# KieX's 1m² crunching farm



## KieX (Nov 23, 2010)

I have a tiny room with only enough space for 2 or 3 computer towers max (Have 3 ATM). Heat builds up with no airflow in room. But I have the funds and want to maximise my WCG and F@H output.

Please give me your opinion/advice. Thanks for reading/voting.


Update: So you seem what I mean by 1m² space to work with you can see the space I'm talking about here:


Spoiler


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## Bo$$ (Nov 23, 2010)

undervolting CPU and other components may help to reduce heat, or/and leave a small fan by the door


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## (FIH) The Don (Nov 23, 2010)

Bo$$ said:


> undervolting CPU and other components may help to reduce heat, or/and leave a small fan by the door



you do know what subforum this is right?


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## garyinhere (Nov 23, 2010)

On the crunching side I'm upgrading to i7 hex's myself... I watch my numbers everyday and noticed my productivity really wasn't where i wanted it.
You might check going Matx to save some space. 
As far as folding i feel ya on the heat problem. I'm folding on 7 cards and have to split my farm up. Some in the living room and some in the bedroom.(Don't know if this is an option for you?)... I'm also working on upgrading cards so i'm running all 460's too. You don't need the 1G cards due to card memory plays no part in folding or ppd's! Hopes this helps!


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## KieX (Nov 23, 2010)

Bo$$ said:


> undervolting CPU and other components may help to reduce heat, or/and leave a small fan by the door



They're already running on 3.8GHz with as little as 1.23v and use a big fan blowing out the window. But what I'm really after is increasing the output within the small confines.



garyinhere said:


> On the crunching side I'm upgrading to i7 hex's myself... I watch my numbers everyday and noticed my productivity really wasn't where i wanted it.
> You might check going Matx to save some space.
> As far as folding i feel ya on the heat problem. I'm folding on 7 cards and have to split my farm up. Some in the living room and some in the bedroom.(Don't know if this is an option for you?)... I'm also working on upgrading cards so i'm running all 460's too. You don't need the 1G cards due to card memory plays no part in folding or ppd's! Hopes this helps!



Wish I could use other parts of the house, but no chance, not really my house (only room is mine). Yeah I'm folding on 768MB Cyclone 460's too and planning to get the Zalman aftermarket cooler for the 480.

mATX may be something to look into.. managed to fit one inside a NZXT Vulcan with decent temps. Cheers


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## Techtu (Nov 23, 2010)

Wise move would be to upgrade to hex core's I believe


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## (FIH) The Don (Nov 23, 2010)

Techtu said:


> Wise move would be to upgrade to hex core's I believe



if he does go with 2 hexs then he might as well go with sr2 board,


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## KieX (Nov 23, 2010)

(FIH) The Don said:


> if he does go with 2 hexs then he might as well go with sr2 board,



Not so straight forward really. 2 hex is still cheaper than 2 hex + sr2  Not to mention I would have to have it would take up easily the space of my 2 cases atm.


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## Techtu (Nov 23, 2010)

(FIH) The Don said:


> if he does go with 2 hexs then he might as well go with sr2 board,



Ahhh true, that would make more sense, shame it had to be pointed out to me


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## twilyth (Nov 23, 2010)

(FIH) The Don said:


> if he does go with 2 hexs then he might as well go with sr2 board,



Yup.

Sell the quads to defray costs.  Use memory in new rig.

That's a lot cash to spend on rigs though, especially if you're going to get 2 hex cores.  It's great for the team but personally, I still feel guilty about getting a 950 that I didn't really need.  I'm not criticizing btw.  Just trying to provide a different perspective is all.


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## garyinhere (Nov 23, 2010)

twilyth said:


> It's great for the team but personally, I still feel guilty about getting a 950 that I didn't really need. I'm not criticizing btw. Just trying to provide a different perspective is all.



That's part of the fun i think... I only use one rig daily and the others just sit being monitored. Getting a good proc is kind of a win win anyways. Less maintance and easier oc's. I justify my costs by the amount of help for the research i'm doing! By all means stay within a budget though there is no reason to be eating romen noodle soup for this. Even a duo core puts out work for research!


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## KieX (Nov 23, 2010)

twilyth said:


> Yup.
> 
> Sell the quads to defray costs.  Use memory in new rig.
> 
> That's a lot cash to spend on rigs though, especially if you're going to get 2 hex cores.  It's great for the team but personally, I still feel guilty about getting a 950 that I didn't really need.  I'm not criticizing btw.  Just trying to provide a different perspective is all.



