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Number crunching :
Low power crunchin'?
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ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20147 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20 |
OK, I'm revisiting the low power lan gateway system as a low power always on server and as-a-cruncher again... Anyone any experience of the Atom D510 + NM10 chipset? Or even of the Asus AT5NM10-I: Atom D510 CPU 1.6GHz, DDR2 800 Intel NM10 chipset SATA 3Gb/s On Board Graphics Mini ITX ? These look to have come down to a reasonable price finally... Or is there anything else offering Ethernet, USB2, and a PCI slot (or a second ethernet port) for a similar price? May as well also put Boinc on there to keep it busy when it's waiting for something to do! Happy crunchin', Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
1mp0£173 Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 8423 Credit: 356,897 RAC: 0 |
OK, I'm revisiting the low power lan gateway system as a low power always on server and as-a-cruncher again... The similar Intel board is under $75 US. I'll have one next week. |
Sutaru Tsureku Send message Joined: 6 Apr 07 Posts: 7105 Credit: 147,663,825 RAC: 5 |
Is there an Atom mobo out there with at least PCIe 1.0 x16 slot (all 16 lines connected!) or PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (8 lines connected!)? To now I saw mobos with PCIe 1.0 x16 slot, but only 1 line connected. Because the NM10 chipset can manage max. 4 lines. Maybe a mobo with ION or ION2 chipset? The onboard GPU should run with display connected and an inserted GPU in the slot should run only for CUDA. ;-) Thanks! :-) ____________ [Optimized project applications, for to increase your PC performance (double RAC)!][Overview of abbreviations, which are used often in forum and their meaning.] |
ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20147 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20 |
But, but, but... That contradicts "low power" operation! :-o It would make a good system for GPU-only tasks where the CPU is only used to feed the data... Happy crunchin', Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
Sutaru Tsureku Send message Joined: 6 Apr 07 Posts: 7105 Credit: 147,663,825 RAC: 5 |
Yes, this is my idea.. ;-) This would be a very nice RAC/wattage machine. Only CUDA on a GTX2xx or GTX4xx series GPU and the Atom CPU only as feeder. Maybe the Atom (at least 2 threads) mobo ~ 40 W + ~ 140 W for one of my OCed GTX260-216 graphic cards, this are ~ 180 W for ~ 15,000 RAC. Who can do this better (with GTX2xx series GPUs)? ;-) ____________ [Optimized project applications, for to increase your PC performance (double RAC)!][Overview of abbreviations, which are used often in forum and their meaning.] |
tfp Send message Joined: 20 Feb 01 Posts: 104 Credit: 3,137,259 RAC: 0 |
I am planning on replacing an old P4 that is pretty much an idle server/storage with the following atom D510 from gigabyte. It has raid1 and I guess you can overclock the D510 not that it would have a huge impact in performance or power usage. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128436&Tpk=gigabyte%20atom |
Al Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1682 Credit: 477,343,364 RAC: 482 |
I am planning on replacing an old P4 that is pretty much an idle server/storage with the following atom D510 from gigabyte. It has raid1 and I guess you can overclock the D510 not that it would have a huge impact in performance or power usage. Took a look at that board in your link, it looks like it has a plain old PCI slot (good luck finding a PCI based vid card that has much RAC potential ;) ), do you know if any Atom proc./board comes with a PCI-E 2.0 slot so you can run the most current vid cards? |
Sutaru Tsureku Send message Joined: 6 Apr 07 Posts: 7105 Credit: 147,663,825 RAC: 5 |
Here is an overview of Atom mobos with PCIe 1.0 or 2.0 slot. 'alternate.de' (german seller) On top PCIe 1.0 on the bottom PCIe 2.0 slot. After searching the Inet, I guess ION2 isn't well because it's going through the NM10 chipset (which is also on mobo). So also only 1 lane over PCIe slot, I guess. So for 'my' idea, I should look to 'old' ION chipset mobos with Atom 330. AFAIK, then all 16 lanes are connected of the PCIe slot. ____________ [Optimized project applications, for to increase your PC performance (double RAC)!][Overview of abbreviations, which are used often in forum and their meaning.] |
Sutaru Tsureku Send message Joined: 6 Apr 07 Posts: 7105 Credit: 147,663,825 RAC: 5 |
Overview of all Atom CPUs. 'processorfinder.intel.com/ Intel® Atom™ Processor' The 330 @ 1.6 GHz and D510 @ 1.66 GHz are dual core CPUs with HT, so 4 threads. ____________ [Optimized project applications, for to increase your PC performance (double RAC)!][Overview of abbreviations, which are used often in forum and their meaning.] |
tfp Send message Joined: 20 Feb 01 Posts: 104 Credit: 3,137,259 RAC: 0 |
I am planning on replacing an old P4 that is pretty much an idle server/storage with the following atom D510 from gigabyte. It has raid1 and I guess you can overclock the D510 not that it would have a huge impact in performance or power usage. I think the point was a low power PC that would do seti on the side not low powered PC + plus graphics card. It kind of kills the low powered part. That's what I'm shooting for dropping a system that pulls 170W to under 30W to do the same job. |
Crun-chi Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 174 Credit: 3,037,232 RAC: 0 |
I have "green crunch machine" and under load it uses only 57 W :) Is that enough "low power" for you? I am cruncher :) I LOVE SETI BOINC :) |
