My Skulltrail/Dual Harper Build...

W

WesM63

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
3,266
As the title says. I finally finished my Skulltrail build.

Hardware:
Intel D5400XS
2x Intel Xeon e5430's
4x 2gb (8gb total) Kingston DDR2-800 FB-DIMM's
2x MSI 8800GTX OC
LG Super Multi Blue (Blu-Ray Reader/Burner, HD-DVD Reader, etc)
2x 150gb Western Digital Raptors
PC Power and Cooling 750w Quad

Cooling:
CPU - 2x Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme's with Sanyo Denki fans
Video - 2x Zalman VF1000's with ZM-RHS88's

All stuffed into a Coolermaster Stacker 830 Evo.


Just some quick notes.
1. The 2 PCI-E slots for SLI are waay to close together. The VF1000's are VERY close together. I had to keep the two cards separated, just so the fan on the first card wouldn't hit the screws on the 2nd card.
2. Memory slots are in an odd spot, VERY hard to get cooling on them. Especially with dual TRUE's.
3. PCI slots are also in a bad spot. Useless with SLI.

I'll post some pics of the machine as soon as I find a camera to use. Just sold mine.

cinebench-3200.jpg


3200.jpg


This is all stock, even cpu's.
3d06.jpg


Cpu's at 3.2ghz, SLI at stock.
3d06sli.jpg



EDIT:Alright, here comes the pics!

entiresys-1.jpg


entiresys-2.jpg


mediumsys-1.jpg


sli-1.jpg


sli-2.jpg


sli-b1.jpg


dtrue-1.jpg
 
Very nice! Post some pics of the hardware. Was this a new projector or did you upgrade from a V8 platform? I was thinking about upgrading my V8 platform to Skulltrail, but Nehalem is just so close.
 
SLi on the Intel chipset? Also, like the poster above me said, post pics. This is one insanely awesome system.
 
oh...

please post more pics... that is sweet...

i want my own damn skulltrail...
 
wow I like what you have, definetly post pics when you can. If I was going to do a skull trail system myself, it would probably something similar to that setup.
 
LittleMe said:
Very nice! Post some pics of the hardware. Was this a new projector or did you upgrade from a V8 platform? I was thinking about upgrading my V8 platform to Skulltrail, but Nehalem is just so close.
Click to expand...

New project, I had a q6600 before.

LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
SLi on the Intel chipset? Also, like the poster above me said, post pics. This is one insanely awesome system.
Click to expand...

SLI is accomplished by dual Nvidia MCP100 chips on the motherboard.


Here are some pics of it in process, final ones coming soon.

The board in all its glory:
skullrail2.jpg


This is before I had all the parts, ram is 2x2gb I borrowed from work.
skulltrail-1.jpg


Temporary setup, Single 8800GTX, 4gb ram and stock coolers.
skulltrail-2.jpg


This is how it looked until last night. I had to ditch the OCZ Memory cooler.
skulltrail-3.jpg
 
Oh when I saw ur 3dmarks results im like thats a bit low for sli. but then i read tht it isn't in sli. Well then thats v nice.

hw much did the build cost u?
 
Runedrune said:
Oh when I saw ur 3dmarks results im like thats a bit low for sli. but then i read tht it isn't in sli. Well then thats v nice.

hw much did the build cost u?
Click to expand...

No, 3dmark06 was with the cards in SLI. I know its low. I need to do a fresh install of windows.

Total cost was around $2700. Some of the stuff I already had, so that cut down on costs.
 
AthlonXP said:
wow I like what you have, definetly post pics when you can. If I was going to do a skull trail system myself, it would probably something similar to that setup.
Click to expand...

According to Intel it isn't a Skulltrail system unless it has two QX9775 processors with it. The Skulltrail platform is defined as two QX9775 processors operating on a Intel D5400XS motherboard.

Skulltrail was the code name for the platform, not the motherboard.
 
Dan_D said:
According to Intel it isn't a Skulltrail system unless it has two QX9775 processors with it. The Skulltrail platform is defined as two QX9775 processors operating on a Intel D5400XS motherboard.

Skulltrail was the code name for the platform, not the motherboard.
Click to expand...
Party pooper!

He's right though.

In any event, what do you have planned for that rig? That's about 25.6Ghz of total processing power.
 
tesfaye said:
Party pooper!

