If you need a 24 core, 48G linux cluster then you might want to build a Helmer.
This is the story of Helmer. A linux cluster in a IKEA Helmer cabinet.
3D computer rendering are very CPU intensive and the best way so speed up slow render problems, are usually to distribute them on to more computers. Render farms are usually very large, expensive and run using ALLOT of energy. I wanted to build something that could be put in my home, not make too much noise and run using very little energy… and be dirt cheep, big problem? 🙂 no computer stuff cost almost nothing these days, it just a matter of finding fun stuff to play with.
I wanted to use Intel Quad core 65 nm or better. I surfed the web and found 6 of then at a good price. Then I looked after the cheapest motherboard that could run these. The result of my investigation was the Gigabyte S-series GA-G33M-DS2R/S2 card.
Next, finding memory. The motherboard could hold up to 8GB of memory each, and I wanted to maximize all I could. Here are the 12x4GB =48GBmemory modules.
Next problem was to find a good computer case that could hold these motherboards. But this was a big problem. 6x cases cost almost as much as the motherboards and CPU’s! So here was some room for improvement. I found the IKEA helmer cabinet. Perfect! Who knew IKEA made there stuff ATX compatible. 🙂
You can read the all about the Helmer with pictures of course on the http://helmer.sfe.se website.
