• Lets_Eat_Grandma@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    I don’t know why anyone would buy this. Maybe it’s one of those precious metal reclamation groups.

    Generally hardware that old is cheaper to replace with newer more efficient hardware than to even consider running due to electricity costs.

    • seaQueue@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      r/homelab poster: “hey guys, check out my starter homelab! My electrical utility sends me a free thank you card every month!”

    • AggressivelyPassive@feddit.de
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      6 months ago

      Selling for parts. Techtechpotato did a rough estimate and RAM/CPUs alone are currently worth and 1M (using eBay prices). If you add all the support components (network cards, mainboards, PSUs) it might be worth it.

      • Lets_Eat_Grandma@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        The piecemeal nature of selling thousands of parts means the wages for a group necessary to coordinate it all would probably make the whole thing not feasible.

        Ebay prices are higher than market prices imo. 15% ebay cut + 3% paypal fees + sales tax + shipping is brutal.

    • Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      Does the hardware being all so arranged as it is in this manner to create a supercomputer make any difference to that evaluation? Like does the work of putting all the outdated hardware together in the complex way needed to make it functional for supercomputing make it potentially cheaper than buying more modern hardware but having to build it all yourself?

      • Urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        6 months ago

        Some of those nodes are broken, it’s got coolant leaks and the processors are 8 years old. I read in another article they meant to replace it a couple years ago but couldn’t due to COVID supply chain problems (makes sense tbh).

        What I’m saying is, it might be “assembled” already but due to the power draw, you definitely don’t want to run something this out of date. It’s huge. Might be a logistical problem to even get enough juice for this thing. Another poster pointed out it might need its own electrical substation. IMHO it’s only worth parting out. Far too expensive to run.

        Those cabinets look nice though, with the Cheyanne graphic on the front.

      • Lets_Eat_Grandma@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        Does the hardware being all so arranged as it is in this manner to create a supercomputer make any difference to that evaluation?

        The storage drives for all of this have been stripped. You can’t just run commands on the hardware… you have to figure out how to cluster things with software, buy drives for it all, have it all installed in a datacenter somewhere which is going to cost way more than the purchase price.

        The labor costs for the technical people required to do this are way more than half a million a year.

        • Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml
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          6 months ago

          Didn’t know they’d taken out the storage drives but I was aware despite my general ignorance that it’s not turnkey ready to go. I guess what I’m wondering is, is there any part of the of the process involved in designing and building such a supercomputing cluster that is already taken care by buying it in the manner that it has been sold and could that in any way offset the increased costs of trying to bring such a cluster online rather than starting from scratch? I’m not saying it is the case, so much as wondering aloud for anyone with expertise to chime in, to see if that’s a way it could make sense.

          I understand there’s a mountain to climb to bring this thing in to a usable state for anyone, but could it maybe get you to base camp more quickly?