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

[twoodcc]

awesome to hear how a retina mbp does with folding.

now can you fold with an amd 7970 and an nvidia gpu in the same rig? is the 7970 the right amd card to get?

 

[Louis Wu]

AMD and nVidia in same rig

awesome to hear how a retina mbp does with folding.

now can you fold with an amd 7970 and an nvidia gpu in the same rig? is the 7970 the right amd card to get?

I can confirm that the V7 client with Win7 can run both simultaneously no problem.

Or if there are any problems I'm not aware of them.

I'm running a regular (non gigahertz) Sapphire AMD 7970 overclocked at 1100 for about 105 K PPD and an EVGA GTX 660 Ti factory superclocked to 1123 (or something like that) for 63 K PPD on Core 17 using the advanced flag.

sure beats the 90 K PPD the big rig is pulling on these 8101s...

Louis

----------

is the 7970 the right amd card to get?

the last post from July 2 on this thread seems to be spot on in terms of info. no one seems to know what the new GTX 770 and 760s will do though...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1769312&page=2

 

[SciFrog]

Mac OS X exclusively for me...

 

[twoodcc]

I can confirm that the V7 client with Win7 can run both simultaneously no problem.

Or if there are any problems I'm not aware of them.

I'm running a regular (non gigahertz) Sapphire AMD 7970 overclocked at 1100 for about 105 K PPD and an EVGA GTX 660 Ti factory superclocked to 1123 (or something like that) for 63 K PPD on Core 17 using the advanced flag.

sure beats the 90 K PPD the big rig is pulling on these 8101s...

Louis

----------



the last post from July 2 on this thread seems to be spot on in terms of info. no one seems to know what the new GTX 770 and 760s will do though...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1769312&page=2

thanks! i went to the store to pick up a 7970 cuz they had them listed as in stock, but they didn't have it. i ended up getting a gtx 780! now how do i add the advanced flag in v7?

 

[ChristianVirtual]

i ended up getting a gtx 780! now how do i add the advanced flag in v7?

Sweeeeet ! Congrats. What range of PPD you get ?

 

[twoodcc]

Sweeeeet ! Congrats. What range of PPD you get ?

thanks! not sure yet, gotta get the client configured correctly

 

[Louis Wu]

thanks! i went to the store to pick up a 7970 cuz they had them listed as in stock, but they didn't have it. i ended up getting a gtx 780! now how do i add the advanced flag in v7?

Whoo Hoo! way to go! (the store I went to had an open-box 7970 and no 780s so that's how I decided...)

I configured my client using this part of the guide...

http://folding.stanford.edu/English/FAQ-Configure#ntoc12

see the last option -- I use the global option and put my CPU on pause and leave it there since it's more valuable feeding the GPUs than folding SMP...

let us know how it goes!

----------

Mac OS X exclusively for me...

yeah we all wish they'd get on to updating the OSX client...

but most of us agree that GPU on Linux is a good thing to have!

(I'm running out of Windows keys and really don't feel like splashing out for more operating systems)

 

[twoodcc]

Whoo Hoo! way to go! (the store I went to had an open-box 7970 and no 780s so that's how I decided...)

I configured my client using this part of the guide...

http://folding.stanford.edu/English/FAQ-Configure#ntoc12

see the last option -- I use the global option and put my CPU on pause and leave it there since it's more valuable feeding the GPUs than folding SMP...

let us know how it goes!
)

thanks! can't blame you.

thanks, i think i'm gonna just leave the -beta flag. now it has core15 right now, how do i get core17?

 

[Louis Wu]

thanks! can't blame you.

thanks, i think i'm gonna just leave the -beta flag. now it has core15 right now, how do i get core17?

I just checked my system and I had switched to advanced (when I and a lot of other folks noticed the return of Core 15 WUs) but over the weekend switched back to beta and have left it there.

both cards are currently running Core 17 - 8900 WUs.

earlier today I picked up a couple of Core 15 WUs even with the beta flag; the assignment server must have been out of 8900 WUs. They're especially brutal with AMD cards (about 1 K PPD!!).

I'm counting on you to make up for some of the slack when I have to shut off a rig because of the expected heat (90s before humidity) later in the week!

Louis

 

[twoodcc]

I just checked my system and I had switched to advanced (when I and a lot of other folks noticed the return of Core 15 WUs) but over the weekend switched back to beta and have left it there.

both cards are currently running Core 17 - 8900 WUs.

earlier today I picked up a couple of Core 15 WUs even with the beta flag; the assignment server must have been out of 8900 WUs. They're especially brutal with AMD cards (about 1 K PPD!!).

