<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
"Ivan Oleynik" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:iioleynik@gmail.com"><iioleynik@gmail.com></a> wrote:<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:200807261957.m6QJv6HE031997@bluewest.scyld.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Subject: [Beowulf] Building new cluster - estimate
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:beowulf@beowulf.org">beowulf@beowulf.org</a>
..
I am in process of upgrading computational facilities of my lab and
considering of building/purchasing 40 node cluster. Before contacting
vendors I would like to get some understanding how much would it cost. The
major considerations/requirements:
1. newest Intel quad-core CPUs (Opteron quad-core cpus are out of question
due to ridiculous pricing), good balance of price/performance
</pre>
</blockquote>
Hmm, what is "ridiculous about Opteron pricing?<br>
<br>
In HPC work one generally needs a XEON clocked about 20% to 25% faster
than an Opteron for equivalent performance.<br>
Mainly due to the limitations of memory bandwidth of the XEONs.<br>
Current CPU pricing comparison:<br>
<br>
BX80574E5410A Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5410 / 2.33 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) -
LGA771 Socket - L2 12 MB ( 2 x 6MB ) - Box $322.00 <br>
BX80574E5420A Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5420 / 2.5 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) -
LGA771 Socket - L2 12 MB ( 2 x 6MB ) - Box $393.00 <br>
OS2350WAL4BGHWOF AMD Third-Generation Opteron 2350 / 2 GHz - Socket
F (1207) - L3 2 MB - PIB/WOF $292.00 <br>
OS2352WAL4BGHWOF AMD Third-Generation Opteron 2352 /
2.1 GHz - Socket F (1207) - L3 2 MB - PIB/WOF $366.00 <br>
<br>
<br>
BX80574E5430A Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5430 / 2.66 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) -
LGA771 Socket - L2 12 MB ( 2 x 6MB ) - Box $557.00 <br>
BX80574E5440A Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5440 / 2.83 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) -
LGA771 Socket - L2 12 MB ( 2 x 6MB ) - Box $833.00 <br>
OS2354WAL4BGHWOF AMD Third-Generation Opteron 2354 /
2.2 GHz - Socket F (1207) - L3 2 MB - PIB/WOF $525.00 <br>
OS2356WAL4BGHWOF AMD Third-Generation Opteron 2356 /
2.3 GHz - Socket F (1207) - L3 2 MB - PIB/WOF $796.00 <br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:200807261957.m6QJv6HE031997@bluewest.scyld.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">2. reasonably fast interconnect (IB SDR 10Gb/s would suffice our
computational needs (running LAMMPs molecular dynamics and VASP DFT codes)
</pre>
</blockquote>
Or Myrinet. Bandwidth is usually unimportant, but latency usually is.<br>
So called "memfree" IB cards are rarely any kind of bargain for this
use.<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<font color="blue">With our best regards,</font><br>
<br>
<font color="black">
<i><i>Maurice W. Hilarius Telephone: 01-780-456-9771</i><br>
<i>Hard Data Ltd. FAX: 01-780-456-9772</i><br>
<i>11060 - 166 Avenue <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:email:maurice@harddata.com">email:maurice@harddata.com</a></i><br>
<i>Edmonton, AB, Canada <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.harddata.com/">http://www.harddata.com/</a></i><br>
<i> T5X 1Y3</i><br>
</i></font>
</div>
</body>
</html>