If I bought a PS3 for crunching, would you guys help me compile?

[jasong]

I'm seriously considering making a PS3 my next crunching purchase.

The problem is that I have little experience with compiling programs, which would be necessary to run DC. I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to deal with the hassle of helping me compile any of the math-related stuff on these forums. I'm thinking the main programs I would run would be Prime95 factoring(PS3 version), sr2sieve for Riesel Sieve, and ecm(I'm hoping wblipp will help me, since most curves I do will be for OPN search).

So, should I bother? I'm not much of a gamer, so if I can't use it for DC, it's not going to be used.

[Mini-Geek]

Maybe you should look at the new quad-core AMD CPUs.

Originally Posted by Article linked to in my link

AMD claims that Barcelona’s per-core floating point performance is more than 80 percent faster than the present Opteron.

That would make for some very fast number crunching, unless I'm mistaken in some way.

That would let you easily run the programs, I don't think the PS3 gives a substantially higher bang-for-the-buck, making it be worth the hassle of having no pre-compiled DC software.
The PS3 only has 15 GFLOPS (double precision) on its CPU, while other modern processors, such as Core 2 Duo Woodcrest get 24 GFLOPS theoretical Rpeak. This should mean that Barcelona will be much faster than a PS3 for number crunching. Also, the PS3 only has 256 MB of RAM, so it wouldn't run P-1 Stage 2 very well.

(ref for PS3's GFLOPS and RAM amount: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS3#Cen...rocessing_unit)
(ref for Core 2 Duo info: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=31836)

[bayanne]

My understanding is that Yellow Dog Linux have a deal going where their OS will run on PS3. It must be easy to set up GLucas to run on this box ......

Try their site Terrasoft Solutions

[jasong]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

I don't think the PS3 gives a substantially higher bang-for-the-buck, making it be worth the hassle of having no pre-compiled DC software.
The PS3 only has 15 GFLOPS (double precision) on its CPU, while other modern processors, such as Core 2 Duo Woodcrest get 24 GFLOPS theoretical Rpeak. This should mean that Barcelona will be much faster than a PS3 for number crunching.

I'm going to reveal my ignorance in the next sentence. :)

I was planning on buying a PS3 because I thought it would be a superior cruncher in terms of sieving and factoring. Was I wrong to assume this?

[Brucifer]

I had entertained some thoughts on purchasing a PS3 also Jasong, however I don't think the time is right for it yet. To begin with, as some others have found out, it takes a bit of experience to extract the most out of the PS3 processor setup. Take a peek or two in the F@H forums regarding the PS3. Sony is doing the client for f@h, and will release it when they have finished their European roll-out and expected software updates. So it's going to be a bit of time yet before the PS3 actually hits the streets crunching for f@h. Then we will all be watching to see what kind of actual performance along with what type of problems are going to crop up. Is the thing going to be able to take the generated heat for 24x7 full time crunching??? So I just decided I wasn't going to get involved in it until I watch what's what.

On the other hand, after laying out $600+ buckareenos, there is some other quite formidable stuff around. For instance, add another few hundred <grin> and pick up one of the C2D quad core extremes. That little puppy will work good at a whole bunch of stuff, some of which the PS3 isn't going to excell at.

I think that for the bucks to put into a PS3, you would be better off picking up a couple of the ATI GPU's if you are really in to the bleeding edge. There's a development kit out for those. They will do good on the f@h again also.

I think that a lot of the DC community is sitting back and waiting to see how these items (GPU's & PS3) pan out for f@h in reality as compared to all the hype. If they work as hoped, then they will without a doubt be adapted to multiple projects by people with the skills and experience to do it.

Meanwhile, a couple mid-level C2D's with motherboards can be picked up for the price of the wireless PS3, and those will work on lots of projects.... like about everything on this web site.

[jasong]

You're probably right Brucifer.

Actually, it was mostly impatience and greed on my part. Not including my laptop, I only have room for 4 computers. And because of the nature of the laws in Arkansas, if my total cash assets go above $2000, or my total net worth goes above $10,000, I could lose my drug benefits. Investing is not an option, since that would confirm I have money to spare.

Since the United States is, technically, a Constitutional Republic, meaning written law, things can get a little wacky sometimes. I'd rather save up and go to college in 3-4 years, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

[Mini-Geek]

Originally Posted by jasong

I'm going to reveal my ignorance in the next sentence. :)

I was planning on buying a PS3 because I thought it would be a superior cruncher in terms of sieving and factoring. Was I wrong to assume this?

I assumed this, too, when I first saw your post, and clicked "Post Reply" mostly to say that it's slightly better crunching vs convenience, because that seemed like the "obvious" choice with getting a PS3 vs a new CPU. Then I started writing my post and looked around for the actual speeds of modern CPUs vs PS3s, and realized that the number crunching would be the same (or somewhat better) for current quad-cores, and definitely better for the new AMD quad-core.

[vaio]

Make a nice folding machine

[Mystwalker]

Originally Posted by vaio

Make a nice folding machine

Such as this one?

[Xyzzy]

Originally Posted by vaio

Make a nice folding machine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RTO1_e5Ntw

[Peter Nelson]

Originally Posted by jasong

And because of the nature of the laws in Arkansas, if my total cash assets go above $2000, or my total net worth goes above $10,000, I could lose my drug benefits. Investing is not an option, since that would confirm I have money to spare.

Since the United States is, technically, a Constitutional Republic, meaning written law, things can get a little wacky sometimes. I'd rather save up and go to college in 3-4 years, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

May I suggest some workarounds:

You could RENT a computer (either at commercial rates or from a friend). You pay them some amount monthly which you do not keep as an asset because it BELONGS to someone else, and it may be a tax-deductible cost in some tax jurisdictions. Of course you get full USE of the computer even though it does not belong to you. There may be some form of "baloon payment" to own the rented PC for residual value. That way say after 3 years, you could own the (much less value) PC as an asset for factoring, if you wanted to, or simply take out a new rental (lease/contract hire) agreement on an up to date PC.

Or purchase time on some establishment's computers. IBM, Sun etc rent out computer time at fairly expensive rates but you may find cheaper suppliers of such services ;-)

If you can't save up for college, you may want to BORROW the tuition fees from someone, paying them back later. Or you need to find a scholarship from some fund or company who will cover your study costs.

None of these should involve you having excess assets.

You could even sell your existing computers and the buyer will "rent" them back to you for a couple of years then own them. That would give you even more headroom on your limits than you have now.

I suppose these techniques might be useful for other circumstances of asset minimisation eg divorce, child support, bancruptcy/insolvency, social security benefits, business taxation et al.

You may be able to "timeshare" a PS3 with a friend for example, whereby they own it, and let you use it in return for a contribution to costs.

At least you don't need to consider your electricity costs as an asset.