4 Opteron 6128 8-core CPUs for only $300 shipped on [H]ardForum!!!

[Sunny129]

i know this isn't the FS/FT forum, but i thought the mods might let it slide since this for sale thread is so pertinent to distributed computing...

at any rate, like the title says, there are 4 Opteron 6128 8-core CPUs for sale on [H]ardForum for only $300 shipped right now. the thread was just posted today, and i don't suspect they'll last long at this price. keep in mind that these bad boys still sell for $260 new (each)! the only downside would be the extra expenditures on 4 CPU coolers (CoolerMaster Hyper 212+'s or EVO's would be perfect for something like this, and inexpensive to boot) and a G34 4-socket mobo (which won't be inexpensive, and that may be a tremendous understatement). i'd snag these myself, but i don't see myself being motivated enough in the near future to spend the additional $700-$800 on a mobo and coolers...

any takers?

[ZipSpeed]

Very good deal. I got two for $100 each earlier this year and I thought that was a good deal then. $75 each is smoking. Still haven't gotten around to purchasing the requisite hardware to get these puppies going.

[EagleKeeper]

Just like a female.

the down payment is cheap compared to the support costs once in use.

[PCTC2]

Most desktop coolers don't support G34 but Supermicro does sell workstation tower coolers compatible with G34 (SNK-P0050AP4).

As for the motherboard, most are proprietary or SWTX (which is still proprietary from SuperMicro). You might be able to fit a SWTX board into a case with 4-5 inches clearance above the rear I/O panel. Otherwise, you'll need a barebone system to match the board size. You're looking at over $1500 for the parts probably (including power supply, since you now need a power supply that can handle 3+ EPS12 connections.

However, you could just buy 2x dual G34 boards and run two crunchers on E-ATX form factor boards. Much cheaper and can use commodity parts using industry-wide standards.
If anyone seriously is looking into this, I can look into parts around and maybe get you a decent price if you seriously want to run this hardware. Local San Diego only.

[Sunny129]

Originally Posted by PCTC2

Most desktop coolers don't support G34 but Supermicro does sell workstation tower coolers compatible with G34 (SNK-P0050AP4).

As for the motherboard, most are proprietary or SWTX (which is still proprietary from SuperMicro). You might be able to fit a SWTX board into a case with 4-5 inches clearance above the rear I/O panel. Otherwise, you'll need a barebone system to match the board size. You're looking at over $1500 for the parts probably (including power supply, since you now need a power supply that can handle 3+ EPS12 connections.

However, you could just buy 2x dual G34 boards and run two crunchers on E-ATX form factor boards. Much cheaper and can use commodity parts using industry-wide standards.
If anyone seriously is looking into this, I can look into parts around and maybe get you a decent price if you seriously want to run this hardware. Local San Diego only.

yes, i should have mentioned that a CM 212+ needs to be modified to fit the G34 socket properly...i believe its referred to as a "musky-modded" 212+. and it appears i was a good bit off in my estimate of an additional $700-$800 in costs to get these 4 CPUs up and running. the thought of running 2 dual G34 crunchers had crossed my mind too, but i was uncertain of the cost implications. thanks for addressing that.

[PCTC2]

Originally Posted by Sunny129

yes, i should have mentioned that a CM 212+ needs to be modified to fit the G34 socket properly...i believe its referred to as a "musky-modded" 212+. and it appears i was a good bit off in my estimate of an additional $700-$800 in costs to get these 4 CPUs up and running. the thought of running 2 dual G34 crunchers had crossed my mind too, but i was uncertain of the cost implications. thanks for addressing that.

Yeah. I don't have the price sheets in front of me, since it's Sunday, but here's a quick recommendation:
Quad-socket:
SuperMicro H8QGL-iF (supports 16 sticks of RAM. 1 DIMM per channel) ~ $650
SuperMicro 748TQ-R1400B (SWTX case with 1400W PSU w/ 3x EPS12 connectors) ~ $850
Total (with NO DIMMs): $1500

Dual-socket:
SuperMicro H8DGi-F (supports 16 sticks of RAM. 2 DIMMs per channel) ~ $400
Since it's E-ATX, any EATX case should work. Just need a PSU with 2x EPS12 connectors. Seasonic X-series come to mind (I use a Seasonic X-750 with dual EPS12 connectors). ~ $150 + Case
Total (for two systems, NO DIMMs): ~ $700x2 ~ $1400

[ZipSpeed]

Originally Posted by EagleKeeper

Just like a female.

the down payment is cheap compared to the support costs once in use.

LOL!! My wife is asking for a Louis Vuitton purse for Christmas this year. Think she will get mad if I buy her Opteron hardware instead?

