Folding GPU (esp. AMD) is where it's at...

[twoodcc]

660 Ti; but what makes the difference between 6 and 8 pins ? they are mainly ground lines delivering a bit better energy transmission ...my Seasonic PSU has only "flexible" 8 pin cables where the two leftover pins hanging in the air when connected to 6 Pin. But yeah, other PSUs have dedicated 6 pins. So: 660 Ti it is ( for me)

well my old 2006 mac pro only has 2 x 6 pin

 

[Louis Wu]

well my old 2006 mac pro only has 2 x 6 pin

that's why I bought mine

Mine's a 2010 model but the power pins haven't changed.

 

[twoodcc]

that's why I bought mine

Mine's a 2010 model but the power pins haven't changed.

your 660 ti?

i got the 465 to work in it, but i'm also trying to use the computer for web browsing and what not. but the lag makes it unusable. so i put in my old 9800GT, and then the 465 keeps failing. any tips on getting it to work? it worked fine with only the 465. when i put in the 9800, it tried to fold with only the 9800, so i added the 465, then removed the 9800 slot in the v7 client. now the 465 is just in a big loop and if never folds anything.

 

[Louis Wu]

your 660 ti?

sorry, I meant that the 660 works great as a general card in the pro. I don't use it to fold. I used to have a 285 in the pro but the 660 is nicer...

 

[lordonuthin]

That's what I need in my MP, a decent gpu! It is so slow. I could try the 260 but that isn't much better than the 120 that it came with. The 480 is 6x8 pin so no luck there.

The Titans are doing well, with some WU's getting as much as 220k ppd. The MP and 480 card together get about 50k ppd. The last 7 days I've gotten over 4 million ppw and that should climb some in the next 7 days.

I got Christian's iPad ap working now, here is a screenshot of the Titans running.

[Edit] Notice the TPF in the first one!

 

[ChristianVirtual]

here is a screenshot of the Titans running.

[Edit] Notice the TPF in the first one!

Nice view with 4 Titans; wish I could "test" that in my rig
Thanks for the screenshot, too.

 

[Louis Wu]

That's what I need in my MP, a decent gpu! It is so slow. I could try the 260 but that isn't much better than the 120 that it came with. The 480 is 6x8 pin so no luck there.

The Titans are doing well, with some WU's getting as much as 220k ppd. The MP and 480 card together get about 50k ppd. The last 7 days I've gotten over 4 million ppw and that should climb some in the next 7 days.

I got Christian's iPad ap working now, here is a screenshot of the Titans running.

[Edit] Notice the TPF in the first one!

I'm hoping the 660s will go on sale now... if they do you can grab one for your MP. aside from not getting a boot screen, it works really well.

Your Titans are screaming along there!

Nice screenshot!

I've noticed that there's a variance in TPF on the 7810 and 7811 WUs something like every third frame or something like that (haven't really paid attention) so your PPD estimate swings along with the change in the TPF... then I guess at the average

 

[lordonuthin]

Nice view with 4 Titans; wish I could "test" that in my rig
Thanks for the screenshot, too.

Four Titans at what you are paying for electricity!

Not a problem.

----------

I'm hoping the 660s will go on sale now... if they do you can grab one for your MP. aside from not getting a boot screen, it works really well.

Your Titans are screaming along there!

Nice screenshot!

I've noticed that there's a variance in TPF on the 7810 and 7811 WUs something like every third frame or something like that (haven't really paid attention) so your PPD estimate swings along with the change in the TPF... then I guess at the average

I will have to watch the prices of the 660 then.

There is a big difference in frame times 50-100+ seconds! I don't know if that is normal or not but it seems to be the same with all of the 7810 and 7811 WU's.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

All Core 17 WU (8900, 7810, 7811) until now have that TPF/PPD/ETA-swing ... linked to the writing of checkpoints every other frame. Make me think to get a ramdisk setup just for that.

