Question Who is the Rasberry PI expert ? And a recommended system.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,542
14,496
136
I want to try to play with these. The Thor challenge got me thinking. I could get 10 of these, and it would be 40 cores ! What do you need to start ? I saw some ads on newegg, and it looks like you need more than just the board. The best star kit ? and for more, what else do you need for every one ?

What do you think of this ?

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com www.newegg.com

@biodoc , @VirtualLarry , @lane42 Don't one of you have one of these ? Or know who does ? I am dying to buy one....
 
Last edited:
Sort by date Sort by votes
ch33zw1z

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,760
18,039
146
Markfw said:
I want to try to play with these. The Thor challenge got me thinking. I could get 10 of these, and it would be 40 cores ! What do you need to start ? I saw some ads on newegg, and it looks like you need more than just the board. The best star kit ? and for more, what else do you need for every one ?

What do you think of this ?

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com www.newegg.com

@biodoc , @VirtualLarry , @lane42 Don't one of you have one of these ? Or know who does ? I am dying to buy one....
Click to expand...

I picked up a 4gb cannot for like $100 on amazon. It's more than enough to a stock pihole server. Would handle additional filter lists no problem. Kit came with a little case, power adapter, micro hdmi to hdmi cable (which is only hooked up for initial config)

I followed the instructions and loaded ubuntu 20 on a micro SD, booted it up and away I went. I gave it a static IP and started pointing one network at a time at it for DNS. I use quad 9 for the upstream dns queries.

Before you buy one, you can run a pihole server on any spare pc or in a VM to see if you like it. I run my secondary pinhole on a 10 year old laptop with 8gb ram.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Fanatical Meat

Fanatical Meat

Lifer
Feb 4, 2009
34,554
15,766
136
ch33zw1z said:
I picked up a 4gb cannot for like $100 on amazon. It's more than enough to a stock pihole server. Would handle additional filter lists no problem. Kit came with a little case, power adapter, micro hdmi to hdmi cable (which is only hooked up for initial config)

I followed the instructions and loaded ubuntu 20 on a micro SD, booted it up and away I went. I gave it a static IP and started pointing one network at a time at it for DNS. I use quad 9 for the upstream dns queries.

Before you buy one, you can run a pihole server on any spare pc or in a VM to see if you like it. I run my secondary pinhole on a 10 year old laptop with 8gb ram.
Click to expand...

I should have gave you more info. Mark does distributed computing to cure cancer.
I assume the Thor Challenge is something that relates to his goal.
How would a bunch of pi’s work for distributed computing?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Fardringle

Fardringle

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2000
9,188
753
126
Fanatical Meat said:
I should have gave you more info. Mark does distributed computing to cure cancer.
I assume the Thor Challenge is something that relates to his goal.
How would a bunch of pi’s work for distributed computing?
Click to expand...
The specific challenge that Mark is talking about gives credits ONLY based on the number of CPU hours spent working on the project. Every CPU gets the same amount of credit no matter how powerful they are, so PIs would get just as much credit as a top end i9 or Ryzen 9...


To specifically answer the question, Endgame124 has several Raspberry PIs running the Rosetta@home project. Discussion is in this thread: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/the-raspberry-pi-thread.2581547/
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Icecold

Icecold

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2004
1,090
1,008
146
My main takeaway has always been that it's just too much management for the performance. They're really efficient, but outside of this one specific challenge I just don't know that it makes a ton of sense. I would rather have one 12+ core Ryzen than a cluster of 10 Pi's that are separately managed, and the price comes out pretty similar. I also think I might be more inclined to just buy a stack of $20 crappy prepaid android phones for a runtime challenge, but maybe I'm missing something on why that wouldn't work.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ch33zw1z

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,760
18,039
146
Fanatical Meat said:
I should have gave you more info. Mark does distributed computing to cure cancer.
I assume the Thor Challenge is something that relates to his goal.
How would a bunch of pi’s work for distributed computing?
Click to expand...