[Sunny129]

Originally Posted by ZipSpeed

LOL!! My wife is asking for a Louis Vuitton purse for Christmas this year. Think she will get mad if I buy her Opteron hardware instead?

just explain to her how much money you'll save if you go AMD over Loius Vuitton...

[ZipSpeed]

Originally Posted by Sunny129

just explain to her how much money you'll save if you go AMD over Loius Vuitton...

I can imagine how much time I will be sleeping on the couch.

[PCTC2]

Originally Posted by ZipSpeed

I can imagine how much time I will be sleeping on the couch.

Just get a nicer couch then.

As for the pricing, I was close.
H8QGL-iF ~ $650
748TQ-R1400B ~ $750
~$1400 + FEES + TAX

[Sunny129]

sold...

[PCTC2]

Originally Posted by Sunny129

sold...

with Fully populated 1GB sticks...

[Assimilator1]

That's some serious crunching power!
How does 1 of those 8 core CPU's compare to 2 modern quad machines? (cost & performance).

Originally Posted by ZipSpeed

I can imagine how much time I will be sleeping on the couch.

Lol

[Sunny129]

Originally Posted by Assimilator1

That's some serious crunching power!
How does 1 of those 8 core CPU's compare to 2 modern quad machines? (cost & performance).

well that would depend on the general quad core design you use for comparison:

AMD Phenom II (Deneb) vs AMD FX series (Zambezi & Vishera) vs A6/A8 series (Llano & Trinity) quad cores vs Intel Core i5 23xx/24xx/25xx/33xx/34xx/35xx series quad-cores (Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge) vs Intel Core i7 26xx/27xx/37xx/38xx series quad-cores series quad-cores (Sandy Bridge/Sandy Bridge-E/Ivy Bridge)

obviously the 8-core Opteron 6128 is now discontinued, but according to camelegg, newegg's highest and lowest prices were $310 and $250 respectively. assuming you can get a used one in good condition for ~$200, you would also need a socket-G34 mobo. while single-socket G34 boards aren't nearly as expensive as dual or quad-socket G34 boards, they aren't inexpensive either...the cheapest one on newegg goes for $225. now the board will take both ECC and non-ECC memory, but i don't know whether or not the Opteron 6128 requires ECC memory...let's assume regular non-ECC memory will work, allowing us to take memory out of the equation and focus just on CPU and mobo costs. so that puts us at ~$425 for the 8-core Opteron 6128 CPU and a single-socket G34 mobo.

1) AMD Phenom II X4: a used 965 BE will be in the neighborhood of ~$100. you could get an AM3 board on the cheap (~$50), or you could get an AM3+ board for future upgradability (~$100)...either way, you're probably looking at $200 at the most for a Phenom II X4 CPU and AM3/AM3+ mobo.
2) AMD FX series quad-core: there doesn't seem to be much of a price delta between the older Zambezi (Bulldozer) quads and the newer Vishera (Piledriver) quads right now (~$110-$130), so with an AM3+ mobo (~$100), you're in there right around $230 tops.
3) AMD A6/A8 series quad-core: the A8-3870K is the most expensive A6/A8 quad-core CPU on newegg right now @ $105. the most expensive socket-FM1 mobo on newegg right now is $115 (before rebate), so on this platform you'd come in around ~$220.
4) Intel Core i5 quad-core: these CPUs seem to be in the $190-$220 range brand new. now i'm not real familiar w/ all the differences between Intel's current chipsets (Bxx vs Hxx vs Pxx vs Qxx vs Zxx), but i see some selling for as little as $50, and some selling for as much as $450...so this platform could run you anywhere from $240 to $670.
5) Intel Core i7 quad-core: these CPUs seem to be in the $300-$330 range brand new. with the same lot of mobos to choose from, this platform could run you anywhere from $350 to $780.

so from a "CPU-&-mobo" only perspective, only the slightly aged Phenom II platform can be purchased twice for significantly less than a single Opteron 6128 platform. if you are building from scratch and don't already have the other necessary hardware on hand, then even the Phenom II platform starts to look a bit long in the tooth b/c you'll have to buy 2 of everything else (case, PSU, memory, CPU cooler, possibly GPU, etc.).

now from a performance point of view, i would imagine that 2 of any of the above platforms (save for the Core i7 CPUs) would be pretty comparable in performance to a single Opteron 6128 platform, but would consume a good deal more power in the process. i would imagine that only the Core i& CPUs would compare favorably w/ respect to both performance and power consumption due to HyperThreading - these quad-cores have 8 threads (4 real cores and 4 virtual cores). the i7's are typically clocked much faster than the 6128, and probably have more efficient instruction pipelines, but the 6128 has the advantage of 8 real cores. at the end of the day, its probably a wash between a single Opteron 6128 platform and a single Core i7 platform. obviously 2 i7 platforms equals 16 threads, and will outperform a single Opteron 6128, but it will also consume a good deal more power.