 

[twoodcc]

i got the 465 to work in it, but i'm also trying to use the computer for web browsing and what not. but the lag makes it unusable. so i put in my old 9800GT, and then the 465 keeps failing. any tips on getting it to work? it worked fine with only the 465. when i put in the 9800, it tried to fold with only the 9800, so i added the 465, then removed the 9800 slot in the v7 client. now the 465 is just in a big loop and if never folds anything.

so i got the 465 to fold one unit with the 9800 in there - i had to plug monitors into 465, disable the 9800, start folding on the 465, then enable the 9800 after it gets going, then plug monitors back up to the 9800. but after the first unit completed, it goes back to how it was before.

 

[Louis Wu]

All Core 17 WU (8900, 7810, 7811) until now have that TPF/PPD/ETA-swing ... linked to the writing of checkpoints every other frame. Make me think to get a ramdisk setup just for that.

There's the checkpoint swing -- that seems to be a few seconds where the GPU usage drops to zero (and the CPU ramps up) and then it goes back to normal GPU usage every other frame, but the swing I'm thinking of is for the entire duration of the frame; one will be at, say, 1 min 55 sec then the next will be 3 min 25 sec and then it'll switch between those 2 poles. the estimated PPD will adjust to each differing TPF so it's never entirely accurate because it's estimating on either a "slow" frame or a "fast" frame (and I haven't tracked how many "slow" vs "fast" frames there are in a given WU.

My 8900 units are all at stable TPF -- 4 min and 20 sec or thereabouts for the 7970s.

My 7970s have been pulling down 8900 WUs exclusively for some time now whereas the 660ti goes between 7810 and 7811s and almost never gets one of the 8900 WUs.

----------

Four Titans at what you are paying for electricity!

Not a problem.

----------



I will have to watch the prices of the 660 then.

There is a big difference in frame times 50-100+ seconds! I don't know if that is normal or not but it seems to be the same with all of the 7810 and 7811 WU's.

if you do spring for a 660 be sure to get a 660ti (more stream units; 1344 vs 960, I think; if you want to fold with it as well) and factory overclocked if possible.

I think the TPF swing is normal for them 7810 and 7811 WUs...

----------

660 Ti; but what makes the difference between 6 and 8 pins ? they are mainly ground lines delivering a bit better energy transmission ...my Seasonic PSU has only "flexible" 8 pin cables where the two leftover pins hanging in the air when connected to 6 Pin. But yeah, other PSUs have dedicated 6 pins. So: 660 Ti it is ( for me)

from looking at some card manufacturer sites it looks as though 6 pin = 75 W and 8 pin = 150 W.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1481&psn=&lid=1&leg=0#
look under "system requirements"

 

[Louis Wu]

well i had to do some moving around also. so now i have the 780 and 760 in the same rig - they are doing about 115k and 61k. then i put the 7970 in the other rig by itself - getting around 80k now. so it seems like i'm finally on track. now if i can just get rid of this 8101 i should be set.

also, my 7970 has one 8-pin and one 6-pin.

so the 640 is best card with no power connector. what about the best card with 2 x 6-pin? the 760 i have is 8-pin and 6-pin, i was hoping only 2 x 6-pin

sorry -- late to answer.

thanks for the answers!

I thought maybe a summary would be helpful for anyone looking to buy...
we're talking so far:
Titan = ?? PPD
780 = 115 K PPD
7970 = 80-90 K PPD
760 = 61 K PP
660ti = 60-65 K PPD
7850 = 22 K PPD
560ti = 22 K PPD

lordonuthin, can you add data points for the titan? yours seem to have settled in nicely and are more than pulling their weight!

I'd think that the best card with 2 6-pin power cords is the 660ti or the base model 760 (seems to need 2 x 6-pin or 4 x molex) Disappointed to hear that the higher end 760 has one 8-pin power connector in addition to the 6-pin; guess that's a no-go for the Mac Pro...

I've been downloading spec sheets from EVGA and I must say it's never too clear what each card needs power-wise. (though I think I can figure it out by parsing the statements a certain way)

People at the stores don't generally know either, and they're not about to open a box for me to find out!

 

[twoodcc]

sorry -- late to answer.

thanks for the answers!

