Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : Dual core Pentium4's and Athlon X2's in 2U cases?

[TheSpidre]

I'm looking to build 2 dual core servers in a 2U case with 300W PSU and a cheap Asus/MSI/Gigabyte desktopmotherboard with onboard video/lan.

Anyone who tried such setup? How is the cooling and cpu temperature?

I prefer to go for the intel setup because of its nice Ghz's and intel-logo, however since it also run much hotter than the AMD counterparts, I'm not sure which one to go for.

I'll be using an active cooler and 2x 80mm case fans Airflow wouldn't be great because of the memory that stops the cool air from cooling the cpu efficiently..

Any idea's or tips are welcome!

[bqinternet]

Originally Posted by TheSpidre

I prefer to go for the intel setup because of its nice Ghz's and intel-logo, however since it also run much hotter than the AMD counterparts, I'm not sure which one to go for.

The Intel chips may have more Ghz, but the AMD chips with less Ghz'es will often outperform it in a server environment.

[sjhwilkes]

Yeah the AMD chips are faster in ANY environment, Ghz is meaningless. Much cooler, more power efficient, and more cost effective too. I'm looking at quad 875 Opteron systems right now, amazing amount of power in 4U.

[ZestTechnologies]

Amd Opterons 252 running at 64bit mode will outrun any Intel chips.

[imdma]

I've operated a bunch of servers with similar setups and as long as you are in a 2u case in a DC with good cooling you are fine. 1u case = forget about it Not enough room to breathe.

[cwl@apaqdigital]

Originally Posted by TheSpidre

I'm looking to build 2 dual core servers in a 2U case with 300W PSU and a cheap Asus/MSI/Gigabyte desktopmotherboard with onboard video/lan.....

do consider the new socket 939 Opteron 165/170 dual-core which will work on just about any socket 939 "desktop" board based on nVidia nForce 4x chipset.

dual-core Opteron 1xx always comes with 2x 1M L2. in fact, currently Opteron 165 is priced lower than A64-X2 3800 (2x 512K L2). only those rather expensive A64-x2 4400+ models begin to offer 2x 1M L2 version.

if you opt for P-D chip, stick to 2.8Ghz (95watt max) which is rather easy to cool. 3Ggz+ jumps to 130watt which is pretty tough to cool it properly, even in 2U.

dual-core chips are at rather high cost, why not spend a bit more to get a true server-class board from Tyan (S2865G2NR/S5160G2NR) or Supermicro (PDSMx series) to provide a good "foundation" for your investment.

[KarlZimmer]

Originally Posted by cwl@apaqdigital

dual-core Opteron 1xx always comes with 2x 1M L2. in fact, currently Opteron 165 is priced lower than A64-X2 3800 (2x 512K L2). only those rather expensive A64-x2 4400+ models begin to offer 2x 1M L2 version.

Are there other differences between the A64 x2 3800 and the Opteron 165 chips other than clock speed and cache? In a server environment does the additional cache make up for losing the 200mhz of clock speed?

[cwl@apaqdigital]

there are pratically no difference between Athon64x2 and Opteron dual-core 1xx except 2x 512K L2 for some low-end A64-x2 's

for only 200mhz less clock-speed, I would opt for 2x 1M L2 opteron 165 anytime. however, opteron 170 (2.0G, 2x 1M), which costs only about $80 more than A64-x2 3800 (2.0G, 2x 512K), is also worth considering.

Game PC has published a Apache web server benchmarks of 2x dual-core Opteron vs 2x dual-core Xeon Paxville. it certainly tells story of how much ahead of those dual-core opteron's are, and they use much less power and produce less heat. the same difference in performace and power consumption can be assumed for Opteronx2 1xx vs Pemtium-D.