This time last year when I started I was unemployed and spent the crappy money I had on a quad for crunching. This year I have a payrise and giving it what I can. Who know's my fortunes can change so I believe in doing what you can when you can.

Yeah selling the quads would be part of the upgrade for any hex stuff. My biggest nightmare would be selling Silverstone FT02's.. they're quite expensive in shipping and difficult to sell


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## f22a4bandit (Nov 23, 2010)

Kiex,

I'd invest in a fan similar to this model.

I'm not going to lie, these fans produce great airflow in a room, and keep it nice and chilly. Set it to oscillate and you're golden.


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## MoonPig (Nov 23, 2010)

Kiex, can i just ask if you have seriously low cost electricity? Or are these at a company?


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## AlienIsGOD (Nov 23, 2010)

build shelves in the room to house more mATX rigs, when out of space... build UP!!!


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## Completely Bonkers (Nov 23, 2010)

Kiex, I would advise on you buying a 19" rack e.g. rittal, new or secondhand. Get some secondhand rack server cases, transfer your CPUs to the racks.  It will be much easier to manage thermally, as well as physically. If your room has a door, a small vent at the top and bottom will also help "chimney" heat out of the small room.


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## KieX (Nov 23, 2010)

f22a4bandit said:


> Kiex,
> 
> I'd invest in a fan similar to this model.
> 
> I'm not going to lie, these fans produce great airflow in a room, and keep it nice and chilly. Set it to oscillate and you're golden.



Are they better than the traditional fan on a stick kind? Would be a cheap solution to try



MoonPig said:


> Kiex, can i just ask if you have seriously low cost electricity? Or are these at a company?



Naa, I wish. It's currently about £110 a month for my farm alone. Although I'm in a position where that isn't an issue (thankfully)


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## Techtu (Nov 23, 2010)

MoonPig said:


> Kiex, can i just ask if you have seriously low cost electricity? Or are these at a company?



He bypassed the mains...


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## MoonPig (Nov 23, 2010)

KieX said:


> Naa, I wish. It's currently about £110 a month for my farm alone. Although I'm in a position where that isn't an issue (thankfully)




Ah ok. Was wondering if you getting free (or cheap-as-chip) power, i would make a deal with you . Nevermind though.


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## garyinhere (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm thinking of going this route on my farm. Cheap cases, Stackable!, pretty good airflow.
Thermaltake Black SECC Japanese steel LANBOX Lite ...


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## f22a4bandit (Nov 23, 2010)

KieX said:


> Are they better than the traditional fan on a stick kind? Would be a cheap solution to try
> 
> 
> 
> Naa, I wish. It's currently about £110 a month for my farm alone. Although I'm in a position where that isn't an issue (thankfully)



They are significantly better because the fan is larger and covers more area than a normal stick fan. Stick fans have the fan sit on top, while this fan covers the entire vented area.


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## AlienIsGOD (Nov 23, 2010)

HAHA..thats my situation MoonPig.  Where Im living the electric/heat/water is incl in my rent (which in itself isnt very much).  if i had more $$$ i would slowly build my farm from 2 comps to at LEAST 4 comps, Hence the TPU B/S/T spending spree at Xmas


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## (FIH) The Don (Nov 23, 2010)

garyinhere said:


> I'm thinking of going this route on my farm. Cheap cases, Stackable!, pretty good airflow.
> Thermaltake Black SECC Japanese steel LANBOX Lite ...



have you ever had one ?

ive had 2 of them now, exsact model

crappy airflow, you do NOT wanna use something bigger than a dualcore in that case, it gets SO hot, trust me

theres only a 80mm in the front and 2 60mm in the back, really really bad for i7s and cpus that produce heat, + it cant really fit any cpu coolers, 

do not go that route, it will be a waste of money


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## garyinhere (Nov 23, 2010)

(FIH) The Don said:


> have you ever had one ?
> 
> ive had 2 of them now, exsact model
> 
> ...



No i'm shopping for htpc's thanks for the heads up!


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## MoonPig (Nov 23, 2010)

AlienIsGOD said:


> HAHA..thats my situation MoonPig.  Where Im living the electric/heat/water is incl in my rent (which in itself isnt very much).  if i had more $$$ i would slowly build my farm from 2 comps to at LEAST 4 comps, Hence the TPU B/S/T spending spree at Xmas



I can cope with the bill, kinda. I changed some bulbs to 9w ones and it's actally countered the usage! lol. But, i need somewhere in my house where i can leave this comp. Want it running 24/7 and it's too loud when people are in my room, just looks weird... haha.


