I have a Core 2 Quad (Q6600) desktop system that I currently use as my Rosetta cruncher. Obviously, the best addition for crunching would be another desktop with 4 or 6 cores. However, my laptop is from 2004 and I would put a new laptop to better use than another desktop.

So, with that said, what kind of processor should I be looking for on the laptop side to maximize my Rosetta crunching? I don't want to get into insanely expensive CPUs, but rather to maximize bang for buck.

Thanks!

Mark.

Hi

I would guess an i3 or an i5 would be the best bet, but depends entirely on your budget - if you want a 14" or smaller one then there's a really good roundup here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3822/laptop-buyers-guide-14inch-and-smaller/2

Do you have a budget, screen size or any other factors in mind?

I have a Core 2 Quad (Q6600) desktop system that I currently use as my Rosetta cruncher. Obviously, the best addition for crunching would be another desktop with 4 or 6 cores. However, my laptop is from 2004 and I would put a new laptop to better use than another desktop.

So, with that said, what kind of processor should I be looking for on the laptop side to maximize my Rosetta crunching? I don't want to get into insanely expensive CPUs, but rather to maximize bang for buck.

Thanks!

Mark.

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Hi

I would guess an i3 or an i5 would be the best bet, but depends entirely on your budget - if you want a 14" or smaller one then there's a really good roundup here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3822/laptop-buyers-guide-14inch-and-smaller/2

Do you have a budget, screen size or any other factors in mind?

Minor details. :) Yes, good questions. I am partial to the 15" - 16" screens. Maybe keep it under $1400. I haven't thought about the budget too much. I saw mention of a Intel® Core™ i7-740QM processor (4 cores, 8 threads) on a website and didn't know how good a processor that was and if we were into the law of diminishing returns.

Mark.

Maybe keep it under $1400

Heck for that price you can get a really nice MacBook if you are ready to leave Windows behind.

I know that sometimes you investment in Windows software makes that difficult but if you only need Windows for one or two things like me then VirtualBox works wonders.

Hi

I would guess an i3 or an i5 would be the best bet, but depends entirely on your budget - if you want a 14" or smaller one then there's a really good roundup here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3822/laptop-buyers-guide-14inch-and-smaller/2

Do you have a budget, screen size or any other factors in mind?

Minor details. :) Yes, good questions. I am partial to the 15" - 16" screens. Maybe keep it under $1400. I haven't thought about the budget too much. I saw mention of a Intel® Core™ i7-740QM processor (4 cores, 8 threads) on a website and didn't know how good a processor that was and if we were into the law of diminishing returns.

Mark.

A lady that runs multiple projects has one of those and LOVES IT, an i7 laptop I mean! The only thing to be careful of is the heat produced, don't put it directly on the bed for instance as the covers can block the vents. The only thing to remember about a laptop is that whatever you buy, you are pretty much stuck with for the life of the laptop. Sure you can upgrade the hard drive later on but it can be a hassle, the memory can be upgraded pretty easily, but the video card is not easy at all and not done by almost anyone! So get what you really think you will need for the next 4 or 5 years, maybe beyond that a little bit, and don't buy a real cheap one! If you spend the kind of money you are thinking of, spend some of it on a good service plan too. They are worth their weight in gold when you need it. My son came home from college with a cracked screen, Dell replaced it for free because of the extended warranty. A friend let his daughter use his laptop, Dell fixed it for free too under his warranty. NO I am NOT saying buy a Dell, although I own several of them, but I am saying buy the warranty!

As for screen size the bigger the screen the less the scrolling around you have to do. That is the one thing I dislike about my netbook, I got one with a 10" screen, it is a diagonal 10 inches and the screen is NOT square, so there is alot of scrolling going on. If you are going to watch movies on it get a 17" screen, you will appreciate not having to squint. Alot of laptops now come with hdmi ports on them, making the watching of movies on them fairly obsolete, you just plug it into the hd tv instead!

You can spend A TON of money on a laptop, over 3 grand if you aren't careful!! Do your homework, do some research, think about what you want it to be able to do, even a few years from now, and then find the best one to do it within your price range.

Out of curiosity, I priced a new desktop build using a Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield quad core. If I pair that with a $400-$500 laptop, I can come out about the same as the i7-740QM laptops I was looking at.

As Mikey points out, the laptops aren't very upgradable, and if something bad happens to it (theft, falling off a desk, etc), I'd prefer it happen to a $500 model than a $1300 model. :)

So, I'm thinking now I'll do the combo desktop/laptop thing. The desktop should be way better for crunching, and I've been itching for an excuse to build another one. I think I may even try 64 bit Ubuntu on it to lower the build cost...

Mark.

About a year ago I needed to get a laptop now that I do a lot of travelling around. I decided to chose between a 600GBP ($930) 17"-wide machine with a Cuda Nvidia G210M graphics card or 500GBP ($780) 15"-wide machine with no special card but lots of add-on stuff, which I'd use. Both core-2-duo Acers. I ended up deciding on the bigger screen, more expensive machine.

