Project Omicron, the ironically named 4P build

[mr.squishy]

Alright, so this is my first official build log, and this build will certainly take a while, so bear with me on this.

And before I forget, here are some tags: 

@tmcclelland455 @MEC-777

Anyways, I'm building a 4P system. I felt like I needed a different type of project in my life so I decided it would be a great idea to put together some sort of server/folding/boincing rig out of some old Socket F hardware, although I have an extremely limited budget and as such would gladly welcome donations. (located in VT, if that matters) Anyway, here is my list of things I have and a list of things I need:

Things I have:

Arima Quad Socket F 3000 series motherboard

4x Opteron 8356

10 Gb of DDR2 ECC RAM (4 sticks 2Gb, 4 sticks 512Mb)

600w PSU (donated by a friend)

Acess to multiple GPU's to use as a display adapter (the mobo is extremely picky)

Heatsinks: 1 Hyper 101a, 2 stock all aluminum AM3 heatsinks (different sizes though), 1 Stock Phenom heatsink (the one with heatpipes)

 

Things I need:

Socket K8 (socket 939) retention brackets (the mobo didn't come with any) (would be an awesome donation)

Power adapters for the motherboard

Matching heatsinks: Preferrably I'd have 4 of the stock Phenom ones, they are really nice. (again, would make a great donation)

Some sort of case (although I might just mount it to a piece of acrylic)

I'd gladly take a donation of any sort of GPU that can do folding (for AMD that's 6000 series or newer)

I'd also gladly take donations of DDR2 ECC PC2-5300p RAM

 

Anyways, on to some pictures:

 

CPU:

 

Power connectors:

 

10 Gigs of DDR2 ECC RAM:

 

PSU:

 

Coolers:

 

Stock AM3 (notice the thickness difference):

 

Stock Phenom (so much beefier and nicer):

 

Family photo (and my baby, my HD 3870 x2):

 

Motherboard leaning against my main rig:

[theelitegamer]

Why though?

[mr.squishy]

Why though?

Because I can and I want to.

[theelitegamer]

Because I can and I want to.

rood m8. Sorry for coming on strong. How is it at folding?

[zonahbear]

Why though?

why not?

[mr.squishy]

rood m8. Sorry for coming on strong. How is it at folding?

Estimates from a few years ago landed somewhere around 80k PPD for 4x 8356's, although that was back when they had the big core projects running that boosted multi-cpu rigs by an insane amount. I estimate PPD these days should land somewhere around 18-20k, but of course that total would go waaay up if someone generously donates a GPU that can do folding... (hey, I can dream)

[MEC-777]

Sub'd.

[mr.squishy]

Just ordered one Socket 939 retention bracket, going to wait for it to arrive before I order more.

 

Small update: I have a stock FX 8350 heatsink coming in the mail sometime soon that a friend donated. I just need 2 more of this type of heatsink now!

[mr.squishy]

Update: mounting bracket came in the mail today. I modded it with a dremel so that it'd fit over the CPU retention bracket. I've ordered the remaining mounting brackets. The only problem is that 4 pin fans don't work on this motherboard because all of the fan connectors are directly next to capacitors.

Mounting bracket:

 

After Dremeling:

 

Attached to the motherboard:

 

With the stock Phenom cooler attached:

 

Pic of the fan header:

 

Any comments/suggestions are greatly welcomed!

[Atomicnerd64]

Estimates from a few years ago landed somewhere around 80k PPD for 4x 8356's, although that was back when they had the big core projects running that boosted multi-cpu rigs by an insane amount. I estimate PPD these days should land somewhere around 18-20k, but of course that total would go waaay up if someone generously donates a GPU that can do folding... (hey, I can dream)

but is it worth it? an i7 gets 20-30K ppd

[mr.squishy]

but is it worth it? an i7 gets 20-30K ppd

For the price I got the system at, yes.

[ALXAndy]

If you're on the earhole for free stuff I would include your location.

 

I personally couldn't be arsed sending anything to "Somewhere cold".

[mr.squishy]

If you're on the earhole for free stuff I would include your location.

 

I personally couldn't be arsed sending anything to "Somewhere cold".

I'd rather have people PM me if they have stuff, I'd rather not make my name and address COMPLETELY open for the internet to know. It's a safety issue.

[ALXAndy]

So I would have to PM you just to find out if I can send you free shit?

 

Hint, mate - hardly any one will be bothered. I would state your location.

[mr.squishy]

So I would have to PM you just to find out if I can send you free shit?

 

Hint, mate - hardly any one will be bothered. I would state your location.

That's totally ok. This isn't an urgent project, so if nobody sends anything that's ok.

[Maki Role]

Not so hot on that PSU though, wouldn't want it to ruin any hard work you put into this down the line.

[mr.squishy]

Not so hot on that PSU though, wouldn't want it to ruin any hard work you put into this down the line.

Yeah, the PSU is pretty sketchy. I'm planning ongetting an actual PSU for this once I can find/make a case for it.

 

Also, small update: All retention brackets are in the mail, as well as the adapters for the power supply. they should be here by the end of the week, hopefully I can do some testing then!

[mr.squishy]

Update 1: Got another cooler and retention bracket in the mail. Modded and installed them today:

 

Mounted:

 

Update 2: I modded the power connectors so that they would be the correct pinouts. Here are some pics:

 

Both adapters connected to the motherboard:

[mr.squishy]

I don't have any drives, but I decided to see if I could get her to boot anyway. Here's everything connected before my first boot attempt:

 

To my surprise, everything worked when I turned on the system! 

 

Although, it wasn't a successful boot attempt.