Folding Forum

Looking to add another 'dedicated' folder to the farm:

This Lenovo ThinkStation C20 (type 4263) Mid Tower computer comes with Intel 2 Quad Core Xeon 2.13GHz Processor, 12288MB DDR3 memory, 2000GB hard drive, DVDRW optical drive and Windows 10 Pro operating system.

From: https://www.overstock.com/Electronics/L ... earchidx=0

cost $444.00. It has integrated graphics, would adding video card, be worth adding 1060?

Is this pricey & I should look around more? With & Without adding a GPU, any ballpark guesses as to ppd approx.

Those refurbished slim PCs from Lenovo/Dell/HP... can make some problems because they have special slim power supplies sometimes where plug for extra GPU may be missing.

The price is too high to just add a gtx 1060 which makes $444+$275 = $719 for 300k PPD
If you get a more cheap used PC e.g. for $300 and add a gtx 1070 for $400 then you have the same price but get 600k PPD

This e.g. a cheap model for $150 on that site but I don't know if it is perfect or has a drawback.
https://www.overstock.com/Electronics/D ... 9&recidx=2
It says: Support for two PCI Express x16 graphics cards up to 300 watts.

In general I would not go below Dual Core CPU and 4GB RAM and 200GB disk and PCIE x16 and maybe DVD drive and Windows 7.
Power supply should have enough Watt at 12V for GPU of your choice.

Hi Foldy,

So <300 $ machine + upgrade fans + gtx1070. Would be better than a dual processor?

1070 need's 500W PSU, not mini or slim tower, the cpu is less relevant 'choice' due to 1070?

Ricorocks wrote:It has integrated graphics, would adding video card, be worth adding 1060?

I agree with the earlier comments.

The 1060 would not fit. In fact, adding a GPU to that system would be virtually impossible. Not only is the power supply inadequate, the case only accommodates what's called a "Half Height GPU" or a"Low Profile" GPU. While such GPUs do exist, All GPUs in that category fold very slowly ... only slightly faster than the integrated GPU ... if it happens to be supported, which I doubt

I've got a couple of older computers with half-height chassis. They fold file on the CPU and the integrated GPU displays reasonable video, but do not plan on using it for GPU folding.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... deo%20card

According to the PSU replacement instructions (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/migr-75669) the PSU in that C20 has 3 plugs for PCI devices. The PSU is 800W.

With 2 Quad-core Xeons and 12 GB RAM, that should be a very powerful machine! if you can verify both CPUs are included, it may be a good buy! You may not be able to put in exactly the GPU you want, but you may be able to find a good alternative. If the choice of GPU is not a showstopper, buy the machine, measure available space, and find a GPU that will fit.

Hmmm! Off Ventura, Ca with the Anacapa Islands in the background?

I'm trying to figure out if going this way 2 cpu, or tower + 1070, I would get more bang for my buck.

Any guesses on how many 'ballpark' points from something like the Lenovo.

I have more research to do!

By fit you must mean the length of the card

see pg 18 https://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/p ... c20_ug.pdf

looks like one of those 1/2 length world work

This case doesn't appear to be a 'slimline' case, so a normal-height PCIe GPU card should fit. However, some of the high-end cards are also very long, so a fit for both height and length should be estimated.

For a ballpark, my tower is about 8.5" wide, and the Lenovo doc says that case is 5.12". The height of a standard backplane cover is about 4.5", so a PCIe card that is not taller than the screw tab for the backplane slot should be OK. The position of the PCIe x16 slot relative to the Optical Drive cage may be your limiting factor for card length. OTOH, the Lenovo spec page (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/docume ... -75579#exp) says the x16 slot is "full length", and gives a bunch of NVidia GPU options, including the 1060. My guess is that you could get a good GPU running in there...

That MoBo likely has Xeon 5506 CPUs (http://ark.intel.com/products/series/39 ... es#@Server). No hyperthreading and slow clock speed by current standards, but you'll have 6 or 7 real cores available for CPU Folding, and only 60-80 Watts TDP each. The 800W PSU will give you plenty of headroom for a good GPU.

Bang for the buck is definitly to go with fast GPU instead of CPUs.

a pair of 5506's will give you a few thousand PPD at most. I'm with foldy - get a cheap 2nd hand machine, make sure it has a decent PSU and then add a 1070. Well known auction and 2nd hand sites will have plenty of rigs out there. If you have any parts laying around you may find it cheaper to do a DIY build.

Thanks Guys

Do you have any PC parts now? Hard drive, DVD, etc.? If so I would personally build a cheaper PC and use GPU's. Check out my build here: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=28869

I do a few hdd's, lots of memory, don't see the need for a cd/dvd, but have a portable cd/dvd usb if necessary. Previously I commented on your still AWESOME set up.

Thanks

Just got online my Dell Precision T3500 Xenon server. Modifications made, new Fractal Design Define XLR2 case lots of fans, 2 Gigabyte GTX 1070, EVGA Gold 750W PSU. The glitches, could not get front USB's wired, modify case power switch.

I was at all three machines 3732 cuda's, now 6784

Thank you Foldy, for all your expert help! & Thank you to all who contributed to this thread

Rico