I'm not saying it's not a good machine (for a laptop, which I hate compared to a desktop), but I'm not finding I use the screen as much as I thought, it's a bit too heavy to carry around - more luggable than portable - and I can't find a Boinc project that uses this card either (unless someone can correct me).

If I had to make the choice again I'd go with the cheaper, lighter, narrower screen, be happier with the extra software and miss nothing on the graphics card. The money saved would probably be put toward a quad-core something, which is the best boost for Rosetta.

I'm a fan of AMD but I understand Rosetta responds well to the bigger cache Intels have, so an i5i7 may be worth considering. I'm no expert in terms of spec or price, though.

P.S. More tasks needs more RAM. Make sure you get enough.

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- and I can't find a Boinc project that uses this card either (unless someone can correct me).

Look here http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-G-210M.17638.0.html

It says it CAN crunch but only has 16 shader processors so would be VERY slow, although I do not know of a gpu project that can use a card with less than 128meg of ram, so that could be your problem.

Look here http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-G-210M.17638.0.html
It says it CAN crunch but only has 16 shader processors so would be VERY slow, although I do not know of a gpu project that can use a card with less than 128meg of ram, so that could be your problem.

Thanks for that useful link. On the plus side the card has 512Mb RAM. I did try looking for a suitable project but got myself confused about whether the card was up to it. I tried to join GPUGrid but they weren't taking new members at the time and I haven't been back to try again. Should I persist or am I too underpowered?

(Sorry for the mini-hijack here)

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Look here http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-G-210M.17638.0.html
It says it CAN crunch but only has 16 shader processors so would be VERY slow, although I do not know of a gpu project that can use a card with less than 128meg of ram, so that could be your problem.

Thanks for that useful link. On the plus side the card has 512Mb RAM. I did try looking for a suitable project but got myself confused about whether the card was up to it. I tried to join GPUGrid but they weren't taking new members at the time and I haven't been back to try again. Should I persist or am I too underpowered?

(Sorry for the mini-hijack here)

Personally I would try Collatz, they are easy to attach too and the Admin slicker is active and can and will help you if you have any questions.

About a year ago I needed to get a laptop now that I do a lot of travelling around. I decided to chose between a 600GBP ($930) 17"-wide machine with a Cuda Nvidia G210M graphics card or 500GBP ($780) 15"-wide machine with no special card but lots of add-on stuff, which I'd use. Both core-2-duo Acers. I ended up deciding on the bigger screen, more expensive machine.

I'm not saying it's not a good machine (for a laptop, which I hate compared to a desktop), but I'm not finding I use the screen as much as I thought, it's a bit too heavy to carry around - more luggable than portable - and I can't find a Boinc project that uses this card either (unless someone can correct me).

On my laptop with a G105M graphics card, the only BOINC project I've found that will make much use of that card is Collatz Conjecture. However, PrimeGrid has made enough GPU workunits available recently that you might as well try that project as well.

Anything with an i7.

You can't go wrong with this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220695

(under $1400 ;) )

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About a year ago I needed to get a laptop now that I do a lot of travelling around. I decided to chose between a 600GBP ($930) 17"-wide machine with a Cuda Nvidia G210M graphics card or 500GBP ($780) 15"-wide machine with no special card but lots of add-on stuff, which I'd use. Both core-2-duo Acers. I ended up deciding on the bigger screen, more expensive machine.

I'm not saying it's not a good machine (for a laptop, which I hate compared to a desktop), but I'm not finding I use the screen as much as I thought, it's a bit too heavy to carry around - more luggable than portable - and I can't find a Boinc project that uses this card either (unless someone can correct me).

On my laptop with a G105M graphics card, the only BOINC project I've found that will make much use of that card is Collatz Conjecture. However, PrimeGrid has made enough GPU workunits available recently that you might as well try that project as well.

"the 105M G features 8 stream processors" and that is why, Einstein can also use Nvidia cards but yours would be mighty slow there too. Basically the more 'stream processors' the faster the gpu is. Now of course memory timings make a big difference too, but the more 'stream processors' the better.

As an update, I found a sweet deal on a Dell Latitude E6510. I decided to go inexpensive on the laptop and use the savings to build a second desktop.

Anyway, my new Dell has a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz. I am surprised and happy to report that it is achieving 71% of the average credit that my Core 2 Quad Q6600 is generating. I am probably going to wait until Sandy Bridge to build the desktop, but I'm really curious to see how a Quad core i7 based on Sandy Bridge performs compared to the Q6600.

Mark.

As an update, I found a sweet deal on a Dell Latitude E6510. I decided to go inexpensive on the laptop and use the savings to build a second desktop.

Anyway, my new Dell has a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz. I am surprised and happy to report that it is achieving 71% of the average credit that my Core 2 Quad Q6600 is generating. I am probably going to wait until Sandy Bridge to build the desktop, but I'm really curious to see how a Quad core i7 based on Sandy Bridge performs compared to the Q6600.

Mark.

