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The only suggestion I would have would be bumping the ram to 512 so you can run QMDs once they come back.

I would like to see your write up on running windows 2003 as a diskless server.
 
I know this will sound daft but if you want cheap & low heat think dual core.

The way it work is .........

Cost.
Take the money you would spend on the second CPU, MoBo & PSU and add it to the price of the first CPU.
You will now have around $180 for a CPU.
The lower end of the dual core CPU's is now down close to this price.

Power.
A single CPU uses around 70 watts at full power.
Double it for the second blade.
Now add 1/3 for PSU, MoBo, Ram, ect, etc.
You will end up using around 180 watts.
A Dual CPU uses around 100 watts.
Add 1/3 for extras.
You end up using around 130 watts.
A saving of around 1/3 power & heat.

Plus you will have twice the room to put each blade in so you can use better after market cooling.
Hence a better overclock/ more stable system in summer when the heat is on.

Thats why all my blades are now powered by X2's
24 gigs of folding power pulling only 700 watts from the wall.

Luck........ :D
 
Wow. How much did your balde setup cost, tiger? Is it dedicated to folding?
 
English prices.
Around £500 a blade.

£240 = X2 4200+ CPU.
£140 = 2gig TwinX DDR400 ram.
£50 = MSI K8MGN2-FID Mobo.
£50 = Hiper PSU.
£30 = 80gig SATAII Hard drive.

Plus an 8 port Gb switch.
4 more gigs of ram for main box.
Spent just over £3,000 that day.

You should be able to build similar blades for around $500.

Old farm was 4 blades of AMD MP's for 16 gig folding power using 700 watts power.
New farm is five blades of AMD X2's for 24 gig folding power using 700 watts power.
Its an easy 25% more PpD for the same cost in electricity.

But my main box still uses 350 watts power.......

Luck........ :D
 
Still have the old boxen? My power is free during the school year :p

Just have to remember to unplug them during break so I don't get in trouble again ><

 
How well would a VIA based system work? While they may not have the power of the more mainstrem processors they are much smaller and use ~10 watts at max power. Most dont even use any cooling.
 
$300? The most exspensive one I find is about $220. The new C7s are about at $200 as are the dual processor C3 boards. You can find the C3 boards in the $130 range though you sacrifice speed.
 
They're a bit cheaper than that. But they're too slow for folding, really - the C3s are pretty bad for anything but media boxes.

 
You might consider getting a bunch of these. $80 for a fine CPU and a pretty good motherboard. The Semprons seem to be pretty darn good overclockers, too.
 
What about the AMD Geode processors? Those are very low power as well, and they fit in socket A so the mobo would be cheap.

I was looking bor some parts to get a similar set up going, but I didn't even consider using a blade system... Where could I find the necessary parts for a setup like that?
 
What about this setup for a dual core box:
Intel Pentium D 805 - It's a 2.66GHz dual core - $130
ASUS P5V800-MX Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $52
DYNAPOWER EJ-262 Black 2U Server Case - Retail - $113
RAM - 512MB - Whatever brand you prefer - $50

I haven't researched the MB completely, but according to Newegg it takes a dual core, has integrated video and takes DDR ram (cheaper and almost everyone has some laying around). It is also passively cooled except the CPU, so there are no annoying little fans to wear out on you. I'm also not recommending the enclosure. Never done a rack in my life, but like the idea.

Thoughts?

P.S. I just bought my wife a new rig - 2.8GHz Intel Dual Core - 1GB of RAM, etc from Dell for $600. It's an awesome folding rig. Dual core for the win.
 
Yep, it supports PXE (page 11). And you would have to run two instances to get full usage out of it. I happen to have written a linux distro that netboots things and runs multiple instances out of the box :D If you'd like to try setting that up, I'd be glad to help you.

 
Has anyone used this mobo or those CPU's and have some experience with them? I haven't built a box with them, but was seriously thinking about it.
 
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