headless seti machine

[kratzaus]

So I already contribute to seti on two laptops. I'm wanting to build a simple computer that is dedicated to the purpose.

Can anyone recommend a decent mobo, gpu, cpu combo? Since it won't be used for anything else i don't need the most fancy mobo with all the bells and whistles, and i guess i don't need much ram?

It won't have a monitor so how do i connect to it to install boinc etc?

If i get decent advice i can use it as part of overclockers team. Thanks.

[eaglescouter]

Connect to the system remotely using Windows Remote Desktop or a tool like VNC.

I built a stack of headless crunchers many years ago, I had 4 of them stacked one above another on my desk. They worked great but today I'd add video cards instead of full computers for less footprint, fewer components, and more RAC.

[kratzaus]

Thanks for the tip, hopefully someone will recommend some hardware too. I'm looking at perhaps two gtx 560ti's, but have read they can be error prone and cause invalid work units. I'd rather invest the money into gpu's and save money on cheap mobo, cpu so i'm guessing amd is the way to go.

[Rickdstik]

Here's a parts list of some headless boxes I'll be putting to use this year most likely.
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 LOGISYS Computer CS301BK Black solid 6.0mm SECC metal ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 480W Power Supply $45.99 -$16.00 Instant $29.99
1 ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $124.99 -$10.00 Instant $114.99
1 SAPPHIRE 100323L Radeon HD 6570 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $69.99 $69.99
1 Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G530 $51.99 $51.99
1 Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664BA160A $26.99 -$7.00 Instant $19.99
1 Patriot Torqx 2 PT232GS25SSDR 2.5" 32GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $99.99 -$40.00 Instant $59.99
1 SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM $15.99 $15.99
1 SILVERSTONE NT07-1156 90mm CPU Cooler $31.99 $31.99
Subtotal: $394.92

[kratzaus]

Here's a parts list of some headless boxes I'll be putting to use this year most likely.
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 LOGISYS Computer CS301BK Black solid 6.0mm SECC metal ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 480W Power Supply $45.99 -$16.00 Instant $29.99
1 ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $124.99 -$10.00 Instant $114.99
1 SAPPHIRE 100323L Radeon HD 6570 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $69.99 $69.99
1 Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G530 $51.99 $51.99
1 Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664BA160A $26.99 -$7.00 Instant $19.99
1 Patriot Torqx 2 PT232GS25SSDR 2.5" 32GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $99.99 -$40.00 Instant $59.99
1 SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM $15.99 $15.99
1 SILVERSTONE NT07-1156 90mm CPU Cooler $31.99 $31.99
Subtotal: $394.92

I'm just wondering if Radeon cards do as well as Nvidea cards with seti these days.

Any idea how long your above setup would take to complete a work unit?

[Rickdstik]

My 5850s (running two instances) complete 4 short units in 6 minutes, 4 long in about 20. I'm going to guess that the 6570 can also run two instances, so you'd probably be looking at 2 every 18ish minutes for shorts up to 2 every 50 or so for longs. I'm not 100% sold on the 6570, also looking at the 6670/6750. I'm being somewhat power conscious as I only have 20 amps (110v) going to the room that my these are going to be in, and that's powering a window unit (7a), Red, a 55" LCD and a set of Klipsch Promedia 5.1s.
At the end of the day, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131445 may end being the card I choose.