dedicated rig

[Murphyslaw]

Firstly i have a rig folding so far, it's working well but i want a basic rig that might help either up my current ppd, or become my only folding machine.

If i make a rig for only folding i am going to try and make a micro server to play around with for a while.

currently i have the basic parts for it, old hdd, memory, but im planning on getting a Bitfex prodigy and building a server/folding rig. just wondering what might be a good cpu to get for it, and weather a gpu would be good to add for folding or just stick to a cpu. This will also depend if i need a copy of windows or not, as i have tried gpu folding, how ever my main rig is running linux mint at this moment in time.

 

[Josh Weston]

Buy the best CPU you can - CPUs are the best at folding.
What kind of money are you thinking of throwing at this?

 

[Murphyslaw]

well as a basic server around $600-800au or so.
was looking at an i5 i think for the processor, but was wondering if t's even worth using a graphic card. With that being said, does anyone know if things like hyper threading in i7's are more worth while for folding?
with the money, i have already taken into account the case thats costing $100

 

[Josh Weston]

As far as I am aware, the extra money for an i7 IS worth it. What sites do you use to order PC parts? I'll see if I can throw something together for you

 

[Murphyslaw]

been using pccasegear sometimes, how ever some things i have got from other countries.
so far in my list is:
bitfex prodigy
i5 3570k
corsair cx-430 V2
ASUS P8H77-I Mini ITX Motherboard

the main question was about the i7/i5 thing and if there were any other recommendations.

 

[Josh Weston]

I'd get an i7 for now, and then, if you have money later on, buy a GPU to complement the folding. 560TIs seem to have the sweet spot for price/PPD atm.
But, if you do add a GPU, i'm not entirely confident that the PSU shall hold up. Most likely, it shall be fine, but you might want to push it higher just to be safe.

 

[Murphyslaw]

the main reason for the small powersupply is mostly power saving, not that im crazy about it. how ever i know the fact that i wouldn't be able to put in any GPU. Pretty much this build is me going to build a virtual server and folding on it. A storage/gateway box. and well if it's not being used by that... folding with what ever it has.

Oh also, with the powersupply, if i got a 560ti i would probably use it in my main rig, and put a 6870 in the server. not sure what power they use, will have a look.

 

[Murphyslaw]

had a look, manufacturers site says min 500W
so yea, might get a 500W powersupply

 

[Josh Weston]

Also, have you thought about a CPU cooler?

 

[Murphyslaw]

i have a h-60 sitting around as i upgraded from my h-60 to a water loop. so yea i have cooling for the cpu.

 

[Josh Weston]

Sweet
With a H80 you should be able to get an 3770k up to 4.5GHz with no real issue, which is what i'm running. So my little Folding sig is a good representation of what you can expect PPD wise.

 

[zorin1]

been using pccasegear sometimes, how ever some things i have got from other countries.
so far in my list is:
bitfex prodigy
i5 3570k
corsair cx-430 V2
ASUS P8H77-I Mini ITX Motherboard

the main question was about the i7/i5 thing and if there were any other recommendations.

I am using the 3570K right now. But I can't tell how many points I am getting from that or my Nvidia 460. Maybe I am wrong but it seems that you get more points from using a video card because it has more processors on it.

Matt

 

[zorin1]

had a look, manufacturers site says min 500W
so yea, might get a 500W powersupply

Just don't buy an OCZ power supply. I had two of them and they both went bad. One of them was not even used that much. I have switched to corsair for my power supply. Corsair seems to be making high quality stuff of late. I am sure once they get more market share they will want to make a bigger profit and they will cut their quality. This is what all the Co do these days.

Matt

 

[Josh Weston]

I am using the 3570K right now. But I can't tell how many points I am getting from that or my Nvidia 460. Maybe I am wrong but it seems that you get more points from using a video card because it has more processors on it.

Matt

Nah, CPUs are better for folding. Especially i7s.

 

[yassarikhan786]

Yeah CPU's produce more PPD per wattage used.

 

[Murphyslaw]

I am using the 3570K right now. But I can't tell how many points I am getting from that or my Nvidia 460. Maybe I am wrong but it seems that you get more points from using a video card because it has more processors on it.

Matt

I have done some testing on this, ppd of my 6870's yes 2 of them. against an smp unit on my cpu ( i5 760). all up the i5 alone does more then both graphic cards along as the cards are not being used. The graphic card eat off the cpu a bit, well maybe a full core of the cpu. making the smp run slow.

 

[Murphyslaw]

Just don't buy an OCZ power supply. I had two of them and they both went bad. One of them was not even used that much. I have switched to corsair for my power supply. Corsair seems to be making high quality stuff of late. I am sure once they get more market share they will want to make a bigger profit and they will cut their quality. This is what all the Co do these days.

Matt

there are a few making decent powersupplied. obvious corsair is at the top of the charts. but some other companies, like thermaltake make decent power supplies. even though they don't show up to corsair.
and obviously if you had looked at my parts list, there is a corsair 430V2 in it. in which if i was up change it, i would pay the few extra dollars for a cx-500.

 

[zorin1]

there are a few making decent powersupplied. obvious corsair is at the top of the charts. but some other companies, like thermaltake make decent power supplies. even though they don't show up to corsair.
and obviously if you had looked at my parts list, there is a corsair 430V2 in it. in which if i was up change it, i would pay the few extra dollars for a cx-500.

I am just bitter against OCZ that is why I had to say something. Right after the warranty is up the power supply went.

Matt