the design of their HSF.
 
jimbowdang said:
Will you be folding on the GTX 470 as well? If that's the case I'd wait to see how well they actually fold once it is supported by Stanford.
I don't know how accurate this is but I've been hearing that Fermi will require GPU3 to fold and maybe GPU3 will finally let the HD58xxs run to their potential too.
Click to expand...


the GTX 4xx needs a cuda based application to fold.. so while they get the gpu3 client everyone will most likely be stuck with the gpu2 client.. and saying that id still scrap the friggin card and get a 5870..
 
SLI 480s FTW. I hope I'm running them next week. Just sayin.

I think the 400 series is going to rock for folding.
 
Yea, here's to fermi

and I was refering to running 2 fans power wise, don't the fans need to be on the same header or no?
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And I'll just zip tie, it's gonna be on a wooden bench anyways

looks don't affect ppd
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Vaulter98c said:
and I was refering to running 2 fans power wise, don't the fans need to be on the same header or no?
Click to expand...
They don't and I have them on separate headers. With the SR-2 you have plenty of headers to choose from, so it should be relatively easy. IME, there's no better way to do air cooling than a push/pull setup but everyone has their own preferred way of doing things. The SR-2 is capable of high OCs, you will need as much cooling as you can configure for your setup.

Vaulter98c said:
And I'll just zip tie, it's gonna be on a wooden bench anyways

looks don't affect ppd
Click to expand...
Exactly, zip ties should do the trick. :cool:
 
I guess I should have worded it better, I was refering to the plugs, like having / plugs on the same header so they speed up and slow down at the same time, but I guess if I leave my front fan (push air into the CPU) on full on another another header I can put the throttled one on the back (pull air through the CPU) since it won't be as important, and that will scale and quiet down
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Ok, just ordered 2 True Spirits, 80 shipped, so I've got 20$ left in my current fan budget. I need at least 2 more 120mm fans and some AS5 ( I'm all out now :( ) with that

I was reading on EVGAs site and shamino said the fan headers are 1 amp each, that's less than the P6T6/7 or whatever it's called, so I'm assuming I'll just put one fan on each header and call it a day. Any thoughts on that idea? Anyone got some fans/AS5 for cheap lol

Once I round up cooling issues, next is storage, what do you guys think I would gain from a 10,000 RPM or 15k (they do come in 15k right?) hdd vs my current 7200 rpm drive? Think that will help me shave a few minutes off, maybe a few seconds TPF?
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Vaulter, I don't have fan recommendations since I purchase whatever decent ones the stores around here carry, but want to say that there are several compounds available that are superior in every way to AS5. I have grown to dislike AS5 and only use it when there's nothing else good in reach. I'm not up to speed with the recent compounds so maybe someone can steer you in the right direction. :)
 
What do you use then?
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Vaulter98c said:
What do you use then?
Click to expand...
I was using Tuniq TX-2 until I ran out a couple of months ago and many people recommend Arctic Cooling MX-2, but there are better compounds than either of these from what I understand. AS5 is really behind the curb these days. It applies poorly, it's difficult to clean off, it's conductive, it takes a while before you see full cooling efficiency and it isn't as effective as some of the newer compounds, so I really recommend another product if possible.
 
I've seen a review that claims that the TS does not perform any better with a 2nd fan. YMMV of course, I've left mine with the single fan (using a Yate D12SH-12 instead of the PWM fan it comes with).

re: HDD
No reason to buy anything above a 7200rpm, not for a dedicated folder, definitely not. Hell mine is running an IDE 7200 ripped out of an old dead HP a year ago. :) I have an SSD on my primary but that's because I use it most of the time and it's my design/CS4 workstation. Otherwise stick with a WD6400AAKS or get a WD Black if you really want one (not necessary though).

re: compound
AS5 still works fine. After curing time you may see a little drop but otherwise TIM is TIM these days. My favorite is still Zalman ZM-STG1 because you brush the stuff on; I'd say Noctua NT-H1 is my other favorite because it has no curing time and the drop method works fine on it, but then again it works fine on AS5 as well (just that the AS5 takes a bit to cure whereas the H1 has no curing time). If you already have the AS5, use it; no sense in spending more money on TIM that may or may not yield a degree (or less) difference. Again look at the [H] review of that as well.
 
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Arctic Cooling MX-3 is good....

I can't remember where I saw this comparison of about 15 or so thermal compounds. AS-5 was in the top group, but there were a few like MX-3 and others that beat it out.

and MX-3 doesn't stain everything in sight silver.

 
If you're looking for a fan, I cannot recommend the high speed Yate enough. D12SH-12

It is a beast and it is cheap as hell. I used both a Noctua NF-P12 and a Scythe S-Flex SFF21E on my TS before buying the high speed Yates, and after installing one, my load temps dropped 6c!
 
The faster hdd won't really make a difference in total times?

And thanks for the fan recomendation, I'll probly pick 2 up with the second 6GB of RAM, because unless I can move one or two of these GX2s I'm at the end of the budget and I'll have to wait a few weeks to scoop up this weeks overtime

No one would just happen to have some TIM laying around would they lol :)

Would y'all recomend the same fans for "case" cooling? At first I'll have it just on the bench platform, but I'm gonna try to find a case I can put it in in the rack, and either way I'll need another fan or two to help just move some air over the chipsets
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Vaulter98c said:
The faster hdd won't really make a difference in total times?
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In theory it should. Some people were recommending faster HDs to improve completion times when -bigadv WUs write a ton of data to disk after the last frame. I just haven't seen the times are that much better if at all on my systems. I have three SSDs and one notebook drive on my -bigadv systems. I haven't noticed a significant difference between the SSD drives and the 2.5" drive unless I'm not looking in the logs at the right place. If someone can confirm that a better HD investment is recommended, I'd really like to know.
 
re: faster HD/TPF
As Apollo said, in theory, yes, however real world performance - no. (not in my experience)
I see no real appreciable TPF difference on both machines, 1 running 4 HD total (SSD for the os, wd3200aaks for the apps), the other (dedicated) running the IDE 7200rpm old...Seagate?

