Easynews goes down

[Movieman]

Ohhhh....2 more days to catch up now...

Yea, we lost app 100K a day with Rammie moving but thats life.
The work still gets done and we get a bigger challenge!

[twilyth]

I was thinking about the following for a sub-$500 quad crunching rig. The only things missing are a cpu f/hs and a case. But I've got stock fans I could use and the case should be something creative. I don't know if I'm going to do it, but I'd like to hear ideas and suggestions. Let me know if you think it should go in it's own thread.

Athena Power AP-MP4ATX40 MicroATX 400W Power Supply - Retail
WINTEC AMPO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Open Box: GIGABYTE GA-G31MX-S2 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model HH80562PH0568M - OEM
SYBA SY-IDE2SDMMC IDE to SD/MMC Adapter - Retail
A-DATA Turbo 8GB Secure Digital High-Capacity(SDHC) Flash Card Model TurboSD SDHC 8G -

[Movieman]

I was thinking about the following for a sub-$500 quad crunching rig. The only things missing are a cpu f/hs and a case. But I've got stock fans I could use and the case should be something creative. I don't know if I'm going to do it, but I'd like to hear ideas and suggestions. Let me know if you think it should go in it's own thread.

Athena Power AP-MP4ATX40 MicroATX 400W Power Supply - Retail
WINTEC AMPO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Open Box: GIGABYTE GA-G31MX-S2 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model HH80562PH0568M - OEM
SYBA SY-IDE2SDMMC IDE to SD/MMC Adapter - Retail
A-DATA Turbo 8GB Secure Digital High-Capacity(SDHC) Flash Card Model TurboSD SDHC 8G -

I'm not up on that board and the PSU I have doubts on..

[twilyth]

It only puts out 400watts, but that's more than enough for Q6600 at 3ghz and 2 gig of ram. Plus, no hard drive. The whole package should be able to fit into a large shoe box.

[MotF Bane]

Yea, we lost app 100K a day with Rammie moving but thats life.
The work still gets done and we get a bigger challenge!

Unfortunately, that 100K has been our margin of victory multiple times.

[Bail_w]

It only puts out 400watts, but that's more than enough for Q6600 at 3ghz and 2 gig of ram. Plus, no hard drive. The whole package should be able to fit into a large shoe box.

Yes, but you need a quality PSU to run a Quad for 24/7.

[Blauhung]

and I'd be curious to know how long a 24/7 cruncher would run before it hits the multiple writes limit on the flash.

[mike047]

Yes, but you need a quality PSU to run a Quad for 24/7.

I know this probably doesn't fit the standard "quality" PSU, but I use them exclusively.[40+ applications] And yes they will run a quad 24/7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182087

[David_L6]

Yes, but you need a quality PSU to run a Quad for 24/7.

I agree with that statement. Look at this list of power supplies though.... All are in computers that I put together and all but one are running 24/7. Not all of the computers are mine and one isn't crunching due to very, very slow dial up.

4 - PC P&C (one 425 that's ~ 4 years old, one 610, and two 750's) <crunching
2 - PC P&C 470's
1 - Enermax Noisetaker II 600 watt <crunching
2 - ??? that are ~300 watts (originally came in Dell computers!) <crunching

I doubt that many people would think of the power supplies that come in Dell computers when they think of quality power supplies, but those two have been crunching 24/7 for ~18 months. They were free so I used them with the intention of buying better power supplies later.... Both are powering P4's - one at 3.4GHz and one at 3.8GHz. They still work so I haven't replaced them.

[[XC] serlv]

and I'd be curious to know how long a 24/7 cruncher would run before it hits the multiple writes limit on the flash.

Can you tell me more about that, please. I was hoping to try out using a USB stick for a cruncher. There is limits?

[twilyth]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I would also be interested in knowing about any multiple write limits.

[WesM63]

Can you tell me more about that, please. I was hoping to try out using a USB stick for a cruncher. There is limits?

Thanks for the input everyone.

