Since I don't make dedicated crunching machines. I spec my systems for what I need and then see how the configuration runs the tasks for my projects.

Hal,
Thank you for the additional discussion.

If you were going to pick the most power efficient i7 w/HT and at least 3Ghz base speed what would you pick?

Ditto 6c/12t Any "man on horseback guesses"?

Ditto 8c/12t. I am confident that the E5-2670 is not the lowest powered version of this core count even though it has some of the best used prices out there. And when we get up into 8c's running much faster than 2.5Ghz turns out to be VERY expensive. Any "man on horseback guesses"?

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

.... Any "man on horseback guesses"?

Tom

Is that similar to "free range brurros guesses"? ;-)

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.... Any "man on horseback guesses"?

Tom

Is that similar to "free range brurros guesses"? ;-)

Maybe.

I have been poking around with the help of Wikipedia and it looks like the i7 w/HT version CPU of the i5-7400 CPU is a i7-7700
Intel® Core™ i7-7700 Processor

And I can now announce the "secret sauce" for everyone who wants higher performance in BOINC. Its called "AVX" :) The older cpus don't have it and any app that takes advantage of the AVX extensions runs a BUNCH faster (can you say "Lunatics Beta6"?).

I have a MicroTower with an i7-3770 (3.4Ghz, 4c/8t) running the first version of AVX. In all the non-Seti cpu tasks it has been running are a bunch faster than the same tasks under an Z400/X5680 or Z600/X5675 neither of which have AVX.
When you add the Lunatics apps, the cpu is close to 30% faster than Stock. So I am hoping there is a way to "check for AVX" that could be embedded in the Stock App so that Seti can "have its cake" and eat it too.

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

I have been poking around trying to see if anyone is selling an i7-3770 in a mid-sized tower with a 850 watt PS.

Its beginning to look like I would have to research/assemble one if I want it. I think that unless you are going the "so many cores I don't know what to allocate them to" route that a i7-3770 with robust enough MB and 850+ watt PS would allow you to run a couple of gtx 1060's and a selection of non-gpu projects (like World Community Grid).

And it might even run a bit cooler if you put it in a big enough case with some fans all over it.

I now have 3 MB's listed from reviews on the cpu from 2013. I wonder how many of those MB's are still made?

Later,
Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

Since I don't make dedicated crunching machines. I spec my systems for what I need and then see how the configuration runs the tasks for my projects.

Hal,
Thank you for the additional discussion.

If you were going to pick the most power efficient i7 w/HT and at least 3Ghz base speed what would you pick?

Ditto 6c/12t Any "man on horseback guesses"?

Ditto 8c/12t. I am confident that the E5-2670 is not the lowest powered version of this core count even though it has some of the best used prices out there. And when we get up into 8c's running much faster than 2.5Ghz turns out to be VERY expensive. Any "man on horseback guesses"?

Tom

CPU efficiency is normally pretty easy. Newer generations are typically something like 15% more efficient than their previous generation..
For an i7 it depends on if you are looking a the LGA1150/1 or LGA2011/66 versions.

I only see the need to go to the LGA2011/66 versions if you have a need for the extra PCIe lanes, but to get more than 28 you are looking at the top end parts that are $1000.
Even then you will probably only be looking at x16/16/8/4 or x16/8/8/8 PCIe configurations. They also have quad channel RAM which is nice, but isn't always a huge boost over dual channel.

For the LGA1150/1 versions it is mostly deciding if you want to overclock or not. If you do then you want the K version. Otherwise it is the standard version.
You can also get MBs that offer x8/8/8/8 PCIe configurations if you want to spend the money.

The E5-2650 v2 is the successor to the E5-2670. Pretty much the same specs but 20w less TDP and can use faster memory.
If you want to go to the v4 Xeons there are some less costly options there too. Such as the 14c/28t E5-2683 v3 or 16c/32t E5-2675 v3.
Depending on your requirements they could be better options. For me the E5-2670's are well suited for me.

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

I now have 3 MB's listed from reviews on the cpu from 2013. I wonder how many of those MB's are still made?

I haven't gotten back to the "other" list but I did run across this: ASUS Maximus V Extreme.

It LOOKS as if it is setup for 4 discrete GPU's (it supports SLI). So talk about having your cake and eating it too.

An i7-3770 (cheap 8 threads) and upto 4 gpus..... all in an E-ATX case.

