[lug] Linux hardware

[Daniel Webb]

On Thu, 6 Feb 2003, Facey, Aaron wrote:

> Hello-
> We are looking at Linux as a replacement to our Sun compute server farm.
> Basically we only use the machines for cpu intense jobs via LSF. We do not
> store anything on the local disk. We do need gigabit cards and probably 2GB
> mem per cpu in a rack mountable chassis.
>
> My hardware questions:
> Is there anyone out there with a similar setup?
> Dual CPU vs. single CPU - is there a performance difference?
> What would be the optimum setup at a reasonable cost?
> What are the performance differences between Xeon, itanium, and p4
> processors?
> Would one be better than the other performance wise?
> Vendor's - Who is the best - hp, dell, ibm?

  I just put together a 10-machine cluster for research at CU.  We found
that for memory-intensive search algorithms (particle collision), Intel
wins by 50% over AMD.  For integration (ODE systems), AMD is twice as fast
as Intel (integration loops are all in L1, I guess).  We don't even have
hard drives in the machines (except for the master).  I think we built the
whole thing for about $5000.  I would suggest either build it yourself
from newegg.com, or find someone local who is an expert at this sort of
thing.  Maybe I should go into business.