I would also be interested in knowing about any multiple write limits.

Its not really a "limit" per se, its more of until the flash memory is worn out.

Flash memory has a write endurance limit. This limit is the number of times the flash memory cell can be written until it can not be restored to its initial condition. The industry refers to this as the erase cycles. The endurance is rated between 10,000 and 100,000 erase cycles for different types flash memories.

[[XC] serlv]

Its not really a "limit" per se, its more of until the flash memory is worn out.

So, does this make flash drives unsuitable for our purposes? Or do we just need to set a much longer duration between "disk writes" for those machines using a USB stick?

[twilyth]

Here's what I got from Wikipedia

Another limitation is that flash memory has a finite number of erase-write cycles (most commercially available flash products are guaranteed to withstand 100,000 write-erase-cycles for block 0, and no guarantees for other blocks[citation needed]). This effect is partially offset by some chip firmware or file system drivers by counting the writes and dynamically remapping the blocks in order to spread the write operations between the sectors; this technique is called wear levelling. Another mechanism is to perform write verification and remapping to spare sectors in case of write failure, which is named bad block management (BBM). With these mechanisms in place, some industry analysts[1] have calculated that flash memory can be written to at full speed continuously for 51 years before exceeding its write endurance, even if such writes frequently cause the entire memory to be overwritten. This figure (51 years) involved a worst-case scenario using specific data parameters and should not be confused with a particular "shelf life" for a flash memory device. The bottom line is that a typical user using a commercial device, such as a camera, with a flash drive will probably not wear out the memory for the effective life of the camera. However, it - like any other hardware component - can fail. Anyone using flash memory (and any other medium) for critical data would be well advised to backup the data to another device (preferably of a different medium). Many have found it very fast and reliable for 'read-only' operating systems such as thin clients and routers.

From Wikipedia Flash Memory entry
So depending on what safeguards the manufacturer has built into the package, worst case scenario should be an approximate life of 51 years under continuous use.

[[XC] serlv]

Here's what I got from Wikipedia


From Wikipedia Flash Memory entry
So depending on what safeguards the manufacturer has built into the package, worst case scenario should be an approximate life of 51 years under continuous use.

Hmmm, at some point I'll be checking it out. I bought two 2GB SanDisk Micro USB drives and was planning on checking out XSOS using them. Price was right, $14.xx a piece.

[[XC] 4X4N]

Not a good day today

[[XC] riptide]

Here's what I got from Wikipedia


From Wikipedia Flash Memory entry
So depending on what safeguards the manufacturer has built into the package, worst case scenario should be an approximate life of 51 years under continuous use.

Twilight.... 51 years is a bit mroe than our uses. 51 years is somone who takes pictures (1 write operation ??)

For a OS USB you may be talking about many many more... Have a look at how many write operations you hardrive makes while running WCG and damn all else.

or am I talkin crap!!!

[MotF Bane]

Easynews 4,608,157
XtremeSystems 4,582,323


Ouch.

[Movieman]

Easynews 4,608,157
XtremeSystems 4,582,323


Ouch.

25K+..close, no cigar...

[Sparky]

Feeling the loss of RAMMIE I see

[[XC] junglemaster]

That's a few days in a row...we need to pick it up now.

[SiGfever]

Feeling the loss of RAMMIE I see

Don't get discouraged guys/gals, we will regroup and show them why we are Xtreme.

[VietOZ]

sorry team, I was busy with the job and the new house.. didnt realise one of my power outlet was tripped and took my 4 quads down with it. My fault !!

[Sparky]

sorry team, I was busy with the job and the new house.. didnt realise one of my power outlet was tripped and took my 4 quads down with it. My fault !!

You know better than that!

Monitor 24/7, remember?

[[XC] junglemaster]

sorry team, I was busy with the job and the new house.. didnt realise one of my power outlet was tripped and took my 4 quads down with it. My fault !!

*marks that down in my "watch what everyone does and learn from it" book*...