Build: 24/7 Folding Rig Advice

hanluc said:
Hmm, just thought, I presumed you meant the ppd and not the price? :) The CPU is about £200 more, the boards are about the same but triple channel memory which maybe more.
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I have the rig, just got to get the CPU.....

However, I will probably get an i7 2600k or Bulldozer rig before upgradeing my i7 930 (will probably cost about the same as the i7 970).
 
Hi Delboy, in this situation I don't have much room in my office to have a workbench, despite having a mega desk which has various office gadgets/equipment on. Because it will be placed near to my near silent H20 gaming rig I would notice the annoying noise coming from an open setup. That is something I have considered but since I won't be fiddling with the hardware once setup as a folding rig, it defeats the purpose of it being accessible. Better for this folding rig to be enclosed in this time :)


As for saving electricity (a folders constant thought with constant rises in costs) by having no external HID attached or even optical drive is a nice idea, no matter how little it saves this all adds up. It may save 1p a day but it all adds up. Once OS is installed with essential drivers the optical drive will be removed.

Following that idea, loudbob has pointed out a nice Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H (Micro ATX) which means I can forget installing a discrete GPU whatsoever, saving enough power to get away with buying a 500W PSU 85+ rated instead of 600W. Brilliant as the Z68MA-D2H is is out now and does what I needed, thanks! I haven't found any benchmarks to judge bandwidth, with 2133MHz RAM that should be equal to other high-end P67/Z67 mobos.


Question: Whilst on RAM, I am silly in assuming 4GB is enough for running only SMP -bigadv as 0.5GB RAM usage per core seems too high - other ocuk forum members have said they've been using around 2.5GB for folding? If I do need more than 4GB RAM, this means buying Win7x64 (or running Linux which I've never used) + another 4GB RAM. Is it possible to get away with using 4GB RAM for up to 50K PPD within the daily timeframe, correct me if I'm wrong?


Plenty have mentioned the AMD Bulldozer and I have seen the alleged screenshots (probably fake anyway) showing that example will faster than my [email protected] at calculating wPrime 32M by 2.1secs at 5.516s and 1024M of 166.895. CPU was clocked at 3.8GHz with 8 cores using the AMD FX 8110. Voltage was 1.396v. Like I said, probably fake. Although good for Folding if true, many tech sites (one example) have said the performance will match Intel's 2600K. I'm not biased which is why i've gave two examples, the latter sounds more realistic.

Thanks for the recent posts. Everyone's feedback is certainly helping. I am a lot closer than I was initially to understand the rig needed to help fold for a great cause :)
 
I would advise going 64bit, because 32 bit versions of Windows are limited to 2 GB of virtual address space per each process, the f@h core is one process.

If its a dedicated machine there are also dedicated Linux boot images if you want to squeeze the maximum points out of it, or easy setup guides for Linux and bigadv.

Or for a 4-5K drop in PPD you can run Linux in a vmware player 3.0 environment.
 
Biffa said:
I would advise going 64bit, because 32 bit versions of Windows are limited to 2 GB of virtual address space per each process, the f@h core is one process.

If its a dedicated machine there are also dedicated Linux boot images if you want to squeeze the maximum points out of it, or easy setup guides for Linux and bigadv.

Or for a 4-5K drop in PPD you can run Linux in a vmware player 3.0 environment.
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Good points Biffa. In that case to save cash on the build without buying an OS I'd want to install Linux x64 (for Linux SMP as its a requirement, x86 not supported). It will be a dedi folding rig and I had a quick look for an Linux ISO but there are so many that I've no idea which is the best for the maximum points. Also, is this guide the one you used to set yours up correctly (it looks foreign to me)?

As I've now decided to be a proper folder and run a Linux OS install, will it utilise the RAM better than Windows meaning I can get away with buying 4GB RAM?

Thanks :)

