Bargain Hardware Thread

[bgbeuning]

Thanks for the input.
You all raised valid points, but most I can not measure the impact of.
How much does RAM speed or MB chipset affect the iteration time?
I am sure they do affect it, but I don't have a way to measure the impact.

The C6100 basically has 4 motherboards in a 2U case.
Each MB has 24GB RAM which is more than the others
but I am not sure how to reflect that in a score.

I have 2 Xeon 1U servers (by Dell and HP).
They seem to scale up fine when using all cores.

My electric Utility charges $0.06 per kWh.
The C6100 draws 500W under full load which is 12 kW / day
or $0.72 / day or $22 / month. Hmm.

I am a little worried about the heat...

[kladner]

Crosspost:
score = benchmark / cores * cost

Consider the difference grouping makes:

[LIST=1][*]score=(benchmark divided by cores) times cost[*]score=benchmark divided by (cores times cost)[/LIST]
One puts cost in the numerator. The other puts cost in the denominator.

Let's say 'benchmark' = 4 ms
'cores' = 4
'cost' = 400
[LIST=1][*]x=(4/4)*400=400[*][STRIKE]x=4/(4*400)=0.75[/LIST] In #1, 'cost' increases the score, which makes sense if lower is better.

In #2 'cost' vastly decreases 'score', which only gets worse as cost increases.
So #1 seems more sensible, especially if the 'benchmark' is iteration time, which is the only way the whole thing really makes sense.

However,

benchmark = 66.8 (closest I could find was Intel Xeon E5462)
cores = 32
price = $790
score = 1649

which works out to 1649.125 in the #1 equation, does not look like 'benchmark' is denoted in ms.

So #1 is the intended form, but what is 'benchmark'? [/STRIKE]

Duh. 'Cost' is electricity? What is benchmark? I should stop

[axn]

E5507 is nothing like E5462. I guess an i7 920 (benchmark = 77.84ms) is a better comparison, but with probably worse performance. We should look at something like 85-90ms.

Also, i5-6400 score = 17.91/4*538= 2409 (not 2847).

And I don't see any benchmark numbers for E3-1240. Where did you get the 23ms number?

[axn]

Also http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883158462

[kladner]

Originally Posted by axn

Also http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883158462

WFS! (I can't remember what 'WFS' is supposed to mean, though I think it was enthusiastic. I'm trying to forget a rough day at work.)
Even if one needs to replace the memory, it is awfully cheap, even if it is four generations back, or so.

Second Edit: Consider how much you will spend for power for a 2xxx CPU. Long-term costs can easily outweigh purchase price.

FINALLY (or finale): I completely overlooked detailed explanations from the OP.

[blip]

Originally Posted by kladner

WFS!

???

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by bgbeuning

"Dell C6100 XS23-TY3 Server 8x 2.26GHz 4C E5507 96GB"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-C6100-X...8AAOSwl9BWJk8R

You seem to have neglected to mention the $753.73 shipping costs...

[axn]

Originally Posted by Gordon

You seem to have neglected to mention the $753.73 shipping costs...

Shipping costs are automatically shown for the country you're in (UK?). For US, given some valid zip codes, it shows much lower rates.

[fivemack]

Is this just companies being unused to international shipping and picking a single ludicrously expensive option? Or does it really cost eight hundred dollars to ship a 250lb three-foot-by-three-foot-by-one-foot cardboard box from Michigan to the UK?

[retina]

Originally Posted by fivemack

Is this just companies being unused to international shipping and picking a single ludicrously expensive option? Or does it really cost eight hundred dollars to ship a 250lb three-foot-by-three-foot-by-one-foot cardboard box from Michigan to the UK?

It depends upon how long you want to wait for the package. Plus that is heavy so going by air will be pricey. And general handling will require more than just one guy in a van.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by fivemack

Is this just companies being unused to international shipping and picking a single ludicrously expensive option? Or does it really cost eight hundred dollars to ship a 250lb three-foot-by-three-foot-by-one-foot cardboard box from Michigan to the UK?

Wouldn't be surprised. The best price I could get for shipping a Victorian family bible to Florida was > £80, or ~$125. That weighed much less than 250lb. In the end I hand-delivered it to the recipient when she visited the UK. Even if she had to pay excess baggage charges it would still have been much cheaper.