Hello all. I'm new to folding, and would like to do my part with a dedicated folding rig. There are two conditions it must meet. First, I don't want to spend too much right now, as I'm just getting into it. $400 or less please. (less is better) Second, I pay $.13/kw so I'm shooting for efficiency over power. I have no problem buying used parts off of ebay and such for something like this, and I won't be needing a case, or a power supply. What would be some ideal setups for this? I'm curious about super low wattage systems like atoms or e-350's, are they worth the time?
No, generally they don't run fast enough to complete jobs before the deadlines. Do you envisage running 24/7?
Trusty Google shows a i3 2100 produces about 6-7k ppd. One of these with a h61 motherboard should set you back $230 at most. You have the PSU, and can use the integrated graphics so all you need is a HDD. If you use Linux as the OS you normally get higher ppd as well as it being free! I don't have numbers, but at a guess this will draw around 110w. Obviously there is no overclocking, which will limit the longevity of the set up. But you could drop in a quad-core later if you wanted to. Neil
Oh wow, that's about what my 2500k makes under windows. Is there a particular version of linux that's best, or will Ubuntu or Mint work, as those are what I'm most familiar with. Also, as far as power draw goes, would like a 30 gig SSD be more efficient than a 5400rpm hdd?
Asus has a new ROG motherboard MATX fit's 2 GPU's in. I might get one and stick an i7 in it as a mini folding rig.
Musky's guide uses Ubuntu 10.10, and I've read forum comments that 11.x is not so good. Make sure you use ext3 file system rather than default ext4. Langouste is worth installing. An SSD saves a few watts (said to be <10) over a HHD. Folding does not use the disc much, so you can let the HDD spin down. Bit-tech had an article on 'green computing' with real numbers about a year ago. Have you read it? IIRC one of the biggest savings was from choosing the right motherboard.
The most bang for the buck for a pretty low $$ system as well as a low wattage system is likely GPU folding. Granted, you'll use more power, but you'll also make tons more PPD. GPU - GTS 450 - One of those will get you 8-10k PPD easily (great OC ability). $85-100 eBay or anywhere else. Add in a lower end mobo $50-70 Processor (Pentium G630T - 35W TDP!!) $77 -or- i3 2120T - 35W TDP here too! $125-135 some Awesome memory (2x 2GB), insanely overclockable 1.35V memory $25 a HDD $40-85 Grand total of $300-380 likely appx Wattage = <140-175 I'd recommend using pricewatch.com &/or google shopping as well as the usual suspects (Amazon & the Egg) I also second for going with Linux unless you can get windows really cheap or free somehow. Aside - seems like HDD prices went waaaay up!
I beg to differ. My home server is built around the Gigabyte D525TUD board. It has an Intel Atom D525, which is a dualcore with hyperthreading running at 1800MHz. (and in a CPU with in-order execution like this, HT is very effective). I've been running Linux 64bit on it for the past year and I've yet to see it miss a deadline for regular SMP workunits (haven't tried -advmethods though). It produces around 700ppd, not a big figure, but considering the CPU has a TDP of just 13W, I think it fits very well the "cheap, quiet, cool, low-power home server that can also fold" role. Now if only Gigabyte enabled overclocking again in Bios! It was in the first one, but they removed it in subsequent versions. If you decide to go the low-power route, it might be worth waiting for Cedar Trail mobos to appear. Especially those with D2700. (32nm process, 2.13GHz, DDR3-1066, 10W goodness)