In general the more memory the better up to about 8 gig but to access that much you MUST use a 64bit operating system and since you are a Windows person I suggest you try Windows7. It is a little different than Vista, it is actually an upgrade to Win Vista but alot of people like it MUCH better, me included!! Now I use the Ultimate version which is downright expensive!! But stay away from the home basic version, I am not sure it even comes in a 64 bit version. 64 bit means double the pathway size for memory things making stuff happen faster, if Rosetta uses 64bit now, I do not know if they do or not, it is faster than the same system running a 32 bit OS! The only downside to going 64bit is that NO 16bit programs will run on it, all 32bit and 64bit programs will run just fine. If you don't know if any of yours are 16bit, then they probably are not.

In general the more memory the better up to about 8 gig but to access that much you MUST use a 64bit operating system and since you are a Windows person I suggest you try Windows7. It is a little different than Vista, it is actually an upgrade to Win Vista but alot of people like it MUCH better, me included!! Now I use the Ultimate version which is downright expensive!! But stay away from the home basic version, I am not sure it even comes in a 64 bit version. 64 bit means double the pathway size for memory things making stuff happen faster, if Rosetta uses 64bit now, I do not know if they do or not, it is faster than the same system running a 32 bit OS! The only downside to going 64bit is that NO 16bit programs will run on it, all 32bit and 64bit programs will run just fine. If you don't know if any of yours are 16bit, then they probably are not.

heh, I learned about the memory firsthand. The laptop shipped with 2 gigs and when I had rosetta going, the machine would literally freeze for a minute if i tried to do something on it. I upgraded to 4 (which is really only ~ 3) and things are better now. I went back and forth on getting 4 or 8, but I wasn't planning on going 64 bit right away, so I saved some coin.

Definitely want to put Windows 7 on all my computers. 64 bit so i can make out the ram sockets. But since this is just a surfing machine, I wasn't crazy about buying the OS right away.

Last I saw, Rosetta was still 32 bit in part because it can't really take advantage of 64 bit processes.

Mark.

In general the more memory the better up to about 8 gig but to access that much you MUST use a 64bit operating system and since you are a Windows person I suggest you try Windows7. It is a little different than Vista, it is actually an upgrade to Win Vista but alot of people like it MUCH better, me included!! Now I use the Ultimate version which is downright expensive!! But stay away from the home basic version, I am not sure it even comes in a 64 bit version. 64 bit means double the pathway size for memory things making stuff happen faster, if Rosetta uses 64bit now, I do not know if they do or not, it is faster than the same system running a 32 bit OS! The only downside to going 64bit is that NO 16bit programs will run on it, all 32bit and 64bit programs will run just fine. If you don't know if any of yours are 16bit, then they probably are not.

heh, I learned about the memory firsthand. The laptop shipped with 2 gigs and when I had rosetta going, the machine would literally freeze for a minute if i tried to do something on it. I upgraded to 4 (which is really only ~ 3) and things are better now. I went back and forth on getting 4 or 8, but I wasn't planning on going 64 bit right away, so I saved some coin.

Definitely want to put Windows 7 on all my computers. 64 bit so i can make out the ram sockets. But since this is just a surfing machine, I wasn't crazy about buying the OS right away.

Last I saw, Rosetta was still 32 bit in part because it can't really take advantage of 64 bit processes.

Mark.

I think you are on a good path!

The dilemma I have now is whether to do a traditional Core i7 build or pony up some more cash and try to build a Xeon-based server with a dual CPU motherboard. How cool would it be to have one rig running two 8 core CPUs? More realistically I'd start with 4 cores, but still, the RAC would be awesome.

The server idea has me wondering what truly is the most efficient way to crunch. It would be great if I could go with a platform where I didn't need a video card and hard drive. I've seen a few people that even go without a case, but I'm not that hardcore. :)

Mark.

The dilemma I have now is whether to do a traditional Core i7 build or pony up some more cash and try to build a Xeon-based server with a dual CPU motherboard. How cool would it be to have one rig running two 8 core CPUs? More realistically I'd start with 4 cores, but still, the RAC would be awesome.

The server idea has me wondering what truly is the most efficient way to crunch. It would be great if I could go with a platform where I didn't need a video card and hard drive. I've seen a few people that even go without a case, but I'm not that hardcore. :)
Mark.

The Xeon Server route can be expensive, for instance ram for you desktop normally will not work in a Server, so while it may be cool afterwards it could get expensive to do. Also ATI does NOT make ANY gpu Server software so you are stuck with going the Nvidia route or a built in or generic gpu that will not crunch.
The Server CAN be helpful though if you are getting have a bunch of pc's on your network, I found that after 22 pc's a Server is the only way to manage more pc's. After that the IP addresses seem to be all wonky and weird, a Server automatically takes over the job and everything is fine after that. In short there are both good and bad points to a Server.

There is some Linux based software you can download that Dotsch made for Boincers that is either a single stand alone of Server based that is diskless. It is decent and works just fine although I have never personally tried the Server route.

Here is a link to Dotsch's post about botting and running from a memory stick.

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