i say we all go in on this

crash893 · 2005-02-28, 20:39

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5168947354

its up to 350,000 now

PhilF · 2005-02-28, 21:21

Hey! That system is right here in my neighborhood. I think I'll just go grab it with my pickup truck...

-Phil

Mystwalker · 2005-02-28, 21:47

Concerning GIMPS, I think 700 P4s with 3.x GHz each outrun the Cray...

cheesehead · 2005-03-01, 18:45

Note the fine print at bottom:

"To place a bid of US $15,000.00 or more, you'll need to provide a valid credit card or complete the ID Verify process ($5)."

ewmayer · 2005-03-01, 21:09

A little over a hundred 600MHz Alpha 21164 CPUs - that means they paid roughly $30000 per CPU, which was way overpriced, even in 1999. I paid $10K for a single-CPU 21164 system (with more RAM and a decent-sized L3 cache - more on that below) in 1998 - and by 1999 the Alpha 21264 had just come on the market, with roughly 2-3x the actual per-cycle throughput of the 21164. Note that their stated figure of 2 flops/cycle per CPU is generous, since the 21164 had tiny L1 and L2 caches (and in supercomputer mode there typically was no slow-but-large L3 cache as found in the single-CPU systems) which made realizing anything close to that maximum theoretical throughput nigh-impossible, and only for ideally structured computations that had nice linear memory access patterns and a perfect balance of FMULs and FADDs.

To put this in a GIMPS perspective, this machine is equivalent to about a dozen 3GHz P4s in terms of Mersenne-crunching power. Might be OK for trial-factoring work, though... ;)

Also, there's an interesting catch:

"Site software operating system license may be required to run Cray Operating System."

I wonder how much that costs ... it's probably like the pervasive laser-printer scam, where the printer is cheap, but then you find out that replacement ink cartridges are only available from the manufacturer and cost almost as much as the printer itself. I guess if the COS license is too expensive, one could always run WinXP or Linux (yeah, right!)

It's not quite Amazon.com-style Free Super Saver Shipping, either - you have to pick it up yourself. However, the seller generously is offering

"Fork lift available for loading at no charge."

Caveat Emptor...

xilman · 2005-03-02, 08:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewmayer

A little over a hundred 600MHz Alpha 21164 CPUs - that means they paid roughly $30000 per CPU, which was way overpriced, even in 1999. I paid $10K for a single-CPU 21164 system (with more RAM and a decent-sized L3 cache

I agree it sounds expensive but, to be fair, you get more than a CPU in one of these things.

I've built one cluster and assisted in building another, both relatively small at 16 nodes. "My cluster" used gigabit ethernet for the interconnect, which is about the cheapest possible way of doing it. Even so, GbE wasn't available on the motherboard and so a PCI card per node had to be added, as did a 24-port switch. The switch cost more than two processing nodes.

The other cluster was built in the days before GbE was available, so we used Myrinet interconnect, arranged as a star. The Myrinet interface cards cost more than the nodes into which they were plugged. This one was built in May 98, about the same time as that Cray.

The Cray cluster on offer is loaded with network goodies. A 3-d torus built out of Myrinet is going to be very expensive per node.

Paul

Peter Nelson · 2005-03-02, 19:16

Also on ebay...... GO FOR THIS....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...754425731&rd=1

Cost of $14m IBM RS/6000 SP 472 processor supercomputer in 31 racks. (maintainance contract was $1m/year too).

(I once played chess with one of these beasts at an IBM trade show).

Oh, did I mention IBM 2.6 Terabyte, 247 Gigaflop?

no reserve current price $12750 with about an hour to go!

It also comes with an EMASS AML/E (as taken over by ADIC) tape library which is worth that on its own (contains 8 drives).

An IBM SwitchRoute 8274 and some other tape stuff too.

Oh, and a couple of Challenge XL 10000 servers.

WHAT A MEGA BARGAIN!

I think that *slightly* beats your Alpha based suggestion.

So I think we should all go in on this one instead :-)

crash893 · 2005-03-02, 23:14

im down

ewmayer · 2005-03-03, 00:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Nelson

Also on ebay...... GO FOR THIS....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...754425731&rd=1

Cost of $14m IBM RS/6000 SP 472 processor supercomputer in 31 racks. (maintainance contract was $1m/year too).

