The Scottish Boinc Team

After my unsuccessful attempts to get crunching going on my spare PS3 (see threads PS3 and help, if interested), I have decided to build a dedicated cruncher. Any advice/ thoughts appreciated.... i.e.O/S GPU /CPU and the like. I have a limited budget, so might run into summer. :) :)

For an easy, high performance build with low maintenance I would suggest:

i7 with 8gb ram
SSD - any size
Case with plenty of cooling - quieter the better
7970 GPU
Power supply - 750 would be plenty
Standard motherboard. I like the Asus boards at the moment

Windows is the easy option. Linux can offer slightly better performance on some projects but it can take a fair bit more setup time but once running can run with less maintenance.

Go for an i7 K if you want to overclock.

What sort of budget do you have?

Well... regarding budget it might vary. Semi retired on a small NHS pension,looking for a small part time job. But, single now, low maintenance lifestyle, maybe about £400 if I look after pennies. Been surfing around, don,t really want to buy bespoke. As mentioned before, would like to do a build, and get my noggin around things,and fire up a few of my grey cells. And, again, all advice appreciated. :)

Are you after high credits or just the science?

I'm working on build parts list myself. http://pcpartpicker.com is a pretty good tool for configuring a system.

Here's my part list I plan on putting together for a mac daddy home PC. I'm curious how it will crunch. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MsDi

For that budget i7 etc out the window.
Would probably spec around a socket 1366 mobo ( top of budget ) with i7 920 cpu
or
socket 775 mobo, dual pcie x16 slots , core 2 quad Q6600 cpu,
case with 500w psu, AMD R9 270 GPU or pair AMD 7770 or GTX 650ti gpu's, memory ( 4 or 8 GB ), cdrom, HDD ( doesn't have to be huge ).
Are you comfortable buying on ebay ( both new and used ) ?

If going socket 775, then a mobo like this http://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/P5K ... /#overview. On ebay just now for £77.50. CPU etc on this should keep you below £400.

If going new socket 1150 boards then i3 or ( maybe ) i5 cpu ( depending on price )

Janos wrote:Are you after high credits or just the science?

Making and building telescopes for many moons (pun intended)... credits, no ... Science yes. With best regards. :)

Janos wrote:Are you after high credits or just the science?

sorry for double post... fat fingers

scole250 wrote:I'm working on build parts list myself. http://pcpartpicker.com is a pretty good tool for configuring a system.

Here's my part list I plan on putting together for a mac daddy home PC. I'm curious how it will crunch. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MsDi

Should be quite a cruncher. Would be a little concerned about the heat it can generate though, would ensure the case has plenty of cooling.

Going to have plenty of case fans and a decent hydro cooler.

What's the price difference between buying components in the UK vs. US? I bet a i7-4770K crunching config could be put together for less than $600 US. Not sure of shipping and other fees though.

Depends on if you are in the UK or the states. Cheaper in the states, but shipping to UK needs to pass customs. If they ship as gift then . Since you spec'ed all in $ I'm guessing USA, not worth trying to ship from UK.
Also I believe the jury is still out on the new Haswell CPU's as I believe they have heat issues run at 100 % and the K's are only worth the extra if you intend to over clock.

Also depends what you intend to crunch. For maximum credits then GPU and a cheap as chips quad pentium driving 3 or 4 high end GPU's is the way to go. CPU crunching doesn't come close to the $ / credits of a GPU. For science you need i7's, for points GPU's rule.

I think the answer to this question is buy some second hand parts or half dead computers, strip them apart and build up a nice cruncher or two. This would be the lowest cost and most enjoyable way to make a dedicated cruncher.

I've had more fun building and wiring up my U2's than I did installing any GPU in an i7.

Janos, that sounds like a plan.. have to talk to some of my muckers on T,interweb see what's lying about :) BTW, anyone built a farm?

stewartcollinge wrote:J...:) BTW, anyone built a farm?

Tried it once, but when you water the motherboards they just sort of fizzle and go pop!...

PinkPenguin wrote:

stewartcollinge wrote:J...:) BTW, anyone built a farm?

Tried it once, but when you water the motherboards they just sort of fizzle and go pop!...

Sounds like you didn't use a compatible sprinkler system.

stewartcollinge wrote: BTW, anyone built a farm?

A small holding, yes. I currently have 11 devices crunching :)

Janos wrote:

stewartcollinge wrote: BTW, anyone built a farm?

A small holding, yes. I currently have 11 devices crunching :)

About to have 14 devices, ( 6 are Androids ). Not so much a farm as an expensive obsession

Janos wrote:

stewartcollinge wrote: BTW, anyone built a farm?

A small holding, yes. I currently have 11 devices crunching :)

If we're going with the Janos quantifying method
Then I reckon I have a vegetable patches worth.

I've got 6 1/2 devices crunching. 5 are Odroids/Android, my computer and my dad's runs some units when not in use.

My 14th . Intel core 2 quad Q6600 cpu running a HD7770 on linux just came on line, finally....