GPU folding mini-farm

[Slash_2CPU]

Got 3 Dell Optiplex 755's for free. The desktop ones that support a half-height PCIe card.

Q35 chipset
One PCIe x16 1.1 slot
Core2-based Pentium Dual-core E2160
1-2GB DDR2-667
16A max on 12V rail

Turns out these allow 1MHz BCLK with locked PCI/PCIe via software. Unusual for OEM systems.

General plan:
Pick up 2-3 Core 2 Duo E7400-7600's on eBay for $4-7 each. The extra L2 cache of the E8xxx series is pointless, and the 1066 FSB allows for a bit of overclocking.

4-6x 1GB DDR2-800 sticks. $3-6 each.The system will run em at 667MHz multi with a 1066 FSB CPU. It'll give me OC'ing headroom.

Cheap 450-600W PSU's from a good manufacturer. $40-65 each.

3x GTX 970's.

Over/under-clock as needed to keep the GTX 970 in each box fed with data at minimum CPU power. Possibly even pad-mod VID downward. I don't plan to do any CPU folding at all. Not worth it for the PPD/W.

Think the Dell's will be able to keep the GTX 970's fed?

Does Win7 Remote Desktop play nice with GPU folding? Don't really want 500-700W of heat and noise in my office.

[7im]

Remote Desktop does not play well with GPUs in general, and specifically not well with FAH, so use other options like VNC instead.

Also, unless the top is left off the PC case, the top Low Profile NVidia GPU is a 750 Ti. The mini 970 I saw was half length, not half height, for use in the ATX form factor. But new stuff comes out all the time.

Yes, that should be enough to feed a modern GPU.

[Rel25917]

Does Win7 Remote Desktop play nice with GPU folding? Don't really want 500-700W of heat and noise in my office.

Sadly this is a big fat NO. Windows remote desktop resets the video drivers everytime you log in with it causing the core to crash. Other free remote control apps will work though.

[bruce]

As has already been said, avoid Microsoft's Remote Desktop, but VNC and other programs so work with FAH.

For many people who fold, remote desktop is unnecessary. I have a machine in the garage which folds 24x7. It does have provisions for a monitor, mouse, keyboard which I have used for installation but I don't need it after that. For information about and management of FAH, connectivity is built into to the FAH software, itself.

A single system would be needed locally for either VNC or FAHControl and the other systems can be located remotely. Of course VNC would give you the capability to run other software on the remote systems, but for me, that can be done on on the local system. YMMV

[Slash_2CPU]

Remote Desktop does not play well with GPUs in general, and specifically not well with FAH, so use other options like VNC instead.

Also, unless the top is left off the PC case, the top Low Profile NVidia GPU is a 750 Ti. The mini 970 I saw was half length, not half height, for use in the ATX form factor. But new stuff comes out all the time.

Yes, that should be enough to feed a modern GPU.

Cases will be top-less. Going on a garage shelf, most likely. Already cut the half-height PCI slot area out. Thinking I'll rivet in a strap of 1/16" x 1/2" aluminum flat bar across the PCIe area, bend to fit, and drill and tap it for 6-32 thread to provide stability for the full-height card's slot bracket.

[toTOW]

Also be carefull, Maxwell GPUs (tested with 970) require quite a powerful CPU to be fed efficiently ...