In your opinion what is the best Setiathome new computer you could get for $1,200? I'm interested in people choices(AMD or Intel, etc), please include links. Also feel free to play with the price limit.

Chris.

P.S. I have put off ordering a new computer. I've been upgrading all my old p3 coppermines(600mhz) to 933. The upgrade chips are $9 on Ebay! I'll have all four upgraded by the end of the week.

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In your opinion what is the best Setiathome new computer you could get for $1,200?

I would go for a Core 2 Duo E6600 (see my Conroe) and a ASUS Mobo (P5B DeLuxe or higher) + PC800 (or higher) memory. It's nice to overclock and has a brilliant performance. And it costs probably less than 1200 bucks. Next step is a Core 2 XEON...

Or wait for the Core 2 Quad to come out about November...

Regards
Andy

what ever you do go with amd intel has no L1 chache amd has over triple what intel does L1 is a lot faster than L2

what ever you do go with amd intel has no L1 chache amd has over triple what intel does L1 is a lot faster than L2

What are you talking about!!?? Conroe's have L1 cache, just like every other Intel processor since the 486 (maybe even 386's, I don't recall).


http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/fullimage.php?image=11375

Alinator

intel has no L1 chache amd has over triple what intel does

You do know that by this equation you say that Intels have zero L1 cache and that AMDs have tree times that, right? ;-)

(3 times zero = X)

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intel has no L1 chache amd has over triple what intel does

You do know that by this equation you say that Intels have zero L1 cache and that AMDs have tree times that, right? ;-)

(3 times zero = X)

LOL, I thought about pointing that out, but I figured the basic premise of no L1 in the Core 2 architecture trumped any other silliness. ;-)

Even then the math is wrong Athlon 64 X2's have 256K of L1, 4 times what Conroe has.

Alinator

I have an E6300 with a MSI 975x "Power Up" Edition board. I spent around $400 on just the board and CPU. You can easily make a good system without breaking the bank. Stock is 1.86Ghz, mine is running at 2.35Ghz. Not a huge overclock, but it's all stock and it's about 80 degrees F in this room. Will Fall ever get here? http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/show_host_detail.php?hostid=2648659

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Reading the present day reviews of CPU performance, the Intel Core 2 duo's are the only way to go.
See:
Game Over? Core 2 Duo Knocks Out Athlon 64
Several reviews, incl. overclocking
Contemporary Dual-Core Desktop Processors Shootout

Re: the coments about L1 cache, That is not what counts it is the L2 cache that makes the difference when crunching Seti, and there the story is the bigger the better. A Pent M (L2 = 2MByte) @2.13GHz can beat Pent 4 (L2 = 512KByte) @3GHz to crunch two AR=0.42nnn units. Thats mine and sons computers.

Andy

In your opinion what is the best Setiathome new computer you could get for $1,200?

I would go for a Core 2 Duo E6600 (see my Conroe) and a ASUS Mobo (P5B DeLuxe or higher) + PC800 (or higher) memory. It's nice to overclock and has a brilliant performance. And it costs probably less than 1200 bucks. Next step is a Core 2 XEON...

Or wait for the Core 2 Quad to come out about November...

Regards
Andy

I agree with above... I am still tinkering with my E6600 and running slightly faster than a stock Core 2 Duo Extream E6800. System is very stable and shows no sign of heat problems. Later is largely due to instal of Big Typhoon cooling as suggested by someone here. Works well

Cheers

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When we finally figure it all out, all the rules will change and we can start all over again.

Agreed, and nobody with half a brain would think that Intel was ever going to just roll over and die. :-)

Not only is the new silicon in tune with modern power consumption and performance considerations, they had the fortitude to admit Netburst was junk and get with an architecture more in line with their cutting edge heritage when it comes to microprocessors. I mean, lets face it they wrote the book originally when it comes to this kind of technology. ;-)

Not to mean I still don't root for AMD. :-)

Alinator

I am in the process of putting together a Dual Xeon Woodcrest box.

After hours of going through WU results, there is no denying that the new Intel cores are a step above the rest.

When building a strictly crunching computer remember, you do not need more than 1 Gb of RAM. You do not need a video card that costs more than $50. Finally, please do not buy the fastest CPU. If you scroll through the results, you'll notice tiny difference between the fastest Core 2 and the low end units.

Here is how to build that $1200 with maximum upgrade path, including quad core xeon capability assuming you already have an ATX case:
1xIntel Xeon 5120 (1066mhz FSB allows you to OC later) $280 @Newegg
1xSupermicro X7DAL-E ATX Form Factor$429 @ MonarchComputer.com
2x512mb Kingston DDR2 FB-Dimm PC2 5300 $206 @ Newegg
1xPowercolor X300SE64HM256 Radeon X300SE PCI Express x16 $34.99 @Newegg
1xSONY Beige IDE DVD-ROM (To Boot Fedora 64Bit ISO)$17 @Newegg
1xHitachi Deskstar T7K250 IDE ATA 133 Hard drive $53 @Newegg
$75 shipping costs
TOTAL $1094.99

So now Chris you have $105 to splurge on the EPS ATX power supply. This unit
on Newegg does the trick: COOLER MASTER RS-500-ASAA ATX Form Factor 12V V2.2 / SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91 500 Watts Continuous Power Supply with a $20 mail in rebate.

I have not been brave enough to test different power supplies on this combination. An important cost saving note here is running Linux. I am a recent convert and have personally seen two identical Dual Xeon rigs battle it out in SETI Rac wars. The winner is the Linux box with 1250 RAC vs 1150 RAC; +/- 25 RAC on a daily basis.

