The only other thought I have had was to transfer the farm from my living room into the cooler basement....but I have doubts that the heat sinking abilities of the concrete basement walls could keep things cool down there...
might have to experiment with it in the next few months....
Maybe moving just a few of them down there would cut the heatload in the main living space down a bit.
Would have to invest either in some cables long enough to snake upstairs to my kvm or some wireless or other solution to communicate with them.....
And reboots when they crash would require trekking down to the basement...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

Wireless KVM? No.
VNC? Yes. :)

The only other thought I have had was to transfer the farm from my living room into the cooler basement....but I have doubts that the heat sinking abilities of the concrete basement walls could keep things cool down there...
might have to experiment with it in the next few months....
Maybe moving just a few of them down there would cut the heatload in the main living space down a bit.
Would have to invest either in some cables long enough to snake upstairs to my kvm or some wireless or other solution to communicate with them.....
And reboots when they crash would require trekking down to the basement...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

Wireless KVM? No.
VNC? Yes. :)

I am sure there is more than one way to do it.......but a reboot in the case of a crash would still require me to pry my butt off of the couch and go downstairs to hit the buttons.......
May not seem like much to you, but when all your rigs are OC'd as far as mine are, reboots are required a bit more often that usual....actually, the farm has been pretty stable as of late......maybe I'm not pushing things far enough...LOL.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Wireless KVM? No.
VNC? Yes. :)

I am sure there is more than one way to do it.......but a reboot in the case of a crash would still require me to pry my butt off of the couch and go downstairs to hit the buttons.......
May not seem like much to you, but when all your rigs are OC'd as far as mine are, reboots are required a bit more often that usual....actually, the farm has been pretty stable as of late......maybe I'm not pushing things far enough...LOL.

Okay, VNC and a hardware watchdog card.

A program "pets the watchdog" and if it doesn't get petted often enough, the watchdog card hits the reset button.

PM me if you can't find a wide selection through google.

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Wireless KVM? No.
VNC? Yes. :)

I am sure there is more than one way to do it.......but a reboot in the case of a crash would still require me to pry my butt off of the couch and go downstairs to hit the buttons.......
May not seem like much to you, but when all your rigs are OC'd as far as mine are, reboots are required a bit more often that usual....actually, the farm has been pretty stable as of late......maybe I'm not pushing things far enough...LOL.

Okay, VNC and a hardware watchdog card.

A program "pets the watchdog" and if it doesn't get petted often enough, the watchdog card hits the reset button.

PM me if you can't find a wide selection through google.

But if the rig crashes and the cpu quits, would the watchdog card keep running?
And you would have to hardwire it into the reset button switch?
And now that I think about it further, I have had rigs crash many times where the cpu stopped responding and the only way to reset the rig was to power off and back on.........because the reset button on the case would not reboot it.....

---

"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Update on the quad...

Named it Betsy, first cow on the SETI@Home farm.

The hardware is all running fine under Win XP Pro but Ubuntu is giving me fits. I am sorry wingmen for hanging 7 WU out into space on the first install attempt.

G0 Q6600 cooled by a AC Freezer Pro 7
GA-G31M-S2L MB, 2gig PC800 ram

Currently have an ide 80gig HD and CD/DVD-R installed. These will be replaced by 2 sata HD in raid 0 and a sata DVD-R/W.

Not going to O/C this rig for now but will be running Crunch3r's apps.

I haven't given up on running Ubuntu. I think most the problems are with the onboard video. May end up buying a cheapo ATI video card and disabling the onboard video. Will have to see.

Shadara(my kitty) says Meow!

I have the EXACT same motherboard with an e4500, overclocking is easy on this mobo, but I cant POST over 3.0ghz.

The onboard video is absolute crap and killed windows whenever I installed the drivers. I have a new video card coming in tomorrow to solve that. XFX 7400gs from Newegg for cheap with a rebate to boot.

Installed the new video card today and it booted right up faster than the onboard video and better looking too. XFX even has xp64 drivers available!

---

Daniel

Update on the quad...

Named it Betsy, first cow on the SETI@Home farm.

The hardware is all running fine under Win XP Pro but Ubuntu is giving me fits. I am sorry wingmen for hanging 7 WU out into space on the first install attempt.

G0 Q6600 cooled by a AC Freezer Pro 7
GA-G31M-S2L MB, 2gig PC800 ram

Currently have an ide 80gig HD and CD/DVD-R installed. These will be replaced by 2 sata HD in raid 0 and a sata DVD-R/W.

Not going to O/C this rig for now but will be running Crunch3r's apps.

I haven't given up on running Ubuntu. I think most the problems are with the onboard video. May end up buying a cheapo ATI video card and disabling the onboard video. Will have to see.

Shadara(my kitty) says Meow!

I have the EXACT same motherboard with an e4500, overclocking is easy on this mobo, but I cant POST over 3.0ghz.

The onboard video is absolute crap and killed windows whenever I installed the drivers. I have a new video card coming in tomorrow to solve that. XFX 7400gs from Newegg for cheap with a rebate to boot.