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## (FIH) The Don (Nov 23, 2010)

garyinhere said:


> No i'm shopping for htpc's thanks for the heads up!



my i7 + 295 was too much for this case

the rig shut itself down due to overheating, and that was at stock speeds :shadedshu

check out silverstones sg0x  series, they seem okay, but i dont know how well the cooling is in those

best cube case ive ever had was the nzxt rogue, that is one cool case, but isnt produced anymore, and its big for a cube case


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## KieX (Nov 23, 2010)

Updated the OP with a picture of my room and the tiny space I have to work with.

The stand fan I think is going to be a definite buy. mATX and rack ideas are *two seriously good ideas* I had not though of before. Thanks so much for your response I wasn't expecting such turnout.

Just throwing out this question although maybe better to have this one on another subforum... would watercooling make the room cooler? Or is my room bound to the laws of physics and it will get just as hot, though cooler hardware?


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## garyinhere (Nov 23, 2010)

No water cooling will not make your room cooler... the heat produced will go to your rad and the fans will still pump that heat into your room imo. Your focus should be on how to lower your ambient temps.

Wow looking at the amount of space you have i think stacking is your best option!


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## (FIH) The Don (Nov 23, 2010)

garyinhere said:


> No water cooling will not make your room cooler... the heat produced will go to your rad and the fans will still pump that heat into your room imo. Your focus should be on how to lower your ambient temps.



what if he uses a 9x120mm rad, and place it in the window and have fans blowing out of the window, wont that lower temps a bit?


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## garyinhere (Nov 23, 2010)

(FIH) The Don said:


> what if he uses a 9x120mm rad, and place it in the window and have fans blowing out of the window, wont that lower temps a bit?



yes that would help... the biggest fight is ambient temps... if you can figure out a way to "dump the heat" and get a constant inflow of  cooler air then you will be winning


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## twilyth (Nov 23, 2010)

Completely Bonkers said:


> Kiex, I would advise on you buying a 19" rack e.g. rittal, new or secondhand. Get some secondhand rack server cases, transfer your CPUs to the racks.  It will be much easier to manage thermally, as well as physically. If your room has a door, a small vent at the top and bottom will also help "chimney" heat out of the small room.



That's a great idea but those suckers are expensive - even used.  Also, if you want to oc you need room for cooling gear whether you go air cooling (especially) or water.  Water gives you more flexibility though and I've seen setups with 6 motherboards on the same pump and radiator.  If you go with 4U cases in the rack, you'll have nearly as much room as a mid tower case but mounting something like a True 120 is going to be very tight and you might have to leave the lid off.

In the summer I have a problem with the small room where my desk is.  It's 10 x 12 feet and only has one register for the central a/c.

I've found the best arrangement is to have one fan mounted near the ceiling in the part of the room farthest from the door.  This gets pointed in the general direction of the door.  Then, near the door, mount a very directional fan near the ceiling and have it aimed at about the middle of the door way.

I use this one or something almost identical.  It pivots to point in almost any direction.  The arc is about from 40 degrees below horizontal to maybe 70 degrees above.

What happens is you get warm air near the ceiling being forced out and cool air near the floor sucked in.  When both fans are on high, they make a bit of a racket, but you can actually feel the breeze created by the cool air rushing in.

It's not perfect, but I can keep that room to within 2-3F degrees of the temp in the hallway.


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## AlienIsGOD (Nov 23, 2010)

I see you have a window there... What about those fans that fit in yer windows http://www.seds.com/consumerelectronics.htm this is just a google link, but you get my drift.  Have the fans mounted in the window so that they push the air out of ur lil room there.  Also IDK what the dust situation is there in that room, but maybe one of those open bench tech stations would work?  just throwing that last one out there....

PS.  I use a window fan in my bedroom for when I smoke cigs, etc.  I just have the air flow pushing the smoke out of the room and it works like a charm for that purpose... im not sure about cooling a room that way tho....


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## Chicken Patty (Nov 24, 2010)

I'd say go for the Hex's!


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## [Ion] (Nov 30, 2010)

I'd say get a pair of hex-core i7s & sell off the current quads (or maybe keep one around for a potential 3rd i7).  That should give the best PPD/$ ratio, an W555(SR-2) setup still is way overpriced IMO.  Especially w/ CPUs well over $1000 a piece


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