Anything wrong with this CUDA-oriented dual Nehalem build?

[ellisbben]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week
BUDGET RANGE: $3500-$4000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: CUDA, multithreaded crunching, sw development

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, avadirect.com

OVERCLOCKING: not particularly

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: if irrelevant to CUDA, no

The choice of motherboard is specifically for the 4 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots; I'm starting out with a GTX 295 for graphics + CUDA, will swap in more/different boards for testing & running large problems.

Particular points of ignorance: is the case appropriate? Will the power supply be adequate to running 4 graphics cards? Anyone experienced in the downsides of using a card for display and CUDA at the same time?

PARTS:

TYAN S7025WAGM2NR Dual LGA 1366 Intel 5520 SSI EEB Dual Intel Xeon 5500 Series Server Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813151197

2 x Intel Xeon E5520 Nehalem 2.26GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 80W Quad-Core Server Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117185

2 x Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme RT 1366 Rev C CPU Cooler
http://www.crazypc.com/products/ultra-120-1366-50985.html

KINGSTON 24GB (6 x 4GB) ValueRAM™ Dual-Rank PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz CL7 SDRAM DIMM, ECC Registered
http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=13446

EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR Geforce GTX 295 CO-OP Edition 1.79GB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010574

BFG Tech EX-1200 BFGR1200WEXPSU 1200W Continuous Rated at 40°C ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702015

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136322

Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167023

LIAN LI PC-P80 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112159

 

[gkay09]

^ These threads would help...
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=89891
http://estoniadonates.wordpress.com/our-supercomputer/
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=156806
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=101930
So you would get an idea whether CUDA is what you require...

And you might be able to power 4 GTX 295s with that 1200W PSU...but that doesnt have the required power connectors for 4 GTX 295s...And you would need a 8Pin CPU power splitter to power the 2 CPUs...

Instead go with any of these...
Antec TPQ-1200 1200W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371032

Or this will be even better
ENERMAX Galaxy EVO EGX1250EWT 1250W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194046

RAM - Check these out...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170541%201052346982&name=12GB%20%283%20x%204GB%29

I dont see any incompatibilities with the build, but just make sure that the 4 PCIe slots on the mobo run at full x16 speed as a single GTX 295 has 2 GTX 275 chips and if the x16 slots runs at x8 speed, it will surely bottleneck the GTX 295...