Two quads better than one

shepherd

Hi,

I'm in need of a bit more power for a little home-brew project im working on.

Its just occurred to me that I can get more power for less cash by buying two lower spec quad cores machines instead of one higher spec machine.

E.g. a quick look on komplett lets me get a 2,4Ghz Q6600 machine for 550yoyo, but an overclocked 3Ghz machine might be I dunno 1200yoyo.

The project will scale across two machines. Two machines will be twice as good as one. Don't need much hard disk. Don't need anything but basic graphics card.

So 2x 4x 2.4Ghz = 19.2Ghz for 1100yoyo
But 1x 4x 3Ghz = 12Ghz(+10% for faster memory etc) = 13.2Ghz for 1200yoyo

19.2Ghz is 45% faster than 13.2 for less cash.

So... a few questions...

Am I missing something? Have I my numbers wrong?

Can I do better than 550yoyo? or on the other hand, is 1200 way too much?

It will be running 24x7, so any suggestions making sure it doesn't die. It wont be full of components so I doubt overheating will be much of a problem.

Is a 500W powersupply enough? I want it to run silent, I imagine this would be the nosiest part of it.

Any comments? Any suggestions?

zilog_jones

You can't really just add and compare clock speeds - it doesn't really work like that. The obvious issue will be that any data transfer between two PCs will be dramatically slower than within one system, if that is an issue for you. What will you be doing with them anyway?

shepherd

Number crunching... a little project because work is a bit dull: http://uk.eternityii.com/

I can just divide the problem between the two machines, so once started, there will be no data transfer between machines. So in this one limited situation I can just add and compare clock speeds.

Just looking for most bang for my buck...

Sqaull20

Whats that game about?

Overclocking is what you want to do..

Get that Q6600 to 3.4ghz

shepherd

The game is a bit like a jigsaw. There is a little flash demo game on the site. Takes a few minutes. Big cash prize for the first to do it, the main game I mean... if anyone manages it that is...

Ya, was thinking about overclocking, but only on a cheep machine. No point paying much extra for a machine to get few extra Mhz out of it if I can double performance by just getting a second cheep machine.

I dont need highest performance single machine, I need highest price/performance ratio. Then I just buy as many as I can afford/willing to spend.

And running 24/7 I dont want to burn the thing out! An overclocked machine running 24/7 makes me nervous.

RoyalMarine

i run my machine 24/7

qx6700 @ 3.1ghz
tight ram timings
2 8800gt's overclocked to 725
watercooled
6 dvd drives
and 8 harddrives

all in a wooden box. never seen a hiccup.

the worst risk you can take it not taking any risks.

PogMoThoin

shepherd wrote: »

And running 24/7 I dont want to burn the thing out! An overclocked machine running 24/7 makes me nervous.

Pc's are designed to be left running 24/7, I've got a server in the attic i rebooted in jan, its had no downtime since. My main pc which is overclocked 35% is often running for days. There is no chance of burning it out.

conzy

Are you building a number crunching farm to solve a puzzle to win $2 million?

If you choose components wisely and you dont need graphics power, you can get a lot of overclockable horsepower for very little money, I'd be more than happy to spec a machine for you for a cut of that $2 million