He's right though.

In any event, what do you have planned for that rig? That's about 25.6Ghz of total processing power.
Click to expand...

I hate to rain on your parade a second time but.........................NO. :)

That statement is a common misconception about SMP in all its' forms. The fact is that assuming the architecture were identical, a 25.6GHz processor would be MUCH faster and provide very different performance than 8 3.2GHz processor cores do. X86 processor performance doesn't scale in such a linear fashion. This is especially true as the bus constrains their performance as does the software that is run on each core. Many applications are optimized for only a set amount of cores. Even if they are truly multi-threaded you reach a point of diminishing returns.

So thinking of it as having 25.6GHz of processing power is completely wrong in so many ways. For one clock speed is largely irrelevant in today's market as AMD and Intel's products both have different IPC capabilities. Second is that as stated before, processor cores do not scale in a linear fashion as you add more of them. In a nutshell each core you add is generally less useful than the one before it. So a second core doesn't perform on par with the first one and the third performs worse and that progression continues until the extra cores you have do virtually nothing.

In most applications today a system with two processors and eight cores will go underused. The third and fourth cores of the first processor won't be used much of the time and cores 5 through 8 are even less useful.
 
ND40oz said:
Get it folding. ;) Yeah, your 3Dmark is definitely low, it'll be interesting to see what it's at once you reinstall. Here's my dual x5355 crossfire bench, everything at stock:

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=5779495

Where'd you get your board and FB-Dimms from? I'm contemplating moving to the D5400XS.
Click to expand...

ATI cards always out bench NVIDIA cards. A low 3D Mark score doesn't mean that the system isn't performing as it should.
 
Sorry guys, its not "folding" per se. I run World Community Grid for XtremeSystems.org. So 100% load 24/7. ;)

I always thought Skulltrail was the codename of the motherboard. Just like intel's x48 motherboard is codenamed Bonetrail.

Even if you search "skulltrail" on newegg, it brings up the D5400XS board.


ND40oz,
I got the board from Costcentral.com, for $595. The FBDimm's I got through my distributor here at work. However, you can get them from avadirect.com.


To be honest, its not worth going to unless you do some sort of DC project and game. That is the ONLY reason I went to D5400XS. The FBDimm's are slow compared to DDR3.
 
WesM63 said:
Sorry guys, its not "folding" per se. I run World Community Grid for XtremeSystems.org. So 100% load 24/7. ;)

I always thought Skulltrail was the codename of the motherboard. Just like intel's x48 motherboard is codenamed Bonetrail.

Even if you search "skulltrail" on newegg, it brings up the D5400XS board.
Click to expand...

Nope. We received an E-Mail from Intel outlining what Skulltrail was and what the name applied to. To be technically correct Skulltrail isn't even a valid platform name. It is the code name for the platform used in the products developement stages and it doesn't even apply to those products any longer. It is the same thing Microsoft always does. For example: Longhorn is no longer the appropriate name for Windows Vista.

Skulltrail is actually now called the Intel Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform. This was also clarified as the actual name of the platform after its' actual release. BTW Bonetrail is also a code name. The actual board isn't called that. If you'll notice Intel doesn't refer to any of their products by code name but many in the industry still do long after the product hits the retail market. The code names often stick as they are cooler than the actual product names.

For example I have an Intel PR440FX motherboard. Its' actual code name was "Providence." The BadAxe2 board is actually called the Intel Extreme Desktop Board D975XBX2. So while the code names are catchy, they are actually incorrect terms for the products after they've been released.
 
Dan_D said:
Nope. We received an E-Mail from Intel outlining what Skulltrail was and what the name applied to. To be technically correct Skulltrail isn't even a valid platform name. It is the code name for the platform used in the products developement stages and it doesn't even apply to those products any longer. It is the same thing Microsoft always does. For example: Longhorn is no longer the appropriate name for Windows Vista.

Skulltrail is actually now called the Intel Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform. This was also clarified as the actual name of the platform after its' actual release. BTW Bonetrail is also a code name. The actual board isn't called that. If you'll notice Intel doesn't refer to any of their products by code name but many in the industry still do long after the product hits the retail market. The code names often stick as they are cooler than the actual product names.