Hmmmm......

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

Search for 'motherboard combo' and you will find lots with CPU, RAM, and heatsink, cheap.

A double width GPU overhangs the bottom edge of the motherboard - so make sure there is enough space for the card to miss the case. Also a number of connectors are near that edge of the motherboard so may foul the GPU.

SLI is not used by SETI (and I don't know if any other project uses it), but it does tend to "come free" on most motherboards these days.


(bottom edge - furthest from the CPU)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

For the 8c/16t route I went with a pair of Ryzen 7 1700's. Only 65w for the CPU. I put a GTX1060 (3Gb) which when running the Petri special sauce knocks over a task between 2.5min and 5min depending on the angle range. According to Nvidia-smi its pulling 74-75w. Its got enough PCIe lanes to run two cards at x16. I use Noctua heatsinks on all my rigs and Seasonic PSU. Cases are all Fractal Design ARC Midi (takes an ATX mobo). Not the cheapest to build but doesn't pull too much electricity either.

For 4c/8t I have 8 i7-6700's which only have the iGPU to keep power use down. While I could use the iGPU I don't. They too are rated at 65w but are a little faster than the Ryzen's. I had i7-3770's before these. The difference wasn't that great despite being 3 generations later. I'll probably wait another generation or two before they get replaced.

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BOINC blog

My guess for a 1060 would be around 85W, a 1070 is 125-130W.

. . I think your numbers are actual load as opposed to his which are TDP. My 1060=6GBs drew between 80 and 90 W under full crunch.

. . But the total draw on the clunky old Pentium was about 360W.

Stephen

.

Search for 'motherboard combo' and you will find lots with CPU, RAM, and heatsink, cheap.

I have been trying that and either can't recognize a good result or don't really understand what "cheap" means to you. My criteria includes it must be able to run a Gtx 1060 w/o burn out (otherwise a Dell Optiplex 7010 at $250 for whole used system would qualify).

Could you spend 15 minutes and post some examples of the results?

Apparently I am a little dum no matter if its day or really early morning :)

Nobody is offering i7-3770 combos. (I think) so fine something that is i7 (4c/8t) 3+Ghz and fits the other ideas we have been throwing around.

Thank you!

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

Could you spend 15 minutes and post some examples of the results?

4 Core AIO Cooler
6 Core Needs Ram

Add a 750W PSU and Case and run 3 cards.

I think your numbers are actual load as opposed to his which are TDP. My 1060=6GBs drew between 80 and 90 W under full crunch.

. . But the total draw on the clunky old Pentium was about 360W.

Stephen.

The GTX1060 TDP is 120 watts. It also shows that in Nvidia-smi.

The figure I always find difficult to get is how much the memory (and other motherboard components) add.

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BOINC blog

4 Core AIO Cooler
6 Core Needs Ram

Add a 750W PSU and Case and run 3 cards.

THANK YOU, Brent.

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

I have mislaid my "Redi Watt" thingy meter.

As soon as I find it, I'm going to try some w/wo (Dell Optiplex 7010 has an intel gpu too) and video swapping experiments.

I was told that after it gets started up a Gtx 750 Ti draws about 30-35 watts.

I want to get similar numbers for the Gtx 1060 3GB that I still have working (the other was damaged/killed during a trip/falldown/drop and dent case accident) as well as confirm the 750 numbers for the two different versions of that video card that I have.

And while I am at it, I will test the GT 720 I have laying around here.

I don't think anyone will care about the Nvidia Quadro 295 or the Radeon HD 6870 that I have. Both are very obsolete.

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

I have mislaid my "Redi Watt" thingy meter.

Just found my "Kill A Watt"(tm) so in the "near" future I will start testing and swapping cards around to see if I can get some "real" numbers on loaded and unloaded Intel GPU, Gtx 750 Ti (two versions, 3/4 size and Low Profile), Gtx 1060 3GB and the Gtx 1050 that is "in the mail".

I will attempt to find out what kind of power draw each has "under load" since that is what I (and presumably you) are really interested in.

My Dell OptiPlex 7010 has something like a 235 watt PS. I really want to see how close I am running to its loaded capacity.

My Z400 has something like a 435 watt PS. I would really like to see how close my remaining gtx 1060 3GB pushes it, to its limit.