Al Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1682 Credit: 477,343,364 RAC: 482 |
I think the point was a low power PC that would do seti on the side not low powered PC + plus graphics card. It kind of kills the low powered part. That's what I'm shooting for dropping a system that pulls 170W to under 30W to do the same job. Yeah, sorry, I re-read the OP and he didn't mention GPU, that came in a later post. I guess it wouldn't make a lot of difference, as Crun-chi stated, he has a PC running at 57w under load, so the Atom wouldn't save you much in power as a dedicated cruncher feeding a GPU. Good information to know, though, in case anyone ever did want to put one together, now we know it can be done. |
Sutaru Tsureku Send message Joined: 6 Apr 07 Posts: 7105 Credit: 147,663,825 RAC: 5 |
I guess I have also 'low power cruncher'. It depend how you interpret this. My PCs.. AMD Athlon 600 - ~ 60 W - RAC of maybe ~ 40. AMD Athlon XP-M 1400+ - ~ 80 W - RAC of maybe ~ 80. AMD Athlon64 3200+ - ~ 160 W - RAC of maybe ~ 400. Intel Core2 Extreme QX6700 @ 3.14 GHz - ~ 215 W - RAC of ~ 5,500. Intel Core2 Extreme QX6700 @ 3.14 GHz with OCed GTX260-216 (only GPU calculation) - ~ 260 W - RAC of ~ 15,000. Intel Core2 Extreme QX6700 @ 3.14 GHz with OCed GTX260-216 - ~ 385 W - RAC of ~ 20,500. AMD PhenomII X4 940 BE with 4x OCed GTX260-216 use ~ 700 W and have a RAC of ~ 65,000. Which machine have the best RAC/wattage? ;-) ____________ [Optimized project applications, for to increase your PC performance (double RAC)!][Overview of abbreviations, which are used often in forum and their meaning.] |
1mp0£173 Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 8423 Credit: 356,897 RAC: 0 |
I have "green crunch machine" and under load it uses only 57 W :) My target for new machines is under 20 watts. |
tfp Send message Joined: 20 Feb 01 Posts: 104 Credit: 3,137,259 RAC: 0 |
If you're making dedicated machines for crunching only that might be the case, if you're just doing crunching in the back ground because the machine is on anyways then you're high powered and high RAC box is not always the best option. This depends on what your goals are. Mine right now is to save power/money. Switching from my underclocked P4 w/ graphics card (that can't crunch) to this atom machine would save me about 150 dollars a year in power costs. The HW will pay for itself in about a year. I'll probably keep the setup until the HW dies, so for years to come. The RAC from the new setup will probably be about the same maybe a hair more but that isn't really important to me. |
Crun-chi Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 174 Credit: 3,037,232 RAC: 0 |
I have "green crunch machine" and under load it uses only 57 W :) I talk about 57W WITH GPU crunching :) Sempron 140 + 9800 GT Green, without optics drivers, and with small 2.5 PATA disc. I am cruncher :) I LOVE SETI BOINC :) |
Al Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1682 Credit: 477,343,364 RAC: 482 |
What's your avg RAC with that rig? |
Crun-chi Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 174 Credit: 3,037,232 RAC: 0 |
Currently in rig is Athlon X2 240, so under load it consumes about 75 W ,and it has RAC od 6500, with Sempron will be about 5700. I am cruncher :) I LOVE SETI BOINC :) |
Al Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1682 Credit: 477,343,364 RAC: 482 |
Ok, I have a question, it came to me while playing around with the idea of building one of these just for fun, to see how it performs. I see that the Atom 330 boards list an external power supply, something like 65 watts or such. It says it has a 16x PCI-E slot, and the question I had was isn't there some spec about how much power a 16x PCI-E slot is supposed to put out, because if one was thinking (just for fun) of putting in, let's say, a Nvidia GTX 285, obviously you would need an external PS to power the 6/8 pin connectors, but isn't there a certain minimum amount of power needed to power the PCI-E slot, and is a 60 some watt external PS enough to do it? Or hadn't they thought that someone like me would be crazy enough to attempt to put the 2 together? ;) |
1mp0£173 Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 8423 Credit: 356,897 RAC: 0 |
Ok, I have a question, it came to me while playing around with the idea of building one of these just for fun, to see how it performs. I see that the Atom 330 boards list an external power supply, something like 65 watts or such. It says it has a 16x PCI-E slot, and the question I had was isn't there some spec about how much power a 16x PCI-E slot is supposed to put out, because if one was thinking (just for fun) of putting in, let's say, a Nvidia GTX 285, obviously you would need an external PS to power the 6/8 pin connectors, but isn't there a certain minimum amount of power needed to power the PCI-E slot, and is a 60 some watt external PS enough to do it? Or hadn't they thought that someone like me would be crazy enough to attempt to put the 2 together? ;) Depends on the Atom board. Most take fairly normal ATX supplies. Warning: if you get a 750w power supply and try to run a 15 watt computer, it may not work. Switching power supplies need a load. Warning #2: most of the boards that use an external "brick" take 12v or 19v and have the equivalent of a normal ATX supply on-board (complete with power for a hard drive and DVD/CD drive). A bigger brick doesn't make the on-board supply any more powerful. Trying to put a 300w video card on a board that uses 10w is a bit crazy. |
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