I thought maybe a summary would be helpful for anyone looking to buy...
we're talking so far:
Titan = ?? PPD
780 = 115 K PPD
7970 = 80-90 K PPD
760 = 61 K PP
660ti = 60-65 K PPD
7850 = 22 K PPD
560ti = 22 K PPD

lordonuthin, can you add data points for the titan? yours seem to have settled in nicely and are more than pulling their weight!

I'd think that the best card with 2 6-pin power cords is the 660ti or the base model 760 (seems to need 2 x 6-pin or 4 x molex) Disappointed to hear that the higher end 760 has one 8-pin power connector in addition to the 6-pin; guess that's a no-go for the Mac Pro...

I've been downloading spec sheets from EVGA and I must say it's never too clear what each card needs power-wise. (though I think I can figure it out by parsing the statements a certain way)

People at the stores don't generally know either, and they're not about to open a box for me to find out!

that seems about right. i've got all my rigs settled, though i still need to update the card in the mac pro (2 x 6-pin), and i still have another slot in one of my rigs, but not gonna use it right now. i've got all the heat i can handle right now. (maybe too much)

and i've got back to back 8101s again too

 

[lordonuthin]

sorry -- late to answer.

thanks for the answers!

I thought maybe a summary would be helpful for anyone looking to buy...
we're talking so far:
Titan = ?? PPD
780 = 115 K PPD
7970 = 80-90 K PPD
760 = 61 K PP
660ti = 60-65 K PPD
7850 = 22 K PPD
560ti = 22 K PPD

lordonuthin, can you add data points for the titan? yours seem to have settled in nicely and are more than pulling their weight!

I'd think that the best card with 2 6-pin power cords is the 660ti or the base model 760 (seems to need 2 x 6-pin or 4 x molex) Disappointed to hear that the higher end 760 has one 8-pin power connector in addition to the 6-pin; guess that's a no-go for the Mac Pro...

I've been downloading spec sheets from EVGA and I must say it's never too clear what each card needs power-wise. (though I think I can figure it out by parsing the statements a certain way)

People at the stores don't generally know either, and they're not about to open a box for me to find out!

I haven't done any math but I think the titans are pulling in about 150k ppd.

I went with a 660ti for my MP we'll see whether it works for me.

 

[twoodcc]

I haven't done any math but I think the titans are pulling in about 150k ppd.

I went with a 660ti for my MP we'll see whether it works for me.

looking forward to hearing how it does!

 

[lordonuthin]

I have the new Titan sc running with the 480! but the 660ti isn't working in the MP so far. I will have to mess around with it when I have some time. About this Mac shows the card but no video or folding and I am running 10.8...

 

[ChristianVirtual]

I'm actually not sure if a Mac can do GPU ... I thought I read the openCL implementations are too bumpy for FAH

 

[twoodcc]

I have the new Titan sc running with the 480! but the 660ti isn't working in the MP so far. I will have to mess around with it when I have some time. About this Mac shows the card but no video or folding and I am running 10.8...

yeah i've got windows 7 on my mac pro so i can fold with the gpu. the 465 is putting down a solid 15k ppd. now that 660ti should be over 50k ppd if it will work correctly in the mac pro, and it sounds like it can.

so you are up to 5 titans now?

 

[twoodcc]

so how does this look:

Titan = 150 k PPD - $1000 - $6.67 per k ppd
780 = 127 K PPD - $700 - $5.51 per k ppd
7970 = 82 K PPD - $500 - $6.10 per k ppd
760 = 65 K PPD - $300 - $4.62 per k ppd
660ti = 65 K PPD - $300 - $4.62 per k ppd
7850 = 22 K PPD - $180 - $8.18 per k ppd

 

[Louis Wu]

so how does this look:

Thanks for putting all that together for us!

The 780 certainly looks to be the sweet spot! (when you consider the power and the number of boxes you'd need to get 120 K PPD if you were trying to do it with 760s)

(now we just have to figure out the power costs and factor them in)

I've seen the 780s go for about $650, the 7970s on sale for as low as $340 (for a MSI unit, after a $20 MIR), the 760 for $250 and the now old-school 660ti clearing out for $250 -- probably best to jump on those while they're still available if you want one.

