Nehalem,One cpu to rule them all!

[Firechicken]

What are the 920's doing for wcg bench marks? number wise obviously heh

[loonym]

What are the 920's doing for wcg bench marks? number wise obviously heh

Look in the bench thread

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=134602

[CyberDruid]

I caved in and jumped on the bandwagon. Looking forward to creeping up the ranks a tad faster now.

[Otis11]

So, I was looking into making an i7 system, and i came across a thought. I would like to get a server board and make a 2 cpu (8 core, 16 thread) system and had a question. Would it be possible to only buy one cpu to start with and run it off of that as I am strapped for cash atm, but then add the second one later when I get the money?

[YukonTrooper]

"I'm strapped for cash but I want a dual-socket i7 system. Rawr!"

As far as your question goes, I have no idea, but I know Movieman will have all the info you need.

[Movieman]

"I'm strapped for cash but I want a dual-socket i7 system. Rawr!"

As far as your question goes, I have no idea, but I know Movieman will have all the info you need.

app $4000-4500 in parts to build a decent one.

[alucasa]

So, I was looking into making an i7 system, and i came across a thought. I would like to get a server board and make a 2 cpu (8 core, 16 thread) system and had a question. Would it be possible to only buy one cpu to start with and run it off of that as I am strapped for cash atm, but then add the second one later when I get the money?

i7 cpu has one QPI path. So, no, it cannot be used in dual-socket motherboards.
You need to use Gainestown cpu, E5500 series.

To answer your core question, yes, as long as a cpu is installed CPU0 socket, not CPU1.

To be honest though, if you are short on cash, this platform is not for you.

[Otis11]

Well, see i'm planning on using some stuff i already have from 'older' computer. I have a hard drive, psu, Optical drive, case, monitor and graphics card (which i may upgrade later) and i have a bunch of other parts laying around if i need them. I'll probably end up upgrading each of them eventually anyway. So I'm looking at it as the only parts I really have to pay for are the motherboard and the cpu.

$288.99 Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202

And I thought i had found a dual LGA 1366 socket, but I can't seem to track it down, I may have been mistaken.

but I plan on a motherboard costing between $200-500 depending on features.


Just a note: I know it may sound funny saying i don't have that much money and i want an i7 system, but just to be completely honest I'm a student (so by definition am broke) and am picking up extra shifts to pay for the system. I already have a decent system, but this gives me something to work toward building myself. I set my goals high so that i have insentive to work hard to reach them but then I also need to keep this moderately cheap (yeah - just hang with me) so that i can build it in the forseable future and then work to upgrade it. And i'm not one of those kid's who's never satisfied with what he has, i just would rather pick up shifts and work toward something in my spare time than sit and watch TV or play halo. Knowing all that, does this sound resonable or is there another platform that I should be working toward?

[Otis11]

Oh, and correct me if i'm wrong (I'm kinda new at this) but Gainestown would be Xeon right? when i seach newegg for Xeon i get Irwindale for desktop and Woodcrest, Harpertown, Yorkfield, Dunnington, Wolfdale, Kentsfield and Clovertown for servers but no Gainestown. And nothing comes up for E5500.

[CmB]

Oh, and correct me if i'm wrong (I'm kinda new at this) but Gainestown would be Xeon right? when i seach newegg for Xeon i get Irwindale for desktop and Woodcrest, Harpertown, Yorkfield, Dunnington, Wolfdale, Kentsfield and Clovertown for servers but no Gainestown. And nothing comes up for E5500.

Gainestown is a Xeon chip. It will be released on March 30, that's why you can't find anything.


--Chris

[alucasa]

See the attachment for expected prices.

You'd want at least E5550 to retain i7 920 speed, and you will need 2 of them. Prepare to pay around 400 to 500 USD for a motherboard.

The rest parts are nothing compared to the cost of those three.

So, basically a grand for a cpu.

Never go below E5520. E550x cpu has no HT and half of L3.

[Otis11]

So, i realize this probably isn't the thread for this... is there a thread for this or should I start one?

And looking at it, if I was going to do that, why wouldn't I go for an AMD Opteron with a board with 4 cpu sockets like

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813151089

It's only $400 for the board and you can get 2 2.2Ghz processors for the same price as one E5550. That would Yield 16 real cores for roughly the same price.

[alucasa]

Start a new thread.

[Movieman]

So, i realize this probably isn't the thread for this... is there a thread for this or should I start one?

And looking at it, if I was going to do that, why wouldn't I go for an AMD Opteron with a board with 4 cpu sockets like

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813151089

It's only $400 for the board and you can get 2 2.2Ghz processors for the same price as one E5550. That would Yield 16 real cores for roughly the same price.

because in terms of computational power a dual Nehalem will smoke a quad socket AMD in the work we do here.
hell, a dual socket Harpertown at good speed will smoke a quad socket opty in WCG....