Edit: As previously mentioned, I've been running F@H SMP the past fortnight 9 hours a day (no bigadv line) on Win7x64 to gauge how well my current [email protected] (CPU temp: 65c @1.36vcore, room temp: 24c) manages in sig. This is the log - looks really fast at 4 hours!
Code: 
12:13:44:Unit 01:Completed 5000 out of 500000 steps  (1%)
12:16:10:Unit 01:Completed 10000 out of 500000 steps  (2%)
12:18:37:Unit 01:Completed 15000 out of 500000 steps  (3%)
12:21:05:Unit 01:Completed 20000 out of 500000 steps  (4%)
12:23:32:Unit 01:Completed 25000 out of 500000 steps  (5%)
12:25:58:Unit 01:Completed 30000 out of 500000 steps  (6%)
12:28:26:Unit 01:Completed 35000 out of 500000 steps  (7%)
12:30:53:Unit 01:Completed 40000 out of 500000 steps  (8%)
12:33:21:Unit 01:Completed 45000 out of 500000 steps  (9%)
12:35:48:Unit 01:Completed 50000 out of 500000 steps  (10%)
12:38:15:Unit 01:Completed 55000 out of 500000 steps  (11%)
12:40:42:Unit 01:Completed 60000 out of 500000 steps  (12%)
12:43:09:Unit 01:Completed 65000 out of 500000 steps  (13%)
12:45:36:Unit 01:Completed 70000 out of 500000 steps  (14%)
12:48:03:Unit 01:Completed 75000 out of 500000 steps  (15%)
12:50:30:Unit 01:Completed 80000 out of 500000 steps  (16%)
12:52:57:Unit 01:Completed 85000 out of 500000 steps  (17%)
12:55:25:Unit 01:Completed 90000 out of 500000 steps  (18%)
12:57:52:Unit 01:Completed 95000 out of 500000 steps  (19%)
13:00:19:Unit 01:Completed 100000 out of 500000 steps  (20%)
13:02:46:Unit 01:Completed 105000 out of 500000 steps  (21%)
13:05:13:Unit 01:Completed 110000 out of 500000 steps  (22%)
13:07:39:Unit 01:Completed 115000 out of 500000 steps  (23%)
13:10:07:Unit 01:Completed 120000 out of 500000 steps  (24%)
13:12:33:Unit 01:Completed 125000 out of 500000 steps  (25%)
13:14:59:Unit 01:Completed 130000 out of 500000 steps  (26%)
13:17:26:Unit 01:Completed 135000 out of 500000 steps  (27%)
13:19:52:Unit 01:Completed 140000 out of 500000 steps  (28%)
13:22:18:Unit 01:Completed 145000 out of 500000 steps  (29%)
13:24:44:Unit 01:Completed 150000 out of 500000 steps  (30%)
13:27:10:Unit 01:Completed 155000 out of 500000 steps  (31%)
13:29:35:Unit 01:Completed 160000 out of 500000 steps  (32%)
13:32:01:Unit 01:Completed 165000 out of 500000 steps  (33%)
13:34:27:Unit 01:Completed 170000 out of 500000 steps  (34%)
13:36:52:Unit 01:Completed 175000 out of 500000 steps  (35%)
13:39:18:Unit 01:Completed 180000 out of 500000 steps  (36%)
13:41:45:Unit 01:Completed 185000 out of 500000 steps  (37%)
13:44:10:Unit 01:Completed 190000 out of 500000 steps  (38%)
13:46:36:Unit 01:Completed 195000 out of 500000 steps  (39%)
13:49:01:Unit 01:Completed 200000 out of 500000 steps  (40%)
13:51:27:Unit 01:Completed 205000 out of 500000 steps  (41%)
13:53:53:Unit 01:Completed 210000 out of 500000 steps  (42%)
13:56:18:Unit 01:Completed 215000 out of 500000 steps  (43%)
13:58:44:Unit 01:Completed 220000 out of 500000 steps  (44%)
14:01:10:Unit 01:Completed 225000 out of 500000 steps  (45%)
14:03:36:Unit 01:Completed 230000 out of 500000 steps  (46%)
14:06:02:Unit 01:Completed 235000 out of 500000 steps  (47%)
14:08:29:Unit 01:Completed 240000 out of 500000 steps  (48%)
14:11:25:Unit 01:Completed 245000 out of 500000 steps  (49%)
14:13:51:Unit 01:Completed 250000 out of 500000 steps  (50%)
14:16:17:Unit 01:Completed 255000 out of 500000 steps  (51%)
14:18:43:Unit 01:Completed 260000 out of 500000 steps  (52%)
14:21:09:Unit 01:Completed 265000 out of 500000 steps  (53%)
14:23:35:Unit 01:Completed 270000 out of 500000 steps  (54%)
14:26:02:Unit 01:Completed 275000 out of 500000 steps  (55%)
14:28:28:Unit 01:Completed 280000 out of 500000 steps  (56%)
14:30:54:Unit 01:Completed 285000 out of 500000 steps  (57%)
14:33:21:Unit 01:Completed 290000 out of 500000 steps  (58%)
14:35:47:Unit 01:Completed 295000 out of 500000 steps  (59%)