(I once played chess with one of these beasts at an IBM trade show).

Oh, did I mention IBM 2.6 Terabyte, 247 Gigaflop?

no reserve current price $12750 with about an hour to go!

Someone got themselves a *sweet* deal here - can't believe the seller didn't set a reserve price. Happy deep computer chess to the lucky winner...

PrimeCruncher · 2005-03-03, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Someone got themselves a *sweet* deal here - can't believe the seller didn't set a reserve price. Happy deep computer chess to the lucky winner...

Nobody bid on it. So if someone here has 13 grand to spare, you could still get it.

crash893 · 2005-03-03, 19:46

there is also www.rocketcalc.com

2005-02-28, 20:39	#1
crash893 Sep 2002 2³·37 Posts	i say we all go in on this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5168947354 its up to 350,000 now

2005-03-02, 19:16	#7
Peter Nelson Oct 2004 23² Posts	NOT THAT, GO FOR THIS Also on ebay...... GO FOR THIS.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...754425731&rd=1 Cost of $14m IBM RS/6000 SP 472 processor supercomputer in 31 racks. (maintainance contract was $1m/year too). (I once played chess with one of these beasts at an IBM trade show). Oh, did I mention IBM 2.6 Terabyte, 247 Gigaflop? no reserve current price $12750 with about an hour to go! It also comes with an EMASS AML/E (as taken over by ADIC) tape library which is worth that on its own (contains 8 drives). An IBM SwitchRoute 8274 and some other tape stuff too. Oh, and a couple of Challenge XL 10000 servers. WHAT A MEGA BARGAIN! I think that slightly beats your Alpha based suggestion. So I think we should all go in on this one instead :-)

2005-03-02, 23:14	#8
crash893 Sep 2002 2³×37 Posts	im down Last fiddled with by crash893 on 2005-03-02 at 23:15

2005-02-28, 21:21	#2
PhilF "6800 descendent" Feb 2005 Colorado 718₁₀ Posts	Hey! That system is right here in my neighborhood. I think I'll just go grab it with my pickup truck... -Phil

2005-02-28, 21:47	#3
Mystwalker Jul 2004 Potsdam, Germany 3×277 Posts	Concerning GIMPS, I think 700 P4s with 3.x GHz each outrun the Cray...

2005-03-01, 18:45	#4
cheesehead "Richard B. Woods" Aug 2002 Wisconsin USA 2²·3·641 Posts	Note the fine print at bottom: "To place a bid of US $15,000.00 or more, you'll need to provide a valid credit card or complete the ID Verify process ($5)."

2005-03-01, 21:09	#5
ewmayer ∂²ω=0 Sep 2002 República de California 3×7×13×43 Posts	A little over a hundred 600MHz Alpha 21164 CPUs - that means they paid roughly $30000 per CPU, which was way overpriced, even in 1999. I paid $10K for a single-CPU 21164 system (with more RAM and a decent-sized L3 cache - more on that below) in 1998 - and by 1999 the Alpha 21264 had just come on the market, with roughly 2-3x the actual per-cycle throughput of the 21164. Note that their stated figure of 2 flops/cycle per CPU is generous, since the 21164 had tiny L1 and L2 caches (and in supercomputer mode there typically was no slow-but-large L3 cache as found in the single-CPU systems) which made realizing anything close to that maximum theoretical throughput nigh-impossible, and only for ideally structured computations that had nice linear memory access patterns and a perfect balance of FMULs and FADDs. To put this in a GIMPS perspective, this machine is equivalent to about a dozen 3GHz P4s in terms of Mersenne-crunching power. Might be OK for trial-factoring work, though... ;) Also, there's an interesting catch: "Site software operating system license may be required to run Cray Operating System." I wonder how much that costs ... it's probably like the pervasive laser-printer scam, where the printer is cheap, but then you find out that replacement ink cartridges are only available from the manufacturer and cost almost as much as the printer itself. I guess if the COS license is too expensive, one could always run WinXP or Linux (yeah, right!) It's not quite Amazon.com-style Free Super Saver Shipping, either - you have to pick it up yourself. However, the seller generously is offering "Fork lift available for loading at no charge." Caveat Emptor...

2005-03-03, 19:46	#11
crash893 Sep 2002 2³×37 Posts	there is also www.rocketcalc.com