Fedora 5 64bit is really not that hard to setup. The amazing thing is the support online, Google any config question and get an answer. Even the SETI forums has a section dedicated to support. Of course a Linux optimized SETI client exists as well.

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Overclock with the MSI G31M3-L and Intel E8600 3.33Ghz
Intel D865GLC Socket 478 Motherboard
~How To Overclock The Eee ASUS 1005HA Netbook To 1.9Ghz~

Is the general consensus that Linux produces a quicker result than XP? If so, I'll convert one of my boxes.

I have two virtually identical P4 2.8's so might run a comparison for a few weeks to see what the stats look like. I just find Linux mightily confusing as I haven't used anything *nix based since my university days. I'm conditioned to expect everything to run like Windoze, which is sad I suppose.

I'll get downloading the ISO's. Is the Red Hat/Fedora core the way to go, or are there "better" variations out there?

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Is the general consensus that Linux produces a quicker result than XP? If so, I'll convert one of my boxes.

I have two virtually identical P4 2.8's so might run a comparison for a few weeks to see what the stats look like. I just find Linux mightily confusing as I haven't used anything *nix based since my university days. I'm conditioned to expect everything to run like Windoze, which is sad I suppose.

Give it a try and see what you find.

You should be able to very quickly get a Linux system installed and running. The biggest difference I saw was that all the system services are visible and described. No hidden 'spyware-like' silliness as opposed to what I found with WinXP. No worries about MS-viruses either.

I'll get downloading the ISO's. Is the Red Hat/Fedora core the way to go, or are there "better" variations out there?

Red Hat is one of the good ones. My preference is with Mandriva (see my sig link below if they've finished rearranging their website). There is also Ubuntu/Kubuntu, and Suse.


Good luck,
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Yes Mandriva should be faster. I used Fedora because I was in a hurry to get my cruncher running. Additionally, I had optimized my Windows XP install. I disabled almost all the services and then "benchmarked" my RAC for three months. Upon boot of Windows XP, I was using 65mb of RAM!

One note on my post above about the $1200 computer, you have to use IDE drives on boards with integrated SATA controllers in Linux Kernel 2.6 and higher. This is because the Kernel has been precompiled with drivers for Hardware Raid controllers. The SATA controllers on motherboards use Software Raid. Software Raid depends on your CPU to provide the "logic functionality" which results in cpu loss of 5% or higher while accessing data. You can use software SATA raid drivers to get Linux running, however you have to give the Kernel the drivers for the software raid. Which means a complicated process of manually installing the drivers.

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Overclock with the MSI G31M3-L and Intel E8600 3.33Ghz
Intel D865GLC Socket 478 Motherboard
~How To Overclock The Eee ASUS 1005HA Netbook To 1.9Ghz~

Thanks for all the great replies. I have a few linux computers - old p3s working on setiathome. I do have another question. I've never had the time - if
it even takes that much time - to use anything other than the client off of the berkeley website. Do you think that it is slowing me down - useing the default client.


Thanks,
Chris.

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Not only is the new silicon in tune with modern power consumption and performance considerations, they had the fortitude to admit Netburst was junk and get with an architecture more in line with their cutting edge heritage when it comes to microprocessors. I mean, lets face it they wrote the book originally when it comes to this kind of technology. ;-)

Not to mean I still don't root for AMD. :-)

Alinator

Did they actually admit that Netburst was junk?

... because most manufacturers usually just say "Our new architecture will show dramatic improvements in...."

Even if the new architecture is really the old "pre-Netburst" architecture.

This is called "Marketing."

-- Ned

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Thanks for all the great replies. I have a few linux computers - old p3s working on setiathome. I do have another question. I've never had the time - if
it even takes that much time - to use anything other than the client off of the berkeley website. Do you think that it is slowing me down - useing the default client.


Thanks,
Chris.

Default client, or default science application?

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Do you think that it is slowing me down - useing the default client.

Well, not slowing down, it's more like crunching on "normal" speed. If you want to give your computers a power boost, use Chickens (aka Simon Zadra) apps. They are up to 50% faster (depending on the AR and OS) than the stock app.

Feel free to visit his homepage www.lunatics.at, where you can download the SETI science apps for Windows and Linux (but be aware, that the don't show graphics anymore...)

Praise the Chicken!

Regards
Andy

I have heard of the "Chicken" in which you speak of. I will visit his website today.

I'm using the client/app/whatever that you get from the following url: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php.

As for the fancy graphics - I don't need no graphics - or something like that.

Thanks,
Chris.

Do you think that it is slowing me down - useing the default client.

Well, not slowing down, it's more like crunching on "normal" speed. If you want to give your computers a power boost, use Chickens (aka Simon Zadra) apps. They are up to 50% faster (depending on the AR and OS) than the stock app.

Feel free to visit his homepage www.lunatics.at, where you can download the SETI science apps for Windows and Linux (but be aware, that the don't show graphics anymore...)

Praise the Chicken!

Regards
Andy

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I'm using the client/app/whatever that you get from the following url: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php.

BOINC is the client. It does not do science, it manages the process: uploads, downoads, scheduling, etc.

When you signed up for SETI, BOINC contacted the SETI servers and got the default science application for your platform (Windows, *nix, etc.).

When SETI updates the science application, BOINC will delete the old one and download the new one automatically.

Going to an optimized science application will do more work in less time, mostly by tuning the complier to generate "better" code for your specific processor.

You're also responsible for staying on top of updates -- BOINC isn't allowed to replace the optimized program, so if it becomes outdated, you'll stop getting work.

... and yes, Chicken rules.

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