Ok I c, so in his case, just buy the pi's with power adapters, a single micro hdmi to hdmi cable to setup, and that's it. I wouldn't waste money on cases or extras, not necessary for a folding farm
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,542
14,496
136
ch33zw1z said:
Ok I c, so in his case, just buy the pi's with power adapters, a single micro hdmi to hdmi cable to setup, and that's it. I wouldn't waste money on cases or extras, not necessary for a folding farm
Click to expand...
Actually, Rosetta or WCG farm. Video cards is the way to go for folding.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Icecold

Icecold

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2004
1,090
1,008
146
Markfw said:
I copied him on a post in the PI thread. I want to see what he thinks of my guess on a PI system, like this: https://www.newegg.com/p/1HD-005N-00085?Description=rasberry pie 4 4gb&cm_re=rasberry_pie 4 4gb-_-9SIAHUBA2T8163-_-Product&quicklink=true
Click to expand...
Endgame124 is definitely the expert.. while we wait for Endgame124 to chime in though I think I would suggest a few things:

If you're going to have a bunch you will probably want cases intended for stacking / clustering . Something like this.

I would get the Raspberry pi with 8GB of RAM. If you plan on ever running Rosetta on it at some point after the Thor challenge you won't have enough RAM for a lot of the tasks with the 4GB model and then need to use something like zram. 8GB RAM is probably more forward thinking, though it does cost more money.

The performance will not be what most people would expect when they think of 40 cores(assuming a cluster of 10) due to how low power they are. In addition it's ARM, so software is less compatible. Your linux distro needs to be Raspberry Pi specific, etc.

For what its worth I just threw Boinc on a several year old cell phone maybe 20 minutes ago and it seems to be running fine. My main concern was that it would charge slower than the battery depletes, but that hasn't been the case so far. I was also concerned it would get super hot, which also hasn't been the case. Inexpensive new Android Tracfones or whatever can be purchased for $20ish dollars each and don't need extra micro sd cards, they come with power supplies, etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ch33zw1z
Upvote 0 Downvote
ch33zw1z

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,760
18,039
146
Icecold said:
Endgame124 is definitely the expert.. while we wait for Endgame124 to chime in though I think I would suggest a few things:

If you're going to have a bunch you will probably want cases intended for stacking / clustering . Something like this.

I would get the Raspberry pi with 8GB of RAM. If you plan on ever running Rosetta on it at some point after the Thor challenge you won't have enough RAM for a lot of the tasks with the 4GB model and then need to use something like zram. 8GB RAM is probably more forward thinking, though it does cost more money.

The performance will not be what most people would expect when they think of 40 cores(assuming a cluster of 10) due to how low power they are. In addition it's ARM, so software is less compatible. Your linux distro needs to be Raspberry Pi specific, etc.

For what its worth I just threw Boinc on a several year old cell phone maybe 20 minutes ago and it seems to be running fine. My main concern was that it would charge slower than the battery depletes, but that hasn't been the case so far. I was also concerned it would get super hot, which also hasn't been the case. Inexpensive new Android Tracfones or whatever can be purchased for $20ish dollars each and don't need extra micro sd cards, they come with power supplies, etc.
Click to expand...

That's pretty cool tho, a stackable case could be handy
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,542
14,496
136
Fanatical Meat said:
@Markfw I need to hear how many cores you have again please.
Click to expand...
Well, real, 438, and threads on SMT looks like 876 cores, and 16 video cards., 5 2080TI, 6 2060, one 2060 super, 2 1080TI, a 1070TI and one on-board something.

For this thor copetition, for no more than an a 3900x for power(if that), I could have like 12 (x4) or 48 cores more.

Now I need to know if there is like a 4, 8 or 12 USB power adapter. All this stuff I can't seem to find !!!!
 
  • Wow
Reactions: ch33zw1z
Upvote 0 Downvote
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,542
14,496
136
Endgame124 said:
Just saw this. Will read through everything after the kids are in bed.
Click to expand...
BTW, I think I am settled on 8 PI's, maybe 12. I would like to know 4 gb or 8 gb ? Probably 8
I need a PSU with 8-12 USB adapters (thats how the little motherboards are powered, right ?)
I need a case with 8-12 places for those motherboards.