[alucasa]

Well, since Movieman replied, I guess I will, too.

For quad sockets, you need 8000 series opteron, and from what I know, even the crappiest one costs 600 USD per cpu.

To make it worse, maintaining a quad socket system is not something someone completely new to server stuff should do. Besides, Core i7 is amazingly efficient CPU when it comes to crunching. No current generation Opteron can match it.

[Movieman]

From memory:
A Nehalem at 3700mhz= 26,000+ a day in WCG
8 core Clovertown at 3000=23,000 a day
8 core harper at 3600= 34,000 a day
dual opty,8 core, = app 11-12,000 a day in WCG

Now a 8 core gainstown at 3200mhz should do right around 50,000 a day in WCG..

That's it in a nutshell..

[alucasa]

From memory:
dual opty,8 core, = app 11-12,000 a day in WCG
That's it in a nutshell..

Well, I (still) have two Barcelona chips which run at 1.8ghz. That score is exactly what my dual Barcelona rig produced. Now that Shanghai is out, and with a good improvement in ghz, an affordable one costs less than 200 USD at 2.2ghz, so I assume a dual Shanghai rig can produce 20,000 a day in WCG.

I want a dual Shanghai, but to be honest, I absolutely LOATHE their nforce 3600 chipset based boards. They SUCK.

[Movieman]

Well, I (still) have two Barcelona chips which run at 1.8ghz. That score is exactly what my dual Barcelona rig produced. Now that Shanghai is out, and with a good improvement in ghz, an affordable one costs less than 200 USD at 2.2ghz, so I assume a dual Shanghai rig can produce 20,000 a day in WCG.

I want a dual Shanghai, but to be honest, I absolutely LOATHE their nforce 3600 chipset based boards. They SUCK.

I agree on Shanghai. I think I was remembering either your numbers or Twilyth's..
Heck, My socket 775 Asus P5K Premium that is a what? 18 month old board, is pulling over 21K a day with that X3380 in it at 4171 on air..
Granted, that is a monster chip but 21K a day on air on 4 cores is getting into Nehalem range..

[alucasa]

Well, there are much cheaper solutions to get a dual socket system. Just don't aim for Nehalem at the moment, it's the new tech and is expensive. I even sold two (aged) dual socket systems to XS members recently for dirt cheap.

For Otis11,
I'd say either aim for dual socket Shanghai or Harpertown. 1 grand will be enough for a semi-decent setup.

[D_A]

Now a 8 core gainstown at 3200mhz should do right around 50,000 a day in WCG..

Great



now I can't stand up from my desk again.

[Movieman]

Great



now I can't stand up from my desk again.

If we can find a way to OC those systems I can see a dual Gainestown at 4000 on water pulling over 60,000 a day..

[CmB]

If we can find a way to OC those systems I can see a dual Gainestown at 4000 on water pulling over 60,000 a day..

Hmmmmm, my dark, dirty little mind is wandering, I mean wondering... a few phone calls are in order

[Movieman]

Hmmmmm, my dark, dirty little mind is wandering, I mean wondering... a few phone calls are in order

Find someone that will write a bios for these boards to let us OC them and I'll hug you till your ribs crack!

[INFRNL]

I agree on Shanghai. I think I was remembering either your numbers or Twilyth's..
Heck, My socket 775 Asus P5K Premium that is a what? 18 month old board, is pulling over 21K a day with that X3380 in it at 4171 on air..
Granted, that is a monster chip but 21K a day on air on 4 cores is getting into Nehalem range..

How are you getting 21k a day? My q9550@4ghz only gets anywhere from 12-(16 on a great day)

My i920@3.4ghz only gets 14-18 on avg. occasionally around 20 and for 1 day it got 24k. not sure what happened.

anyway; I would imagine my 9550 would have at least as much crunching power as you xeon

EDIT: I wonder if it has anything to do with FAH on ati GPU which utilizes 1 core; which would slow production for WCG?

[Movieman]

How are you getting 21k a day? My q9550@4ghz only gets anywhere from 12-(16 on a great day)

My i920@3.4ghz only gets 14-18 on avg. occasionally around 20 and for 1 day it got 24k. not sure what happened.

anyway; I would imagine my 9550 would have at least as much crunching power as you xeon

EDIT: I wonder if it has anything to do with FAH on ati GPU which utilizes 1 core; which would slow production for WCG?

Getting 21K a day from a monster X3380 cpu..
Think the next step up from a Q9650.
Running at 4171mhz on WCG