[gmx-users] linux cluster performance

[Christian Burisch]

David wrote:

> I have just gone through negotiations for a new cluster and will
> buy a cluster consisting of mainly dual-core opteron 2-way
> machines. This gives you four processors per box which you can use
> for either efficient 4-processor jobs or multiple single- or
> two-processor jobs.

Yes, the new dual-core Opterons seem to offer the biggest bang for the
buck today!
2-way dual-core machines are definitely the boxes to buy when building
a large scale cluster with a low latency network like Infiniband or
Myrinet. But if one just wants to buy a small installation with an
equivalent of 8 CPUs I would also consider a 4-way dual-core Opteron
machine (e.g. based on the Tyan Thunder K8QS Pro), so one can save the
expensive network infrastructure.
Tyan even announced an 8-way mainboard for dual-cores (Thunder K8QW).
Since the CPUs (as one of the most cost-intensive parts) one needs for
the 4-way machine are the same one would plug into an 8-way box such a
machine could be very interesting and affordable, too!
We don't have such machines here yet, so I cannot offer first hand
experience, but the benchmarks I read about were very promising!

Regards

Christian