Installed the new video card today and it booted right up faster than the onboard video and better looking too. XFX even has xp64 drivers available!

Oh yah......onboard vid sux........good luck with your new card.......

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

It doesn't just suck on this board, when I installed drivers (tried on both xp and xp64) windows refused to boot at all. Had to boot into safe mode and remove the drivers for it to work at all. A video card was a cheap investment to get the computer running right.

---

Daniel

I found an old ATI 1950XT Pro in the junk pile to put in the quaddie. I think Betsy can live with it.

Still on list to get:
2x sata HDs
sata DVDR/W
4gig mem
Win XP Pro 64bit

The rac is starting to climb now. I will let system run awhile and see how it settles out before I start doing tweaks.

---

I used to be a cruncher like you, then I took an arrow to the knee.

Okay, VNC and a hardware watchdog card.

A program "pets the watchdog" and if it doesn't get petted often enough, the watchdog card hits the reset button.

PM me if you can't find a wide selection through google.

But if the rig crashes and the cpu quits, would the watchdog card keep running?
And you would have to hardwire it into the reset button switch?
And now that I think about it further, I have had rigs crash many times where the cpu stopped responding and the only way to reset the rig was to power off and back on.........because the reset button on the case would not reboot it.....

The watchdog cards are not processor dependent. They have a timer and some logic and run independently. They only use the bus so the system can "pet the dog."

They can power down and power back up if needed.

... at least this one can.

This way you don't even have to leave your armchair, just wait out the timer.

---

Okay, VNC and a hardware watchdog card.

A program "pets the watchdog" and if it doesn't get petted often enough, the watchdog card hits the reset button.

PM me if you can't find a wide selection through google.

But if the rig crashes and the cpu quits, would the watchdog card keep running?
And you would have to hardwire it into the reset button switch?
And now that I think about it further, I have had rigs crash many times where the cpu stopped responding and the only way to reset the rig was to power off and back on.........because the reset button on the case would not reboot it.....

The watchdog cards are not processor dependent. They have a timer and some logic and run independently. They only use the bus so the system can "pet the dog."

They can power down and power back up if needed.

... at least this one can.

This way you don't even have to leave your armchair, just wait out the timer.

Oh criminy......why, oh why did you have to turn me on to that card?????
The perfect answer to my occasional phased quaddy lockups when I am not at home to hit the buttons.....another $209.00 from the Seti Forever fund......(whimpers).

---

"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

The watchdog cards are not processor dependent. They have a timer and some logic and run independently. They only use the bus so the system can "pet the dog."

They can power down and power back up if needed.

... at least this one can.

This way you don't even have to leave your armchair, just wait out the timer.

Oh criminy......why, oh why did you have to turn me on to that card?????
The perfect answer to my occasional phased quaddy lockups when I am not at home to hit the buttons.....another $209.00 from the Seti Forever fund......(whimpers).

I have one of these, on one machine here. I want that machine running.

It, in turn, checks all the others. The other machines are plugged in to X-10 appliance modules with a suitable X-10 controller on the "watchdogged" machine.

Nez (from another thread) probably has some kind of watchdog system so that he doesn't have to watch over the various boxes he has.

---

To emphasize my obsession, I'm considering dumping my Hot Water Tank for a Tankless Water Heater and getting an EdenPURE heater to try and cut our electric costs...

Anyone have experience with these???

---

To emphasize my obsession, I'm considering dumping my Hot Water Tank for a Tankless Water Heater and getting an EdenPURE heater to try and cut our electric costs...

Anyone have experience with these???

I am a home builder by profession. I have installed hundreds but not the EdenPURE unit. All of my installs, except for a few in commercial buildings have been gas units built by Bosch or Takagi. I have a Bosch in my own home and I love it. You never run out of hot water and my gas bill did go down about 20% This is a little off topic isn't it?

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To emphasize my obsession, I'm considering dumping my Hot Water Tank for a Tankless Water Heater and getting an EdenPURE heater to try and cut our electric costs...

Anyone have experience with these???

At first, a gas hot water heater will always be cheaper than a storage tank system, but consider carefully before buying.
If You live in an environment relatively free of obstructions and not too far north, a solar powered water heater system with supplemental electrical heating in overcast periods, IS the cheapest way of getting Your hot water.

Even at 57 degrees north lattitude (Gistrup Denmark, 57N 10E), I have free hot water from March 20 until Primo September using 6.6 sqare metres of water solar absorbers. I am using a hot water storage tank with a cpacity of 200 litres, it is equipped with 2 spirals, the lower is used for the solar power and the upper for my boiler to supply the hot water during the 6 months winter we have here. These tanks can also be equipped with an electical heater unit, in case You have no boiler.

House heating: Consider very carefully before buying this EdnePUREHeater. Of course it purifies Your Home air, but heating is done with conventional quarts heaters, which gives 1 KWh of heat for 1 KWh of electrical power supplied.