I'd like to know the PPD of the 770 -- saw an EVGA superclocked with ACX cooler for $404 (all prices Canadian retail) -- anyone have one of those?

 

[ChristianVirtual]

so how does this look:

Titan = 150 k PPD - $1000 - $6.67 per k ppd
780 = 127 K PPD - $700 - $5.51 per k ppd
7970 = 82 K PPD - $500 - $6.10 per k ppd
760 = 65 K PPD - $300 - $4.62 per k ppd
660ti = 65 K PPD - $300 - $4.62 per k ppd
7850 = 22 K PPD - $180 - $8.18 per k ppd

Looks good; my good feeling about 780 and 660 seems confirmed. Agree with Louis: adding PPD/W would be great; difficult to measure though with just one KillOMeter on the wall.

 

[lordonuthin]

yeah i've got windows 7 on my mac pro so i can fold with the gpu. the 465 is putting down a solid 15k ppd. now that 660ti should be over 50k ppd if it will work correctly in the mac pro, and it sounds like it can.

so you are up to 5 titans now?

Yes, five Today though I shut down the 980x machine with the titan sc and 480, it is getting too hot here 100 deg f! (37.8 c). My air conditioner is running almost all the time.

I hadn't thought about Mac os not running gpu folding, maybe I will stick it on the last slot on the 980x and put it to work for now...

 

[twoodcc]

Thanks for putting all that together for us!

The 780 certainly looks to be the sweet spot! (when you consider the power and the number of boxes you'd need to get 120 K PPD if you were trying to do it with 760s)

(now we just have to figure out the power costs and factor them in)

I've seen the 780s go for about $650, the 7970s on sale for as low as $340 (for a MSI unit, after a $20 MIR), the 760 for $250 and the now old-school 660ti clearing out for $250 -- probably best to jump on those while they're still available if you want one.

I'd like to know the PPD of the 770 -- saw an EVGA superclocked with ACX cooler for $404 (all prices Canadian retail) -- anyone have one of those?

yeah there are some cheaper versions of all these cards. i just used more mainstream (best buy) for prices. the power usage would be great, but that can be hard to do.

i'm not sure about the 770. i guess it should be somewhere between the 760 and 780, but something tells me it's not much better than the 760.

Looks good; my good feeling about 780 and 660 seems confirmed. Agree with Louis: adding PPD/W would be great; difficult to measure though with just one KillOMeter on the wall.

yeah it is difficult. i just wanted something simple on at least the upfront costs

Yes, five Today though I shut down the 980x machine with the titan sc and 480, it is getting too hot here 100 deg f! (37.8 c). My air conditioner is running almost all the time.

I hadn't thought about Mac os not running gpu folding, maybe I will stick it on the last slot on the 980x and put it to work for now...

yeah it's hot here too. i've added a couple of box fans in the last few days. same with my ac too.

you sure you don't wanna put windows or linux on the mac pro? i know we don't really like windows, but sometimes we gotta do it for folding

 

[lordonuthin]

yeah there are some cheaper versions of all these cards. i just used more mainstream (best buy) for prices. the power usage would be great, but that can be hard to do.

i'm not sure about the 770. i guess it should be somewhere between the 760 and 780, but something tells me it's not much better than the 760.



yeah it is difficult. i just wanted something simple on at least the upfront costs



yeah it's hot here too. i've added a couple of box fans in the last few days. same with my ac too.

you sure you don't wanna put windows or linux on the mac pro? i know we don't really like windows, but sometimes we gotta do it for folding

Can I still get win 7? Not sure I want to try win 8. I will probably have to buy a couple more copies before too long with the way these titans keep falling in my lap. though if I get a 4p/2p then I could just do Linux instead! Decisions, decisions.

 

[twoodcc]

Can I still get win 7? Not sure I want to try win 8. I will probably have to buy a couple more copies before too long with the way these titans keep falling in my lap. though if I get a 4p/2p then I could just do Linux instead! Decisions, decisions.

i haven't bought any windows copies lately, but yeah i'd stick with win 7. i haven't messed with win 8 yet, and don't really plan to if i can help it.

yeah you gotta get a 4p rig someday. you know you want one!