14:38:13:Unit 01:Completed 300000 out of 500000 steps  (60%)
14:40:40:Unit 01:Completed 305000 out of 500000 steps  (61%)
14:43:06:Unit 01:Completed 310000 out of 500000 steps  (62%)
14:45:32:Unit 01:Completed 315000 out of 500000 steps  (63%)
14:47:58:Unit 01:Completed 320000 out of 500000 steps  (64%)
14:50:23:Unit 01:Completed 325000 out of 500000 steps  (65%)
14:52:49:Unit 01:Completed 330000 out of 500000 steps  (66%)
14:55:15:Unit 01:Completed 335000 out of 500000 steps  (67%)
14:57:42:Unit 01:Completed 340000 out of 500000 steps  (68%)
15:00:08:Unit 01:Completed 345000 out of 500000 steps  (69%)
15:02:34:Unit 01:Completed 350000 out of 500000 steps  (70%)
15:05:01:Unit 01:Completed 355000 out of 500000 steps  (71%)
15:07:27:Unit 01:Completed 360000 out of 500000 steps  (72%)
15:09:54:Unit 01:Completed 365000 out of 500000 steps  (73%)
15:12:20:Unit 01:Completed 370000 out of 500000 steps  (74%)
15:14:47:Unit 01:Completed 375000 out of 500000 steps  (75%)
15:17:13:Unit 01:Completed 380000 out of 500000 steps  (76%)
15:19:39:Unit 01:Completed 385000 out of 500000 steps  (77%)
15:22:04:Unit 01:Completed 390000 out of 500000 steps  (78%)
15:24:29:Unit 01:Completed 395000 out of 500000 steps  (79%)
15:26:55:Unit 01:Completed 400000 out of 500000 steps  (80%)
15:29:20:Unit 01:Completed 405000 out of 500000 steps  (81%)
15:31:45:Unit 01:Completed 410000 out of 500000 steps  (82%)
15:34:11:Unit 01:Completed 415000 out of 500000 steps  (83%)
15:36:37:Unit 01:Completed 420000 out of 500000 steps  (84%)
15:39:02:Unit 01:Completed 425000 out of 500000 steps  (85%)
15:41:27:Unit 01:Completed 430000 out of 500000 steps  (86%)
15:43:53:Unit 01:Completed 435000 out of 500000 steps  (87%)
15:46:18:Unit 01:Completed 440000 out of 500000 steps  (88%)
15:48:44:Unit 01:Completed 445000 out of 500000 steps  (89%)
15:51:09:Unit 01:Completed 450000 out of 500000 steps  (90%)
15:53:35:Unit 01:Completed 455000 out of 500000 steps  (91%)
15:56:00:Unit 01:Completed 460000 out of 500000 steps  (92%)
15:58:26:Unit 01:Completed 465000 out of 500000 steps  (93%)
16:00:52:Unit 01:Completed 470000 out of 500000 steps  (94%)
16:03:18:Unit 01:Completed 475000 out of 500000 steps  (95%)
16:05:45:Unit 01:Completed 480000 out of 500000 steps  (96%)
16:08:11:Unit 01:Completed 485000 out of 500000 steps  (97%)
16:10:39:Unit 01:Completed 490000 out of 500000 steps  (98%)
16:13:06:Unit 01:Completed 495000 out of 500000 steps  (99%)
....
Final credit estimate, 4850.00 points
 
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I can't believe my luck :) I was in the loft looking for a spare HDMI lead and found a quality/branded PSU still looking new in the box - totally forgot I had it. This SLi/CrossFire certified version came out in 2005 and it's meant to be nearly silent too. It's the ENERMAX Noisetaker EG701AX-VE SFMA(24P) 600W, 80% efficiency too. Note: It isn't as energy efficient as modern ATX12V v2.3 standards but I doubt there is too much difference when I keep this running full load, if it does consume too much power then I'll know with the excess heat.

50095230164bf357e.jpg


According to the specs briefly (more info in this review):
- ATX12V v2.01 standard (Intel-Approved but for the old P4/AMD 64) with adjustable fan speeds (Dual, Smart Fans)
- Protection from over-current, over-voltage, over-load, over-temperature, under-voltage and short circuits. Active PFC function.
- Dimensions (fits Micro ATX case) - 150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 140mm (L).
 
A mate was running folding on a Sata-II HDD and replaced this with a SSD (new install) and he seen his folding rate improve from 4mins per percentage fold to 2.7mins. Is this improvement typical with folding? If so then how does disk speed effect folding?
 
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