Go for an 'Air to Air converter'. Just look up this on the net. Panasonic and a lot of other companies sell these units that is just an air conditioner used for heating/cooling, but most of these units have a COP Value of at least 3.65 which means that You get 3.65 KWh of Heat for 1 KWh of power supplied.

This is hands down the cheapest way of heating Your home, unless You have rural distributed heating based on burning garbage or bio mass or utilizing cooling water from a large electricity plant.

An Air to Air converter is cheaper than an oil burner, even cheaper than a woodstove (unless You own Your own forest, that is :)).

Need proof, just PM me and I will provide You with the details.

Sorry Folks, this is a little out of topic, please forgive me.

ChrisD

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Go for an 'Air to Air converter'. Just look up this on the net. Panasonic and a lot of other companies sell these units that is just an air conditioner used for heating/cooling, but most of these units have a COP Value of at least 3.65 which means that You get 3.65 KWh of Heat for 1 KWh of power supplied.

This is hands down the cheapest way of heating Your home, unless You have rural distributed heating based on burning garbage or bio mass or utilizing cooling water from a large electricity plant.

An Air to Air converter is cheaper than an oil burner, even cheaper than a woodstove (unless You own Your own forest, that is :)).

I think you are referring to the category of device which has been usually called a "heat pump" in the USA. They are wonderfully efficient for heating at a moderate outdoor temperatures.

---

Go for an 'Air to Air converter'. Just look up this on the net. Panasonic and a lot of other companies sell these units that is just an air conditioner used for heating/cooling, but most of these units have a COP Value of at least 3.65 which means that You get 3.65 KWh of Heat for 1 KWh of power supplied.

This is hands down the cheapest way of heating Your home, unless You have rural distributed heating based on burning garbage or bio mass or utilizing cooling water from a large electricity plant.

An Air to Air converter is cheaper than an oil burner, even cheaper than a woodstove (unless You own Your own forest, that is :)).

I think you are referring to the category of device which has been usually called a "heat pump" in the USA. They are wonderfully efficient for heating at a moderate outdoor temperatures.

LOL..I have 8 heat pumps crunching Seti.......they just pump heat into the air.....

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Well well well! I thought I had it bad!

Before I moved house I had 4 Shuttles all dedicated to running SETI - my own SETI farm as it were. I had a 5th Shuttle which was running a SETI Work Unit server (back in the classic SETI days) and a 6th Shuttle which was my PC and running SETI in the background. My electricity bills were reasonable at about £65 a month ($140) but electricity around here has gone up nearly 100% since then!

I am back on the SETI scene and will be setting up at least 2 dedicated PIV 2.4Ghz machines (being given to me for free!) later this week and have my eye on a couple of 3.2Ghz PIV machines for the right price too. I don't know how bad the electric bills are going to be, but my plan is to put them in my conservatory which is heated by a small gas wall heater 24/7 at the moment, so chances are the heater can go off, offsetting the cost of the electricity slightly.

It's easy to get sucked in isn't it?!

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I have one of these, on one machine here. I want that machine running.

It, in turn, checks all the others. The other machines are plugged in to X-10 appliance modules with a suitable X-10 controller on the "watchdogged" machine.

Nez (from another thread) probably has some kind of watchdog system so that he doesn't have to watch over the various boxes he has.

Ned,
I have a watchdog timer in my motherboard's BIOS. I assume this can do the same thing? It has a featured called "watchdog timer". Is this the timeout value before rebooting the machine you were talking about? Do you think a BIOS implementation would work?

I have one of these, on one machine here. I want that machine running.

It, in turn, checks all the others. The other machines are plugged in to X-10 appliance modules with a suitable X-10 controller on the "watchdogged" machine.

Nez (from another thread) probably has some kind of watchdog system so that he doesn't have to watch over the various boxes he has.

Ned,
I have a watchdog timer in my motherboard's BIOS. I assume this can do the same thing? It has a featured called "watchdog timer". Is this the timeout value before rebooting the machine you were talking about? Do you think a BIOS implementation would work?

Good Question....

I'm not sure how a true BIOS implementation would work.

I know that several common chipsets have watchdog functions, it wouldn't take that much silicon on the typical northbridge or southbridge.

Normally, there is something high-level that "pets the dog" periodically, and one should not assume that the system will handle this itself (i.e. that it'll access disk, etc.) but hey, you can always try it.

I have two industrial motherboards with watchdogs on the motherboard. They both need to be "petted."

-- Ned

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I guess that i am rather on the obsessive side (some even say nuts):

P3-650 dualie, P3-750 dualie, Athlon MP2400 dualie and P3-700 Xeon hex-server allow me to keep the heating down, but don't ask my about the bill for electricity ...
And in the basement another P3-900 Xeon octo-server is waiting for 3 missing cpus and a special power cable to go crunching.

I also want to make a test how low the hardware can be to still run a SETI-WU. In preparation i have an AMD 5x86-133 with 256 mb ram, EISA graphics and EISA SCSI controller.

Of course, this is for experiment only.

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