Using GRC to BOINC More - Update II
Hi All,
This is a second follow-up to my two posts (here and there) where I describe my cashing in on some GRC gains.
I used a small portion of the proceeds to purchase an Odroid XU-4 as discussed in the second post. I have been working diligently on getting a used server with the balance of the proceeds. After a while of searching and "discussing" the matter with my now former spouse, I finally pulled the trigger on "The Beast".
(Image from Lenovo)
I present to you "The Beast". A refurbished IBM x3690 X5. It sports two Xeon E7-2860 CPUs and 128 GB of RAM. Each CPU has 10 hyperthreaded cores at a base frequency of 2.27 GHz. As a result, the machine can crunch 40 tasks simultaneously! Granted, not at the fastest frequency, but quantity is a quality in and of itself. I did remove 64 GB of RAM as I wanted to cut down on electricity usage and heat. I may also sell these sticks and recoup some of the $1k CAD investment (I don't think I got screwed on the price, but feel free to let me know in the comments).
So since March 17, I have been crunching work units in the ODLK1 project and running the CPUs at about 80% capacity to manage heat. Not that they can't run at the temps at 100%, the fans are just too loud! At last check, the RAC output is about 7.6k. This gives an approximate Mag of 15. I think the RAC will settle around 8.2k or so.
I'm pretty sure that there is a better project out there for this machine, and I am open to any suggestions that you may have (although I did try SRBase, but the units were all errors).
Here's to more crunching!
as long as you dont feel screwed, you're helping science and that's what truly matters.
I tried to run your CPU through my scripts even though there was not much data.
Westmere-EP/EX processors seem to do well in YAFU, probably due to the high core count. Might want to give it a shot and see how it goes.
Not a bad deal for 40 threads but even 64 gigs of RAM is overkill for most projects. You could probably get by with 32 or even 16.
Sorry about your spouse but at least you have "The Beast" now! :)
I think for 1k CAD being about even with 1k USD you could have gotten a setup similar to mine an HP C-3000 enclosure that holds 8 blades and gotten as I did a few HP Proliant BL-460 Gen 7's with equal CPU's from Ebay there are many to choose from and yes 16gb is just fine but I overkill also with 64gb in my main blade running Windows and 16gb in another running Linux. ODLK1 WU's average 3.5mb per task but I also have my main rig running with my storage array. Yes the machine is loud with 6 massive turbo fan's but the power consumption is insanely low @ about 350watts each even with my 2 x 15k SAS drives in raid 1. There is a plethora of these systems out there to the point where people are finding them in dumpsters , they really do not sell on Ebay so you can get them for a song and dance , literally $25 for a machine with 2 xeon CPU's and 16gb ( of course ECC ) and you have a vast choice of CPU's. Yes its loud and yes loaded down with all 8 systems uses about 1.6kw but it crunches pretty damn well. ODLK1 seems to be a pretty crappy project to crunch any more now that its been whitelisted for a while , and people crunching via their work systems without permission screwing the rest of us honest people paying the power bills out of our own pockets , I am thinking of going back to Amicable Numbers where my MAG was 180 and I am lucky @ 55 with ODLK1. We really need more projects on the whitelist especially with grcpool making it impossible for the solo crunchers.. Now on another note it looks/seems like a pretty bad ass server and no matter what anybody says as long as you are happy with the deal and like what you got who cares what we say :) its all personal opinions and meaningless. Look threw the projects and number of crunchers and number of hosts and dig into them a little bit and you will find where you fit in best. It takes a while of crunching to build up that RAC and MAG follows , same with payout. Unfortunately with the current value of Gridcoin its hard to justify the electricity cost but over time things will recover and the value will be there. Just keep crunching and stick in there and all good things come to those who wait.
What problem do you see with people using their worksystems? How is this unfair? They're contributing to science the same way you do.
Also what do you mean by the grcpool making it impossible for solo miners?
If you are worried about mag then adding more projects will only make it worse as mag is divided equally across the whitelist. That's why I voted for removing Moo. I don't think we should reward a toy project at the expense of those doing concrete work.
Not being hostile here, but can you format your posts somewhat? It's literally a solid wall of text and it's wrecking my eyes :-)
This post was upvoted by Steemgridcoin with the aim of promoting discussions surrounding Gridcoin and science.
This service is free. You can learn more on how to help here.
Have a nice day. :)
It's going to take you a while for this investment to turn profitable, but the good thing about grc is that whatever you do, you're still benefiting science. Cooking 40 tasks simultaneously is pretty rad.
Time to switch me to another project.
Your Post Has Been Featured on @Resteemable!
Feature any Steemit post using resteemit.com!
How It Works:
1. Take Any Steemit URL
2. Erase
https://3. Type
reGet Featured Instantly & Featured Posts are voted every 2.4hrs
Join the Curation Team Here | Vote Resteemable for Witness