What do I need for OS ? And I saw 16 or 32 gig micro SD cards. For OS, just for boot ????

Oh, and wifi ? I know I could get an 8 port hub, but I am kind of short on hub cords now, so wifi would work for me. They come with wifi, right ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Endgame124

Senior member
Feb 11, 2008
955
669
136
Super fast response, more detail later.

I’m currently running 16 pis, mixed between pi3s and pi 4s.

For open pandemics, 2GB pi 4s are fine.

For Rosetta, 4gb is the min, and requires some setup for ZRam. I have scripts I can share.

8gb pis have less need for zram, but I’ve seen them into swap before as well.

In Rosetta, a 8gb pi gets 2-5% more ppd than the 4gb if they are getting high ram usage tasks, 75% of the time, total ram usage is less than 4gb and they they are identical performance.

Yes, they have WiFi. My PoS Verizon Router doesn’t like more than 15(ish) WiFi devices, so I ended up going Wired. YMMV.

For power, these are my favorite

Amazon.com: Anker USB Wall Charger, 60W 6 Port USB Charging Station, PowerPort 6 Multi USB Charger for iPhone XS/Max/XR/X/8/7/Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2/Mini/iPod, Galaxy S9/S8/S7/Edge/Plus, Note, and More (Renewed) : Electronics

Buy Anker USB Wall Charger, 60W 6 Port USB Charging Station, PowerPort 6 Multi USB Charger for iPhone XS/Max/XR/X/8/7/Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2/Mini/iPod, Galaxy S9/S8/S7/Edge/Plus, Note, and More (Renewed) : Charging Stations - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com

These are my preferred power cables
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Endgame124

Senior member
Feb 11, 2008
955
669
136
Upvote 0 Downvote
Markfw

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,542
14,496
136
OK, good so far. Now I need a 6-12 card motherboard housing, and the units themselves. And where to get the OS ?

And cooling ????
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Fanatical Meat

Fanatical Meat

Lifer
Feb 4, 2009
34,554
15,766
136
Markfw said:
Well, real, 438, and threads on SMT looks like 876 cores, and 16 video cards., 5 2080TI, 6 2060, one 2060 super, 2 1080TI, a 1070TI and one on-board something.

For this thor copetition, for no more than an a 3900x for power(if that), I could have like 12 (x4) or 48 cores more.

Now I need to know if there is like a 4, 8 or 12 USB power adapter. All this stuff I can't seem to find !!!!
Click to expand...

During the crypto craze I remember seeing a pi charger that looked like a typical power brick but it was all chargers for pi’s.
Couldn’t use it for anything but pi’s and multiple pi’s.
Pretty sure it was at Microcenter.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Endgame124

Senior member
Feb 11, 2008
955
669
136
Markfw said:
OK, good so far. Now I need a 6-12 card motherboard housing, and the units themselves. And where to get the OS ?
Click to expand...
Case is complicated. I’m using individual FLIRC cases, but I’ll share some ideas later.

Best place to buy multiple pis (cheaper than amazon)

American Raspberry Pi Shop

American Raspberry Pi Shop. One stop shop for all your Pi needs. Raspberry Pi add-ons, HATs, accessories, Starter Kit, Media Center kit, RetroPi Arcade kit, Ultimate Kit, and many other project kits. PiShop.us is approved Raspberry Pi re-seller and carries all official Raspberry Pi boards and...
www.pishop.us www.pishop.us

Note, microcenter is cheapest for individual pi purchases, as they have a permanent $5 off MSRP In store option. However, you can only get one of each ram size per purchase with the discount (ex, buy a 2GB, 4gb, and 8gb in one purchase and get $15 off total).

OS: use raspbian lite. There are complications with this with Rosetta that are covered in my guide. I have shell scripts that will do all the config.

You’ll need a SD card reader / writer to flash the cards with the OS. Use the official software to do the flashing, it’s vastly simplified over any other process
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom