Dell PowerEdge 1950

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Profile Woodgie
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Message 1625122 - Posted: 7 Jan 2015, 21:17:25 UTC

Yep, it really doesn't look as if there's room for much more than a simple fibre card or NIC.

Anyone know of a card that might work?
~W

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Message 1625130 - Posted: 7 Jan 2015, 21:34:07 UTC - in response to Message 1625122.  

Yep, it really doesn't look as if there's room for much more than a simple fibre card or NIC.

Anyone know of a card that might work?

I think the 2nd concern would be power. PCIe x4 and x8 slots are, per spec, regulated to a maximum of 25w.
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Message 1625133 - Posted: 7 Jan 2015, 21:49:25 UTC - in response to Message 1625130.  

Yep, it really doesn't look as if there's room for much more than a simple fibre card or NIC.

Anyone know of a card that might work?

I think the 2nd concern would be power. PCIe x4 and x8 slots are, per spec, regulated to a maximum of 25w.

The Spec calls for 75 watts to video cards even in a 1x slot. I've run a 75 watt card
in the 1x slot of an Intel desktop board, a HP xw4600, and the 4x slot on a MacPro.
No problem on those machines.
The problem would be with heat on that 1U server. Any card worth crunching with would run too hot internally.
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Message 1625159 - Posted: 7 Jan 2015, 22:30:32 UTC
Last modified: 7 Jan 2015, 22:46:52 UTC

Well you did it, you made me crack the warranty seal on my 3 week old computer - well it's not like it wouldn't happen anyways :))

First I didn't buy it for a GPU, just a computer ... but am impressed with GPU results - even though it is small in SETI terms. You can look at my app stats and see what it is doing before I "try" to optimize it.

I have a AMD Radon R7 240,2MB DDR3, PCI 3 x 8

I measured internally:
6.5 inches length from inside on back of case,
2.5 inches from top of PCI slot,
3/4 inch (and 2 hairs) thick for the fan

Specs say:
Card Dimension (inch) : 6.9 x 2.7 x 0.55

these specs are for 1 MB mem, I have 2 MB.

Needs 400W power supply minimum (they don't say PCI watts) - you have 650W, so 2 cards should be fine. 400 W is pretty minimal for todays computers.

I don't think airflow is an issue. The 1950 is a front to back flow computer, the air is moving in the direction it was intended to blow. If you look at the video there are 16 fans at the front forcing air to the back where the removed PCI block place is one of the natural air outlets.

I'm sure you can fit a bigger card than mine in there (mine is physically small), but as TBar pointed out - be careful of number of slots and power usage.

Question: Is the Dell 1950 a PCI 3?

Here is the specs for my card: http://xfxforce.com/en-us/products/amd-radeon-r7-series/amd-radeon-r7-240-core-edition-r7-240a-zlj2#prodTab-0 ... Go to bottom of page.

I hope this helps some.


EDIT: here is a picture: http://cdn.agilitycms.com/xfx/MediaGroupings/136/20131114173238_R7-240A-ZLJ_1-2.jpg

I have let mine run at 100% for today, temp is 52C, fan is running at 19-30%
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Message 1625181 - Posted: 7 Jan 2015, 23:12:57 UTC

One final word. Those PCIe slots look as though they are physically x8 slots. The x8 slot on my HP xw4600 is open ended so a x16 card will physically fit in the slot. If the Dell is physically x8, it would need to be open ended to have a x16 card fit in the slot. Or else, you would need to do what I did to the x1 slots...use a dremel to open the end. Not for the faint at heart, kinda hard core.
Have fun.
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Message 1625186 - Posted: 7 Jan 2015, 23:23:02 UTC

OK for physics for getting a screaming GPU in there...

Have you any preference or experience for what Linux distro you want to try?


Good luck,

And happy fast crunch in!
Martin
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Message 1625257 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 4:19:32 UTC

the 1950's are nice

i just ordered 2 IBM 3650 2x 3ghz quad xeon servers from ebay which are 2U .
i can't wait till they arrive on friday so i can test them and see if i can fit a bunch of 750ti cards in them
I came down with a bad case of i don't give a crap
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Message 1625305 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 6:19:58 UTC - in response to Message 1625186.  

OK for physics for getting a screaming GPU in there...

Have you any preference or experience for what Linux distro you want to try?


Good luck,

And happy fast crunch in!
Martin


I think THAT discussion is enough for a thread all of its own! I was hoping to find out more about what this guy did as my main aim.

I have to say all this discussion is brilliant and I appreciate every word of it. You brought up something that hadn't crossed my mind and that's the physical PCI slot it'd be, that limits my options further. DAMN I'm hoping they're long slots but they're going to be short, aren't they.

I'll keep you all updated and probably post something over on my blog when I get them.
~W

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Message 1625314 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 6:52:15 UTC - in response to Message 1625305.  

OK for physics for getting a screaming GPU in there...

Have you any preference or experience for what Linux distro you want to try?


Good luck,

And happy fast crunch in!
Martin


I think THAT discussion is enough for a thread all of its own! I was hoping to find out more about what this guy did as my main aim.

I have to say all this discussion is brilliant and I appreciate every word of it. You brought up something that hadn't crossed my mind and that's the physical PCI slot it'd be, that limits my options further. DAMN I'm hoping they're long slots but they're going to be short, aren't they.

I'll keep you all updated and probably post something over on my blog when I get them.

Because I don't know much about blade servers, I will leave you with a general thought. Try googling Dell cards for the hardware. I tried it and a bunch of low cost cards popped up. I don't know if any are usable but the Dell cards will fit and seem to be low priced. What I don't know is if any of the cards will crunch the way you want it to.
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Message 1625512 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 19:54:06 UTC - in response to Message 1625314.  

Someone in the 750ti thread pointed out this version but it remains to be seen if:
(a) there's enough room for the heatsink & fan
and
(b) it's a full length PCIe x16 slot.

Some mighty 'ifs'. I don't think I'm going to be so lucky.
~W

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Message 1625516 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 20:04:39 UTC - in response to Message 1625512.  

The link they gave you says quite clearly that it's a 16 slot card.
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Message 1625526 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 20:41:33 UTC - in response to Message 1625516.  

The link they gave you says quite clearly that it's a 16 slot card.


Sorry, I meant if the server has a x16 or an x8 (more likely) riser, I understand the card is a x16 hence it being a big if.
~W

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Message 1625544 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 21:43:14 UTC - in response to Message 1625526.  

The link they gave you says quite clearly that it's a 16 slot card.


Sorry, I meant if the server has a x16 or an x8 (more likely) riser, I understand the card is a x16 hence it being a big if.

The specs from I linked to state they are PCIe x8 or PCI-X slots.
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Message 1625567 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 22:23:19 UTC - in response to Message 1625512.  
Last modified: 8 Jan 2015, 23:17:55 UTC

Someone in the 750ti thread pointed out this version but it remains to be seen if:
(a) there's enough room for the heatsink & fan
and
(b) it's a full length PCIe x16 slot.

Some mighty 'ifs'. I don't think I'm going to be so lucky.

I was looking at the image;



...and to me it looks as though that is a desktop board in a 2U server case. Now, I haven't seen very many server interiors, but, that's what it looks like to me. If that's the case, all you need is a smallish board with 4 PCIe slots and the correct 2U case.

The thread is still there;
PCI-e 16x card no fit in PCI-e 1x
But it looks as though the best image is missing. The OP in that thread used a soldering iron, my boards laughed at my iron. The dremel stopped the laughing.
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Message 1625596 - Posted: 8 Jan 2015, 23:33:45 UTC

yes it is a normal desktop board from AsRock in a "server" case
I came down with a bad case of i don't give a crap
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Message 1625604 - Posted: 9 Jan 2015, 0:02:14 UTC - in response to Message 1625567.  
Last modified: 9 Jan 2015, 0:04:13 UTC

...and to me it looks as though that is a desktop board in a 2U server case.

Good pickup.
All the rack mount server systems I've seen the memory slots are aligned front to rear to allow for maximum airflow & cooling.
Grant
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Message 1625612 - Posted: 9 Jan 2015, 1:15:14 UTC - in response to Message 1625596.  
Last modified: 9 Jan 2015, 1:33:20 UTC

yes it is a normal desktop board from AsRock in a "server" case

Yep, it even says ASRock on the heatsink. In fact, here is a similar board;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157393R


Knockout the end plate on the x1 PCIe slot and you're there.

So, I hope people buying servers aren't expecting them to look like that image.
At least without a whole lotta work...
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Message 1625693 - Posted: 9 Jan 2015, 7:08:06 UTC - in response to Message 1625567.  

Someone in the 750ti thread pointed out this version but it remains to be seen if:
(a) there's enough room for the heatsink & fan
and
(b) it's a full length PCIe x16 slot.

Some mighty 'ifs'. I don't think I'm going to be so lucky.

I was looking at the image;



...and to me it looks as though that is a desktop board in a 2U server case. Now, I haven't seen very many server interiors, but, that's what it looks like to me. If that's the case, all you need is a smallish board with 4 PCIe slots and the correct 2U case.

The thread is still there;
PCI-e 16x card no fit in PCI-e 1x
But it looks as though the best image is missing. The OP in that thread used a soldering iron, my boards laughed at my iron. The dremel stopped the laughing.


That's not my server, that's DanHansen@Denmark's rig from his thread which I referenced earlier.
~W

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Message 1625697 - Posted: 9 Jan 2015, 7:20:35 UTC - in response to Message 1625693.  

Yes, I know where that image came from. I also know what you said in your above post, http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=76467&postid=1625305
Now you know what he did. His post does say what he did, "..but by testing several mobo's, graphic cards etc.."
He just failed to mention what type of mobo's he was testing...
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Message 1625700 - Posted: 9 Jan 2015, 7:26:35 UTC - in response to Message 1625697.  

Yes, I know where that image came from. I also know what you said in your above post, http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=76467&postid=1625305
Now you know what he did. His post does say what he did, "..but by testing several mobo's, graphic cards etc.."
He just failed to mention what type of mobo's he was testing...


I get it, sorry. I was trying to prevent confusion for anyone else who might come along and read the thread.

Another thing I've been toying with is maybe getting an external PCIe expansion box but now we're suddenly going from a couple of free servers and couple of hundred pounds for some extra processing power to a couple of thousands of pounds for a PCIe expansion bay (unless someone has one to donate to me :) ) and then more still for the graphics cards...
~W

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