I think for the most part you will only see a TPF difference between 2 systems if the clock speed is different, or you're running gpu clients simultaneously. I don't really see any real world difference with HD being a bottleneck or affecting the TPF.

re: case fans
You can grab any Yate, they will all work. Lows make good case fans, of course you could do mediums or highs also if you wanted. Not sure where you're located (US or outside of the US), if you're in the US the cheapest place for Yates is Jab-Tech by a mile. Petra's and a few other sites sell "real" Yates for roughly $7 a piece, people claim JT sells "fake" Yates and that JT's Yates have different noise characteristics and different fan blade curvature; saving the anecdotal stuff, whether the Yates I have are real or fake, they still are undoubtedly the best bang for the buck. http://www.jab-tech.com/Yate-Loon-mid-17.html John (owner of JT) has said that he gets Yates straight from Yate Loon, no middle man, that they changed the bearings a little on the smaller fans but he considers his to be legit/real Yates and not "fake" Yates. Personally I don't give a crap, his are 1/2 the price of Petras and they perform damn good, better than any other fan under $10 (or even above) that you're gonna find. :)
[/end JT love shill] :D

One caveat on the mediums and highs, they come in closed corner only - so using them with the heatsink, you'll have to dremel out or break the corners so that the clips of the TS can grip onto the corners of the fan. Very easy guide for this.
 
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Ok, I'll hold on the HDD, mine should be good enough then

So I'm thinking 4 of those fans, 2 for the TS's, 1 for blowing air across the board while on the bench, and one more for glados upstairs, even without the 295s I'm still hitting high 80s on my GX2 in there now

Short of picking a TIM, that should be all my bases covered right? Anyone got any suggestions for the rest of the rig? Maybe a nice rack case for her? Wouldn't want her to play In the corner when her friends are in the rack now would we?
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Screw some standoffs on a rackshelf? And if you have a cabniet screw it down on a roll out rackself.

Cabniet with some roll out rackshelves, and rig some cable management arms!! Get some 4u coolers and stuff ten SR-2 systems in the cabniet!! (then fill them with 70 GTX480s ) that would be pretty [H] :D Its only money, you'll get more!!
 
You do realize I'm IT for the army, not Microsoft lol
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MrValentine said:
Screw some standoffs on a rackshelf? And if you have a cabniet screw it down on a roll out rackself.

Cabniet with some roll out rackshelves, and rig some cable management arms!! Get some 4u coolers and stuff ten SR-2 systems in the cabniet!! (then fill them with 70 GTX480s ) that would be pretty [H] :D Its only money, you'll get more!!
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Don't forget to include the cost of the nuclear reactor you'll have to purchase to run those systems :D
 
I've got a lot of neat Nick Nacks from the army over the last few years, but no reactors lol

I'll be taking a stab at those fans tomorrow, any more input guys?
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Well, I guess I like the price of that Yate Loon, but only 88 CFM? Seems awefully low for a "high speed" 120mm. This is going to stay in your basement, correct? Get something crazy like an Ultra Kaze for each heatsink. I wouldn't advise them for anything you have to be around for any length of time, but they do move a ton of air. I am going to run a Slipstream 110 cfm myself, but I was tempted to use an Ultra Kaze on a fan controller.
 
Don't forget that this does double as my reloading room/gun storage room

I had deltas on the old skynet, I'd like to stay cool, and quiet. I've read plenty of reviews where the spirit keeps it cool and is damn quiet, I was kinda hoping to mimic that, my current i7 topsout at 63 with a true and it's damn near silent
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I am currenly using an Ultra Kaze on my Q6600 and will be picking up another to replace the stock Noctua on the new i7. These things push a lot of air!!!

 
Vaulter98c said:
I had deltas on the old skynet, I'd like to stay cool, and quiet. I've read plenty of reviews where the spirit keeps it cool and is damn quiet, I was kinda hoping to mimic that, my current i7 topsout at 63 with a true and it's damn near silent
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You're doing fine with your selection of components so far, Vaulter. I think you're going to have a great balance of performance and acceptable noise levels with your components.

Deltas are too loud in my experience unless you mate them with fan controllers. I would only install them for very high heat applications and/or situations where the system isn't in a room where the owner is frequently present. I have dual 80mm deltas on one of my Xeon systems but that is at the other end of the house, LOL.
 
APOLLO said:
You're doing fine with your selection of components so far, Vaulter. I think you're going to have a great balance of performance and acceptable noise levels with your components.

Deltas are too loud in my experience unless you mate them with fan controllers. I would only install them for very high heat applications and/or situations where the system isn't in a room where the owner is frequently present. I have dual 80mm deltas on one of my Xeon systems but that is at the other end of the house, LOL.
Click to expand...

If its too loud, you're too....well...too close to the fan. :) I'm too old to have one of these things screaming in my ears for an extended period of time. I am sitting beside a couple of god aweful 92mm Panflos right now with an Ultra Kaze and a couple more whiny 92mm's behind me, and they would drive me insane if I had to listen to them for any length of time.

I was just thinking if this thing is going to be running where noise wouldn't matter, then go big. If not, the lower flow fans should still be fine.
 
Since I'll be testing my OC (3.8 is my goal, and I'm sticking to that lol) in windows first, I'll have a good handle on temps with one fan on, if they ever hit 70 I'll throw on the second ones

now I just need to make one last sale and I'll be good for the last 6 GB of ram
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