School Project moving along.

the list of what I've got:

8 Asus A7V-VE Mobos-built in LAN, bootable
1 1.3ghz Duron
2 256mb sticks of pc133 RAM
1 old bookshelf for mounting
1 brain

The stuff I have either in the mail or on the purchase list for next paycheck:

2 more 1.3ghz durons
1 128mb stick of pc133 RAM
1 256mb stick of pc133 RAM
1 400watt psu
16 Cat5 Network cables
1 32-bit Gigabit adapter
1 D-Link 24x2 10/100x1000 switch
4 low profile hsf

Ok. I have some questions for y'all.

1) Will it make a difference if I had 2 Gigabit NICs in the server? Seeing as how this switch has 2 Gigabit ports, I might as well put them to use.

2) I need all the old ATX connectors off dead PSUs you people can find. I am willing to pay a small amount for them, but I don't want the whole PSU, only the connector and wires cut off an inch or less away from the PSU.

Ok, I think that I will be content with a 24 node max for now, so another gigabit switch will not be needed for more node connectivity. Newegg has this switch for 273, the link.

here is the link for the adapter I plan to use. Newegg has it for 47.


Note: HP is dumb. I had to uncover the BIOS button . makes me mad, Why does HP feel the need to be so stupid. The only good things about the boards is that a) they run and b) they can boot from a network.

Glad to hear its starting to come together. i can't wait to see the finished machine.

As for the gigabite port... If you are going to have more than 100mbits (12.8megabytes) a second going in and out of the server, then yes use gigabite ports.

I guess that's an obvious answer and you already know this...

Do you know how much data is going to be circulating with your program?

You are running AI on this, right?

Yes I am. The question though, was if I should use both gigabit ports for the server. Would two Gigabit NICs work in the server?

I'm sure that as far as setting everything up, they would work the same as 100mbit, but they are just 10x as fast.

i have like 4 of those ATX connectors......pm me

I would get some cheap 10/100 nics for now (total of $10) and put your money to better use. As soon as you feel that this connection is going to be a bottleneck, you can replace them. (Two gigabyte nics = 3 cpu's...)

As far as the psu goes, Your system will draw most power from the 12V line. I think you should look for a psu with the highest amp rating on this line. I think you may get away with one motherboard / 5A on 12V. (not a lot of margin though)

considering this and your total heatoutput (60watts max /cpu) You have to carefully play with overclocking and core voltage. I would keep the voltage as low as possible. (assuming your oem bios actually allows for this )

I am running my amd duallie off a powmax 400watt psu which has (a very optimistic) rating of 25A on the 12V line. Nonetheless, I've never had a psu related problem. I'll bet you can run 4 boards off one of these

this guy gets you on shipping for the first unit, but if you buy more, it's worth it.

Wow, sweet deal. Thanks for the link. I'll look into these if I have enough money. Well, the funding for now is not an issue, I got 100 from my mom and 82 in the mail today. so, looks like a total of 4 processors form newegg (5 including my 1600+ ) and two of those PSUs. That is a great deal. I could get one 350 watt in town for that much, thanks.

I ran into a guy over at 2cpu forums who negotiated 5 motherboards for $110 shipped from the same guy you bought from. (For future refference).

And here is some info on the boards.

same boards I have I have 8 though. 5 for 110 is a killer deal.

Like I said earlier, my only complaint about them is the lack of overclocking options, but I expected that, so no biggy.

This is cool to see this rolling along...

Ok, I put in drawer sliders for the mobo tray. I'm going to mount the PSUs on the drawer with the mobos if there's room. I have an old bookcase with 5 levels. the bottom will house the mobos and PSUs, the next level up will house the server, the next another rack of mobos when I get them, the fourth level will house the switch attached to the top and the keyboard and mouse. The last level will house the monitor.

so, it will look like this:

Monitor
switch
keyboard and mouse
nodes
server
nodes

I'm having fun now, I got my 4 durons and my 1600+ . Also got one of the heatsinks for the nodes. the other three will be coming soon.

Whooo! theres room for 4 psus in the side of the drawer!!! I'm goint to drill holes in the bottom of the case and mount them on the front of the drawer. I've already measured it out and the cables will reach. Too, the Ethernet cables will reach perfectly to the switch. I am still debating which set up to use for the server. For now I will use a single T-Bird 1.3, but I hope to maybe get a dual 1800+/2000+ eventually.

that thing is going to kick arse!

I hope that once you get it built, you won't waste all those cpu cycles by letting them sit idle some of the time. You could rig up folding@home to use all the cpu cycles that your AI program doesn't.

I run it all the time on my main rig, and it just backs off when i start a game. I don't even know its going.

I will do that . I'll like the WUs that 32ghz will pull in.

Anyway, started research into the AI development process, and I will not be doing speach recognition first. I will be starting with character recognition, then moving to written character recognition and then speach.

I am thinking of upgrading the durons to 1600+s when I get all 24. the 100mhz fsb of the durons will put a serious damper on the operation.

have you developed this program for a single cpu?

It may not require as much processing power as you think.

Even if it only uses 3% of 1 cpu... you've still made a system to drool over

well, if it doesn't use all of it, I'll make it more complicated . simple solution .

Maybe I'll do some sort of sim world or something if it doesn't use that much.

*edit*

The drawer was off by 1/4 of an inch, so I'm aligning that tonight and I've got the placement all figured out for the mobos in the drawer.

*edit 2*

I've got the divider in the drawer and I'm measuring the cross braces for the mobos now.

Ummmm... So what does this thing do? I am impressed with all this, but I don't have the back story. Are you making some kind of speech recognition HAL 2000 or something?

I guess, if you want to put it that way. I like to think of it as a challenge to do something new, not to re-create a movie character.

Well hey--if you're going to re-create a movie character, you picked a tough one to try.

Good luck!