Dual (or multi) motherboards?

uigrad · 2008-09-25, 19:50

I was browsing, and found a 2000 watt power supply for $650 here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817101033

That should be enough to power 6+ motherboards, but it only has a single 24-pin main connector. Splicing that main connector may be possible, so it may have promise.

For $385, you can buy a case that holds dual motherboards:
https://www.arcticmod.com/computer-m...lic-panels.htm

It looks like it is designed for use with two power supplies also, and since it is more than twice the size of a normal ATX tower, it would have plenty of room for all your devices. I don't know if cooling would be impacted by the large open space or not.

I don't have the money to build a giant custom system, but it is certainly something that I've thought about. I would have a lot of fun with such a project, but I don't have any justification for spending the money on such a beast (prime95 is not a valid justification).

Has anyone else built a multi-motherboard system? If so, how well did it work?

xilman · 2008-09-25, 20:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by uigrad

Has anyone else built a multi-motherboard system? If so, how well did it work?

Yup. but probably not in the way you're thinking of it.

When at MSR I built a 16-mobo system, each of which was fitted with 2 cpus, 2G RAM, a small SCSI fisk and dual gigabit ethernet. It fitted into two 19-inch racks and we called it a "cluster".

It worked well when built around 6 years ago. I must find out whether it's still working well.

Paul

Mini-Geek · 2008-09-25, 20:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by xilman

When at MSR I built a 16-mobo system, each of which was fitted with 2 cpus, 2G RAM, a small SCSI fisk and dual gigabit ethernet. It fitted into two 19-inch racks and we called it a "cluster".

It worked well when built around 6 years ago. I must find out whether it's still working well.

Must've been pretty darn fast for the time to have those stats per mobo.

Uncwilly · 2008-09-25, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by uigrad

Has anyone else built a multi-motherboard system? If so, how well did it work?

There were folks doing the 2 mobo per psu thing a while back on stripped down systems. There were several people who ran boards naked (sin caja). A nice shelf is cheaper than 2 cheap cases and will hold a lot more. PrimeMonster (search the forum for postings about his PrimeMonster), built a 12? node "monster" that was working in the 44M range (IIRC). He figured that for the cost of a pack-a-day cig habit, he could add a new node ~every 2 months.

Mini-Geek · 2008-09-26, 01:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

He figured that for the cost of a pack-a-day cig habit, he could add a new node ~every 2 months.

Funny to compare GIMPS to a nicotine addiction...

IronBits · 2008-09-26, 02:57

Here's what a splitter looks like

IronBits · 2008-09-26, 02:58

Here it is in action.

IronBits · 2008-09-26, 03:00

10 headless nodes via PXElinux

xilman · 2008-09-26, 07:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

Must've been pretty darn fast for the time to have those stats per mobo.

Performance was adequate.

It did a good number of NFSNET matrices, found many ECM factors and lots of pseudoprimes of the form x^y+y^x. Other members of MSR made good use of it but, for obvious reasons, I'm not quite as familiar with the details.

Paul

ET_ · 2008-09-26, 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by xilman

Performance was adequate.
[snip]
Paul

Your answer made me think to Seven Of Nine...

Luigi

retina · 2008-09-26, 10:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ET_

Quote:

Originally Posted by xilman

Performance was adequate.
[snip]
Paul

Your answer made me think to Seven Of Nine...

Luigi

I thought it was more like Rolls Royce.

2008-09-25, 19:50	#1
uigrad Aug 2008 2×43 Posts	Dual (or multi) motherboards? I was browsing, and found a 2000 watt power supply for $650 here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817101033 That should be enough to power 6+ motherboards, but it only has a single 24-pin main connector. Splicing that main connector may be possible, so it may have promise. For $385, you can buy a case that holds dual motherboards: https://www.arcticmod.com/computer-m...lic-panels.htm It looks like it is designed for use with two power supplies also, and since it is more than twice the size of a normal ATX tower, it would have plenty of room for all your devices. I don't know if cooling would be impacted by the large open space or not. I don't have the money to build a giant custom system, but it is certainly something that I've thought about. I would have a lot of fun with such a project, but I don't have any justification for spending the money on such a beast (prime95 is not a valid justification). Has anyone else built a multi-motherboard system? If so, how well did it work?

2008-09-26, 02:57	#6
IronBits I ♥ BOINC! Oct 2002 Glendale, AZ. (USA) 3·7·53 Posts	Here's what a splitter looks like Attached Thumbnails

2008-09-26, 02:58	#7
IronBits I ♥ BOINC! Oct 2002 Glendale, AZ. (USA) 459₁₆ Posts	Here it is in action. Attached Thumbnails

2008-09-26, 03:00	#8
IronBits I ♥ BOINC! Oct 2002 Glendale, AZ. (USA) 1113₁₀ Posts	10 headless nodes via PXElinux Attached Thumbnails

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