[Beowulf] Intro question

[Greg Lindahl]

On Tue, Dec 02, 2008 at 05:12:09PM -0500, Robert G. Brown wrote:

> The usual rule is that 1U nodes will cost a bit more than equivalently
> equipped desktops, primarily because the 1U cases cost more and because
> one has to work a bit harder to ensure that e.g. the CPUs stay cool and
> so on.

The single-socket 2U nodes that I buy cost the same as our developer
desktops, which have a somewhat expensive case in order to be quiet.
Since he's putting these into a hosting facility, it's likely that
having 1U boxes doesn't gain him anything... the limit is generally
power, not space. And 2U boxes are quieter and more reliable.

-- greg