The Z600 I have has something like a 650 watt PS and ran two Gtx 1060's for several weeks with no noticeable complaints. Since I am down to one Gtx 1060 I won't be able to actually test how 2 draw, anymore.

I just installed a couple of Gt 710/720's in my Z400/Z600's so I will use them are part of my "baselines".

Don't hold your breath. Please. I am still recovering from falling off a porch so I am spending a lot more time in "idle" or napping than I was previously.

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

I have mislaid my "Redi Watt" thingy meter.

Just found my "Kill A Watt"(tm) so in the "near" future I will start testing and swapping cards around to see if I can get some "real" numbers on loaded and unloaded Intel GPU, Gtx 750 Ti (two versions, 3/4 size and Low Profile), Gtx 1060 3GB and the Gtx 1050 that is "in the mail".

I will attempt to find out what kind of power draw each has "under load" since that is what I (and presumably you) are really interested in.

My Dell OptiPlex 7010 has something like a 235 watt PS. I really want to see how close I am running to its loaded capacity.

My Z400 has something like a 435 watt PS. I would really like to see how close my remaining gtx 1060 3GB pushes it, to its limit.

Current results - under load
============

Dell Optiplex 7010
Intel GPU ~27 watts
Bios Auto select (Intel GPU disabled) Gtx 750 TI (low profile) ~ 52-71 watts
Bios Gtx selected (Intel GPU enabled/not active[according to the bio menu information]) GTX 750 Ti (low profile) ~ 52-71 watts
I just realized I haven't tested this system with both gpu's active but only 750 under load. See next message (I am typing on the 7010 right now so don't want to waste the message.

Z-600
GT 720 ~48 watts
GTX 1060 3GB ~121 watts

Discussion
=========
One of the reasons for the testing was to see just "how much" PS head room the Dell 7010 has for a GPU beyond a Gtx 750 Ti/Gtx 1050 (presumed to be 75 watts). The Dell shows 187 watts with both cpu and gpu (Gtx 750 Ti) running at a full load. The Dell PS is 235. So it looks like you could shoehorn an additional load of 48 watts. 65 + 48 = 113 watts. So a video card drawing upto 113 watts may be possible.

I have previously installed an aftermarket PS (500 watts) and a shorter Gtx 1060 6GB video card in the Dell 7010. It took about a month before the motherboard fried. It might be, that a Gtx 1060 3GB draws less power and therefor MIGHT be doable. I managed to damage my last gtx 1060 6GB so I won't be able to report on its power draw. Yet.

This does tempt me to locate a "compact" Gtx 1060 3GB and buy another replacement MB for the Dell and try again. After all its "only" (121-113=8 watts) over. Surely 8 watts can't hurt? Right! ;)

OBTW, I think you can get a 10-20 watt PS upgrade for the Dell (instead of my aftermarket hack).

Meanwhile I have a Gtx 1050 on order and I might upgrade to a Gtx 1050 Ti since the claim is they both draw 75 watts. The Ti version has more cores (and runs faster), the non-Ti version has 600 cores just like the Gtx 750Ti but it "runs faster" (30%?).

I will post the results of the Gtx 750 Ti loaded with the Intel GPU active but not loaded shortly.

HTH,
Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

I will post the results of the Gtx 750 Ti loaded with the Intel GPU active but not loaded shortly.

For the Dell OptiPlex 7010
Both Intel GPU and Gtx 750Ti are active. 750ti gpu only processing ~ 110 watts.

It sounds like the Intel GPU doesn't noticeably increase the power load if it is not under a heavy computational demand.

HTH,
Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).

So it does look like you can get a Dell Optiplex 7010 with a 275 watt PS to run one Gtx 1060 3GB (mini) video card drawing between 182 watts and 212 watts. I have ordered a 300 watt stock PS upgrade. This one runs an i7-3770 which has early AVX instruction set.

The reason for the upgrade is so far, trying to run 2 monitors doesn't work. It blacks out.

I am also running it driving the the new-to-me GPU for Seti w/o seti cpu to see how high I can get the RAC for Seti before I restart a mix that includes Seti on the cpu side. This one is running Lunatics beta6.

While I am proposing this as a possible turn key "low electricity cost" high productivity system for Boinc in general and for Seti in particular I would continue to be interested in seeing other potential solutions to the "General Boinc cruncher" plus good Seti adaption candidates.

Tom

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A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association).