Ever wonder what the big Amazon instances would cost if you bought one (instead of rented)? Here is an attempt to answer that question. Note: Amazon EC2 provides more than just the hardware (e.g. network connectivity and bandwidth, for starters), so this isn’t quite an apples-to-apples comparison.<\/p>\n
From the Amazon page, the short specifications are: 2 x Intel Xeon E5-2670 processors, 244 GiB RAM, 2x120GB SSD, 10GB Ethernet. Those CPUs provide 8 cores times hyper-threading each, for a total of 2x8x2 = 32 vCPUs and 88 ECUs.<\/p>\n
According to Amazon prices in 2013, this virtual machine will cost you $3.50\/hour for on-demand, which is $30,660 per year. (See “High-Memory Cluster On-Demand Instances, Eight Extra Large”).<\/p>\n
So, of that $30,660 per year, what are the hardware costs?<\/p>\n
Note that with “only” 16 memory slots, it needs 16GB sticks of ECC REG to achieve 256GB.<\/p>\n
Note that the CPU does not come with coolers. I’ve never heard of the Dynatron brand, but it was one of the few “low height” fan\/cooler combinations I could find. It is ridiculous to think of risking a $1,600 CPU like that. That detail is what prompted me to look at the “custom-build” shops – since they would have more experience in this critical area.<\/p>\n
Here are a few custom-build shop prices, for comparison:<\/p>\n
Caution<\/b>: Unlike the other postings of mine, this is NOT<\/b> a built machine. And, at $7,000+, it probably never will be built by me. It is pure “by the specifications” intellectual exercise. It should<\/em> work, but all of my others builds actually<\/em> work.<\/p>\n So – here is the machine I’ll build after winning the lottery:<\/p>\n Ever wonder what the big Amazon instances would cost if you bought one (instead of rented)? Here is an attempt to answer that question. Note: Amazon EC2 provides more than just the hardware (e.g. network connectivity and bandwidth, for starters), … Continue reading \n\n
\n Item<\/th>\n Product<\/th>\n Cost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n CPU<\/td>\n Intel Xeon E5-2670 Sandy Bridge-EP 2.6GHz<\/a> 3.3GHz Turbo Boost) 20MB L3 Cache LGA 2011 115W 8-Core Server Processor BX80621E52670, $1,599 each<\/td>\n $3,200<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n RAM<\/td>\n Kingston 64GB<\/a> (4 x 16GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1600 Server Memory DR x4 Model KVR16R11D4K4\/64, $656 each<\/td>\n $2,624<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Motherboard<\/td>\n Dual LGA 2011 Intel C602 DDR3 1600 (with case)<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Power Supply<\/td>\n 740W (1+1) Redundant (with case)<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Video<\/td>\n (built in)<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Case<\/td>\n SUPERMICRO SYS-6027R-WRF 2U<\/a> Rackmount Server Barebone Dual LGA 2011 Intel C602<\/td>\n $1,199<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n SD Drives<\/td>\n SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 128GB <\/a> MZ-7PD128BW 2.5″ 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD), $140 each<\/td>\n $280<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n HD Drives<\/td>\n <\/td>\n –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n NIC<\/td>\n ntel E10G41AT2 AT2 Server Adapter 10Gbps PCI Express 2.0 x8 1 x RJ45 <\/a><\/td>\n $515<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n CPU Cooler<\/td>\n Dynatron R13 70mm 2 Ball Bearing CPU Cooler <\/a>, $30 each<\/td>\n $60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n OS<\/td>\n Ubuntu 12.04p2 LTS<\/a><\/td>\n $0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n $7,878<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"