For example I have an Intel PR440FX motherboard. Its' actual code name was "Providence." The BadAxe2 board is actually called the Intel Extreme Desktop Board D975XBX2. So while the code names are catchy, they are actually incorrect terms for the products after they've been released.
Click to expand...


Consider me informed, thanks for the clarification.
 
Dan_D said:
ATI cards always out bench NVIDIA cards. A low 3D Mark score doesn't mean that the system isn't performing as it should.
Click to expand...

His CPU score seems low if it's running at 3.2. That's the point I was attempting to make. We know you hate 3D Mark, but every once in a while you can use it for something semi-useful.
 
ND40oz said:
His CPU score seems low if it's running at 3.2. That's the point I was attempting to make. We know you hate 3D Mark, but every once in a while you can use it for something semi-useful.
Click to expand...

The 3dmark screenshot was with everything at stock speeds. As it says, right above the screenshot. ;)

I'll re-run it tonight with the cpu's at 3.2ghz.
 
WesM63 said:
The 3dmark screenshot was with everything at stock speeds. As it says, right above the screenshot. ;)

I'll re-run it tonight with the cpu's at 3.2ghz.
Click to expand...

Ah, cpu score should be good then, 3dmark doesn't seem to scale past 4 cores that well. Your processors are running the exact same speed as mine at stock but yours have more cache and they're slightly more efficient. What FB-dimm temps are you seeing?
 
Dan_D said:
I hate to rain on your parade a second time but.........................NO. :)

That statement is a common misconception about SMP in all its' forms. The fact is that assuming the architecture were identical, a 25.6GHz processor would be MUCH faster and provide very different performance than 8 3.2GHz processor cores do. X86 processor performance doesn't scale in such a linear fashion. This is especially true as the bus constrains their performance as does the software that is run on each core. Many applications are optimized for only a set amount of cores. Even if they are truly multi-threaded you reach a point of diminishing returns.

So thinking of it as having 25.6GHz of processing power is completely wrong in so many ways. For one clock speed is largely irrelevant in today's market as AMD and Intel's products both have different IPC capabilities. Second is that as stated before, processor cores do not scale in a linear fashion as you add more of them. In a nutshell each core you add is generally less useful than the one before it. So a second core doesn't perform on par with the first one and the third performs worse and that progression continues until the extra cores you have do virtually nothing.

In most applications today a system with two processors and eight cores will go underused. The third and fourth cores of the first processor won't be used much of the time and cores 5 through 8 are even less useful.
Click to expand...
I was joking about the 25.6Ghz, I know it's not 25.Ghz actual processing. I asked how he plans on using the machine for the exact reason you just stated. It's overkill for a desktop system and most server tasks.

You're still a party pooper. :p
 
Im surprised no one has asked this...
how much pron can you encode in HD on that thing? :p

Congrats on the world community folding, but what the heck do they actually fold? i can understand protein synthization but what the heck are they using your cpu cycles actually for?
 
Cat1yst said:
Im surprised no one has asked this...
how much pron can you encode in HD on that thing? :p

Congrats on the world community folding, but what the heck do they actually fold? i can understand protein synthization but what the heck are they using your cpu cycles actually for?
Click to expand...

World community Grid does all sorts of projects. You can pick which ones you want to do. I am currently doing the "Help Conquer Cancer" project. Its basically figuring out how various types of cancers spread and the proteins involved. I've participated in all except the African climate one, which I will switch to shortly.
 
WesM63 said:
I'd like to see you cable manage that sucker. Its harder than it looks.



The one in use came with the D5400XS, the one thats holding the 2 cards apart came with an old S939 SLI board.
Click to expand...

I thought the D5400XS came with a flexible bridge? I'm not sure as I haven't worked with a retail packaged board yet.

As for cable managing the system in question, it is harder than it looks but it can be done. I've done very decent cable management inside the Stacker 830.
 
Dan_D said:
I thought the D5400XS came with a flexible bridge? I'm not sure as I haven't worked with a retail packaged board yet.

As for cable managing the system in question, it is harder than it looks but it can be done. I've done very decent cable management inside the Stacker 830.
Click to expand...

Dan,
Yes, the D5400XS does come with a flexible bridge. Thats the one i'm using. The fixed one is not being used, just holding the two cards far enough apart so the fan doesn't hit the screws.
 
Updated the first post with 3DMark 2006. Cpu's were at 3.2ghz and SLI was at stock speeds.
 
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