New box for folding

Vihta · Post by **Vihta** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:32 am

It's time for a new box again and I'd like to hear some recommendations about which way to go.

So far I've been thinking of these two setups:

2x AMD Opteron 244 (468€)
K8T Master2-FAR (~200€)
2Gb 400 MHz DDR (~200)

total: 868€

or:

2x Intel Xeon 2.8GHz DP (FCBGA), 800MHz FSB, 1MB cache. (~450€)
Asus PP-DLW (382€) or Intel SE7320sp2 (380€)
2Gb 400MHz DDR ECC (~230€)

total: 1062€

Common parts for both setups would be HDD's from my current pc and some nice videocard, which I haven't decided yet. I also haven't decided which case I'm getting. Propably the P180 if it appears to be any good and if I can fit a Phantom 500 inside.

Then some questions:

With the Opteron setup I could use the Thermalright XP-90C heatsinks or at least I hope that they fit on that mobo. Are there any good heatsinks for the Xeons? Of course I'm aiming for a quiet setup.

Which one would be better folder? I plan to overclock only if I can do it while keeping the system quiet enough to sleep in the same room. There is quite a bit of price difference so the Xeon system would have to be noticeably faster.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome. Personally I'm leaning towards the Opteron system because it's cheaper and I believe that it also puts out less heat. This I don't know for sure. Just a feeling...

Edit: correct AMD board

unregistered · Post by **unregistered** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 3:41 pm

That is a kick azz setup either way. I am an AMD fan.

Here are some pros and cons from someone who is no expert.

AMDs are running cooler than the Pentiums these days, which translates into quieter.

AMD is outperforming Intel lately too in most benchmarks, always in the bang for your buck catagory.

Intel is more "mainstream" especially in the folding world, most folding machines are Intel and they write the cores to enhance performance for the majority.

64 bit is the wave of the future, Longhorn will be out eventually and the software writers of the world will be much more focused on that than they are with the XP64 release that just came out.

One of these days I'm going to build a dually, when you get it up and running make sure you post back with your bragging rights so that I can eat my heart out.

JanW · Post by **JanW** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:46 am

I'm doomed.

The last few days only one of my folders was up and you sneaked ahead of me again. If you add a system like this, my dreams of coming back and leaving you behind for good are shattered

Sorry to be offtopic. I can't offer much advice other than saying that I personally prefer AMD for their better performance/heat and performance/price. But I don't even know if this is true for Opteron vs Xeon.

tempeteduson · Post by **tempeteduson** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:56 am

I would go for AMD for the same reasons stated by others. This is coming from another AMD fan.

Vihta · Post by **Vihta** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:08 am

Thanks for you comments everyone.

I think that I'll get the AMD system. Don't worry JanW it will take some time before I'll get it up and running. You will have plenty of time to gather some money and buy a similar box.

I borged one 1.5GHz Pentium M at work today, though.

I can keep it folding for a few months.

If I can afford I'll get some of these http://www.caseumbau.de/index.php?page=test318/test318 for the dual system. This is propably the wrong place to ask, but does anyone here have any experience with those huge passive radiators?

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:36 am

Vihta, On the subject of passive cooling, I am just awaiting delivery of a WACC 1000mm Resevoir/Cooler (next day or two) along with their CPU block and will report as soon as I have it installed.

In the 'I'm Bored' meantime, I have done this as an experiment into passive cooling and achieved (for me) very surprising results (even whilst one of my tubes had become virtually closed over which isn't yet mentioned in that thread

)

Doesn't directly answer your question... but hopefully may inspire you.

As soon as I get my WACC installed I will 'report' in the W.C. forum and 'try' to remember to P.M. you as such.

Pete

Vihta · Post by **Vihta** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:10 am

peteamer wrote:Vihta, On the subject of passive cooling, I am just awaiting delivery of a WACC 1000mm Resevoir/Cooler (next day or two) along with their CPU block and will report as soon as I have it installed.

In the 'I'm Bored' meantime, I have done this as an experiment into passive cooling and achieved (for me) very surprising results (even whilst one of my tubes had become virtually closed over which isn't yet mentioned in that thread )

Doesn't directly answer your question... but hopefully may inspire you.

As soon as I get my WACC installed I will 'report' in the W.C. forum and 'try' to remember to P.M. you as such.

Pete

Thanks for letting me know about the WACC! Those are pretty much what I've been looking for.

I hope they perform well in your system as they could be a cheaper alternative to the konvekt-o-matics and the like. Good luck!

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 3:42 am

WACC Res arrived, will install as soon as I get home from work and report back... Don't expect anything too instant though... I'll probably make a cup of tea first...

Pete
P.S. CPU block yet to arrive

... However this will force me to do a (better) 'setup comparison' in stages.

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 12:39 pm

Update over Here.

Pete

New box for folding

New box for folding

Update..