I'm counting on you to make up for some of the slack when I have to shut off a rig because of the expected heat (90s before humidity) later in the week!

Louis

so it'll switch to core17 on it's own?

aww come on. it's hot here too, and really bad humidity. just keep the 7970 and big rig going!

 

[Louis Wu]

so it'll switch to core17 on it's own?

aww come on. it's hot here too, and really bad humidity. just keep the 7970 and big rig going!

It should switch over automatically as core17 WUs become available.

it's bad all over for sure... like a sauna downstairs already... I'll see if I can stand it with both rigs going...

 

[twoodcc]

It should switch over automatically as core17 WUs become available.

it's bad all over for sure... like a sauna downstairs already... I'll see if I can stand it with both rigs going...

ok it's got them now. but the client is only showing about 112k ppd so i'm a little concerned. should i overclock the card? any advice?

 

[Louis Wu]

ok it's got them now. but the client is only showing about 112k ppd so i'm a little concerned. should i overclock the card? any advice?

I wouldn't worry about the predicted PPD until well after the WU is underway... sometimes it shows measly PPD for a few percent and then suddenly resets, say from 2% to 6% and then shows an accurate TPF figure and a correspondingly more accurate PPD prediction.

I ran the 7970 on a different rig when I was testing it; that rig NEVER showed the correct PPD and said it was only something like 15 K PPD but the correct points showed up in the stats...

hopefully everything will work out soon!

then for some overclocking goodness

 

[twoodcc]

I wouldn't worry about the predicted PPD until well after the WU is underway... sometimes it shows measly PPD for a few percent and then suddenly resets, say from 2% to 6% and then shows an accurate TPF figure and a correspondingly more accurate PPD prediction.

I ran the 7970 on a different rig when I was testing it; that rig NEVER showed the correct PPD and said it was only something like 15 K PPD but the correct points showed up in the stats...

hopefully everything will work out soon!

then for some overclocking goodness

well it's over 26% complete, still showing 112k ppd. what do you use to overclock the gpu? msi afterburner? do you only overclock the core clock?

 

[Louis Wu]

well it's over 26% complete, still showing 112k ppd. what do you use to overclock the gpu? msi afterburner? do you only overclock the core clock?

hmmm that does sound suspiciously low. then again I did have that rig that never showed the correct ppd, even after days of running.

If you've got the patience I'd let it run and see what you get from the EOC stats after one WU has finished and been uploaded (I guess the client log would also show the estimated points for the WU once it has uploaded).

on my dual AMD/nVidia rig I'm using EVGA's Precision X utility (mainly to alter the fan settings as I left the factory clock settings in place) and Afterburner to monitor both cards and overclock the AMD card... I found that I had to put the AMD card in the first slot of the mobo or Afterburner couldn't alter any parameters on the AMD. of course you won't run into that issue if you've got all nVidia cards...

I've heard that overclocking the memory doesn't affect ppd but makes cards less stable so I've restricted myself to only messing with the core clock...

good luck and let us know when you're racking up 160+ K PPD on your new 780!

 

[twoodcc]

hmmm that does sound suspiciously low. then again I did have that rig that never showed the correct ppd, even after days of running.

If you've got the patience I'd let it run and see what you get from the EOC stats after one WU has finished and been uploaded (I guess the client log would also show the estimated points for the WU once it has uploaded).

on my dual AMD/nVidia rig I'm using EVGA's Precision X utility (mainly to alter the fan settings as I left the factory clock settings in place) and Afterburner to monitor both cards and overclock the AMD card... I found that I had to put the AMD card in the first slot of the mobo or Afterburner couldn't alter any parameters on the AMD. of course you won't run into that issue if you've got all nVidia cards...

I've heard that overclocking the memory doesn't affect ppd but makes cards less stable so I've restricted myself to only messing with the core clock...

good luck and let us know when you're racking up 160+ K PPD on your new 780!

well i've messed around with a few oc settings. nothing seems to affect the ppd or tpf. maybe i should stick to stock for now.

should i update my folding client? i don't think i have the latest version (not really sure, but does it make a difference?)

