G+_Jason Perry Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I know there have been quite a few posts about the RPi2. With the new specs my thoughts flash back to the RPi super computer. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jason Perry Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Present thought: what would the overall price per node be for a system I would be proud to show off, how many nodes would I need before the benchnarks would be comparable to a decent computer and how would the power consumption compare? I realize there is no definitive answer for any of this because it is all in how you build it but it is an interesting thought. I would love to show off an atx case full of these with a glass panel just as badly as I would love to show off a mineral oil cooled PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I'd be proud to show off a cluster of 10 Pis. I wouldn't really expect a Pi cluster to benchmark very similar to a desktop though. The cluster might be better for Dogecoin mining, but far worse for running a desktop OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jason Perry Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Not saying this is taking everything into account because I dont know that much about cluster computing, and I am sure this woild still be less than ideal. If you look at the numbers 1 i7 with 8 3GHz cores works out to 1 x 8 1024MHz = 24576MHz 10 RPi's each having 10 900MHz cores works out to 10 x 4 x 900MHz = 36000MHz Now this doesn't take a lot of things into account off the top of my head some of the issues in my math coild include The lag communication with 10 computers The limited abilities of the smaller cores I am imagining there is a difference in the speed the cores can transfer data Even if there isnt you are dealing with 40 cores not 8 Plus you are limited to 10 GB of RAM Too many variables to think about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Each node would have to work in batches to have much efficiency as a whole. The cluster communicates amongst itself using networking, so ethernet speed also needs to be taken into account along with the cost of a switch large enough to connect all the Pis. You're right: far too many variables to consider. This has been done already, but it would still be a lot of fun for the educational experience. The RPiCluster: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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