Universe@Home - RPi3 vs XU4

Hello All,

I have been running two Single Board Computers (SBCs) with Raspian (RPi) Ubuntu Mate (XU4) and crunching Universe@Home work units. This is a continuation of my previous post where I was able to afford the Odroid XU4 and I am now comparing it to my Raspberry Pi 3.

This is similar to the work completed by @jimbo88 in his post where he compares several SBCs and their ability to crunch work units. While this was a completely comprehensive post, I thought it to be a good idea to corroborate his findings.

Now his installations of operating systems may have been different than mine, so our results may not be exactly the same, but my initial anticipation is that our results should be similar. It should be noted that I have overclocked the RPi to 1,300 MHz which is the highest I can go without running into temperature and stability issues.

According to @jimbo88's August 27, 2017 summary (found in the comments section of his post), the 9 RPis produced a RAC of 35,606 or an average RAC per RPi of 3,956. Also, the 3 XU4s produced a RAC of 34,429 or an average RAC per XU4 of 11,476.

Now my RPi is producing a similar RAC of 3,492. The lower RAC compared to @jimbo88 could be explained by operating system overhead and overclocking. I also ran DrugDiscovery@Home for a few days so there may also be some RAC left to achieve. But again, both machines are in the same ballpark.

My XU4 is also producing a similar RAC of 10,619. The same explanations for the difference in RAC noted for the RPi also apply in this case. In addition, I have only been running since January 4 so there is a bit of RAC still left on the table.

Currently my RPi is generating a MAG of 1.08 and the XU4 is generating a MAG of 3.31. So we can safely say that the XU4 can provide approximately triple the output of the RPi. This makes me feel a bit better as the XU4 cost me approximately triple what the RPi cost. This brings an interesting point as the top-line value for each card is approximately the same. Some considerations that may tip the scales in one direction or another (depending on your particular situation) are as follows:

• The RPi has built-in WiFi which makes placing them around your work space a bit easier. The XU4 will require a WiFi adapter or an Ethernet connection.

• The RPi is powered via Micro USB which makes it easier to setup as you can use a multi-port charging station to accommodate many RPis. This is a much simpler power system compared to the XU4s barrel adapter.

• The RPi (even with a modest case fan) runs completely silent.

• As the RPis costs less, you can sneak in more purchases over time without alerting the boss, er, I mean spouse.

• The XU4 will obviously take up less space as you'll need 3 RPis to match the raw computing power.

• The XU4 will likely draw less power than 3 RPis combined when using the 4 amp power adapter.

Again, the above are just some considerations and I would like to hear if you have any more...

Still working on getting that "new" used server.

Cheers!