 

[Louis Wu]

well i've messed around with a few oc settings. nothing seems to affect the ppd or tpf. maybe i should stick to stock for now.

should i update my folding client? i don't think i have the latest version (not really sure, but does it make a difference?)

oh, yes, I'd definitely update to the latest client!

the latest V7 client has lots of other flags and options and would likely help matters...

for comparison, the 7970 is doing about 4 minutes 9 seconds TPF on 8900; the 660Ti is doing 5 minutes 35 seconds or so...

 

[twoodcc]

oh, yes, I'd definitely update to the latest client!

the latest V7 client has lots of other flags and options and would likely help matters...

for comparison, the 7970 is doing about 4 minutes 9 seconds TPF on 8900; the 660Ti is doing 5 minutes 35 seconds or so...

ok i'm updating the client.

i'm around 3:48 or so on 8900. but that's still only about 113k ppd without upload time

 

[Louis Wu]

ok i'm updating the client.

i'm around 3:48 or so on 8900. but that's still only about 113k ppd without upload time

those times do sound longer than they should be -- check out the times reported here:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1762504&page=3

Out of the box GTX 780 Superclocked... no additional overlcocking applied yet.
System CPU is a 2700K (@ stock) on a P8Z68-V mobo.

Project ID: 8900
Core: ZETA
Credit: 6000
Frames: 100

Number of Frames Observed: 84

Min. Time / Frame : 00:02:52 - 173,540.7 PPD
Avg. Time / Frame : 00:03:00 - 162,100.8 PPD
Cur. Time / Frame : 00:02:53 - 168,893.5 PPD
R3F. Time / Frame : 00:02:57 - 164,527.9 PPD
All Time / Frame : 00:03:00 - 161,384.3 PPD
Eff. Time / Frame : 00:03:02 - 159,347.9 PPD

 

[twoodcc]

those times do sound longer than they should be -- check out the times reported here:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1762504&page=3

Out of the box GTX 780 Superclocked... no additional overlcocking applied yet.
System CPU is a 2700K (@ stock) on a P8Z68-V mobo.

Project ID: 8900
Core: ZETA
Credit: 6000
Frames: 100

Number of Frames Observed: 84

Min. Time / Frame : 00:02:52 - 173,540.7 PPD
Avg. Time / Frame : 00:03:00 - 162,100.8 PPD
Cur. Time / Frame : 00:02:53 - 168,893.5 PPD
R3F. Time / Frame : 00:02:57 - 164,527.9 PPD
All Time / Frame : 00:03:00 - 161,384.3 PPD
Eff. Time / Frame : 00:03:02 - 159,347.9 PPD

yeah i saw that. which is why i'm kinda concerned.

i updated the client, but somehow lost the WU i was working on before. got everything going again though, but it's looking like it'll stay around 110k ppd.

right now it's running at 928 mhz. should i bump it up some? should i stop folding before bumping it up?

 

[Louis Wu]

yeah i saw that. which is why i'm kinda concerned.

i updated the client, but somehow lost the WU i was working on before. got everything going again though, but it's looking like it'll stay around 110k ppd.

right now it's running at 928 mhz. should i bump it up some? should i stop folding before bumping it up?

I do pause the slot before making any speed changes and then unpause the slot afterwards; I would try bumping the core up a bit but I would have thought that it'd be folding more like what the others have found right out of the box. Your 780 is only about 25 secs faster on a frame than my 7970 and I thought it should be quite a bit faster... especially when you see figures like 1 min 9 secs for a Titan card...

 

[twoodcc]

I do pause the slot before making any speed changes and then unpause the slot afterwards; I would try bumping the core up a bit but I would have thought that it'd be folding more like what the others have found right out of the box. Your 780 is only about 25 secs faster on a frame than my 7970 and I thought it should be quite a bit faster... especially when you see figures like 1 min 9 secs for a Titan card...

ok so after playing with the core clock speed, i'm now showing 135k ppd with 3:17 tpf.

 

[Louis Wu]

ok so after playing with the core clock speed, i'm now showing 135k ppd with 3:17 tpf.

that's more like it!

though I'd have thought the card would go faster still

here's to breaking the 3 minute barrier!

 

[twoodcc]

that's more like it!

though I'd have thought the card would go faster still

here's to breaking the 3 minute barrier!

i thought so too. it's been staying around 3:20. better than what it was at least.

 

[twoodcc]

well i just had to crank up the fan manually. it's now saying 159k ppd. it's weird though, every other frame is under 3:00. like one frame will be 2:49, and the next will be 3:12. not sure why.