Setting up GPU2 on ATI cards!

[BUCK NASTY]

(Credit for revision/changes goes to Nastyhabits....Thanks Gary!)

You can only fold on ATI 3xxx, 4xxx, and 5xxx and these instructions apply to only those cards. If you have previously attempted to run GPU2 with no success, uninstall/delete all previous installations.


1)Download and install the client from the link(s) below.

XP GPU2 Console Client

VISTA/Win7 GPU2 Console Client

2)Create a shortcut for the executable to add to your desktop. The shortcut is necessary for flag placement in the target field.

3)(This step applies to only 5xxx cards) Edit the shortcut properties and add to the existing target exactly as shown, -gpu 0 -forcegpu ati_r700 . There should be a space in-between the existing target and the argument(flags) that you are adding. Reference screen shot below.



4)Set up the clients with the following parameters in the screen shot below(enter your user name, of course). Just hit return(default) for the last 2 parameters. Client will download the latest core and you will be folding if your GPU is stable. Use Fahmon or FHM.net to track your progress.



5) Environmental variables:

Add these environment variables. They will minimize your CPU usage.

BROOK_YIELD 2
CAL_NO_FLUSH 1
CAL_PRE_FLUSH 1
FLUSH_INTERVAL 128

FLUSH_INTERVAL can be set anywhere from 128 to 256. Lower number for stability, higher for greater PPD output.
Forum members have had success with settings betweeen 128 and 200.

Please post in this thread if still experiencing issues. Good Luck and Good Folding!

[erocker]

Do you possibly know what kind of PPD to expect?

[crazyeyesreaper]

i would expect similar ppd compared to the ati 4870/4890 in that gpu2 dosent use all the shaders of the 4x series and that means it certainly wont use all of them on the 5x series so as far as full potential we have to wait for GPU client 3 but for a rough performance idea look up the 4870/4890 ppd and u will get a rough idea its common fact nvidia offers more ppd then any ati card and with far less power needed even now

still thanks BUCK for writing this up for us ill just focus on CPU F@H for now

[BUCK NASTY]

Originally Posted by erocker

Do you possibly know what kind of PPD to expect?

5870 - 4500+ ppd
5850 - 3600+ ppd

Looking for more data right now.

Originally Posted by crazyeyesreaper

i would expect similar ppd compared to the ati 4870/4890 in that gpu2 dosent use all the shaders of the 4x series and that means it certainly wont use all of them on the 5x series so as far as full potential we have to wait for GPU client 3 but for a rough performance idea look up the 4870/4890 ppd and u will get a rough idea its common fact nvidia offers more ppd then any ati card and with far less power needed even now

still thanks BUCK for writing this up for us ill just focus on CPU F@H for now

HD5xxx benefit from the increased bandwidth of the card even though GPU2 still only uses approx 320 shaders(it was designed in the hd3xxx era), thus some improvement over hd4xxx series.

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by erocker

Do you possibly know what kind of PPD to expect?

I think I saw on OCN it's ~5k for the 5870 and ~2.5k for the 5770. Pretty sad IMO, my 8800GT gets over 5K PPD

[crazyeyesreaper]

yea i think GPU2 client only uses some 300shaders

so for Nvidia cards thats full power for ati cards thats a huge hit to ppd ability

[KainXS]

I would guess as its to whether the app itself is biased towards complex shaders vs simple shaders

[crazyeyesreaper]

all i know is here in the ATi realm we are limited to 300 or so shaders out of the 1440-1600 of the 5850 and 5870

still imagine if F@H scaled linear with shaders that would mean at 320 shaders getting 4500ppd that would mean 22500 ppd if it scaled in a linear fashion granted its unlikely but id really like to see what these cards can do if allowed to stretch there legs

[BraveSoul]

true that,,, how about running a few gpu2 clients on a single card, naturally i am assuming it will use some more shaders but thats not the case isn't it

[crazyeyesreaper]

u can only run 1 client per gpu sadly so no that wont work we have to sit here and wait for GPU3 client which wont be here anytime soon

[BraveSoul]

Originally Posted by crazyeyesreaper

GPU3 client which wont be here anytime soon

[ULJarad]

Hey BuckNasty, thanks for the tutorial. Is there a way to utilize the second GPU on a 5970? I'm guessing -gpu 1 would do the trick but I don't want to mess up the one running now.

Btw, for step 2 the "-" is missing before "forcegpu". I was copying/pasting for a few minutes before I realized the screenshot had it.

[BUCK NASTY]

Originally Posted by ULJarad

Hey BuckNasty, thanks for the tutorial. Is there a way to utilize the second GPU on a 5970? I'm guessing -gpu 1 would do the trick but I don't want to mess up the one running now.

Btw, for step 2 the "-" is missing before "forcegpu". I was copying/pasting for a few minutes before I realized the screenshot had it.

Fixed now and thanks for correcting my post. Dual core GPU's are a little funny as far as identifying the cores. Try -gpu 0 / -gpu 1 and see what happens. You would be our first 5970 experiment.

[ULJarad]

I tried it earlier and it gave me an error, but I just tried it and it's working. I think I might've copied the shortcut without creating a new one, so it linked back to the original folder. One core has been running since my first post at ~3400, so I'll let you know if this one's running on its own core and not cutting into the other.

edit- Nevermind, I forgot about GPU-Z's load meter. I checked it and both cores are maxed. -gpu 1 did the trick. Thanks.

[JayliN]

just tested this on my 5770.
~3400ppd on a 384pt wu.

[dies900]

I have hd5850 but I have hd4870 in the closet so can I put it in the second slot and dedicate it to folding@home or thats not possible?

[r9]

OK i have installed both clients for CPU and GPU folding. I`m very very new at this I`m sorry if I ask noob questions . This is what I`m getting with fahmon. Isn`t it low ?
E5200@4.0GHz and ATI 5750@stock clocks

[NastyHabits]

Originally Posted by r9

OK i have installed both clients for CPU and GPU folding. I`m very very new at this I`m sorry if I ask noob questions . This is what I`m getting with fahmon. Isn`t it low ?
E5200@4.0GHz and ATI 5750@stock clocks

http://forums.techpowerup.com/attach...1&d=1265150372

It looks like you have them reversed. A 384 is a typical (indeed smallest and fastest) ATI job. Alas, your PPD is not atypical. The ATI client does not use anywhere near the full capacity of the card. It probably uses 1/3 of the shaders available on a 5750. You're getting about 500 to 600 more PPD than I do on my 4850.

Don't be discouraged. When the GPU3 client comes out for ATI cards you'll win the PPD per watt race hands down with your 5000 series card. I estimate that you'll at least get 8000 PPD from that card while burning half the electricity that a similar performance Nvidia card will.

[[Ion]]

Originally Posted by NastyHabits

It looks like you have them reversed. A 384 is a typical (indeed smallest and fastest) ATI job. Alas, your PPD is not atypical. The ATI client does not use anywhere near the full capacity of the card. It probably uses 1/3 of the shaders available on a 5750. You're getting about 500 to 600 more PPD than I do on my 4850.

Don't be discouraged. When the GPU3 client comes out for ATI cards you'll win the PPD per watt race hands down with your 5000 series card. I estimate that you'll at least get 8000 PPD from that card while burning half the electricity that a similar performance Nvidia card will.

What sort would I get from my HD 5670? 4000?

[t_ski]

I'm interested to see if someone can figure this out for the 5970. I tried to install F@H with my new card, but I was told it was not supported on my card.

[NastyHabits]

Originally Posted by [Ion]

What sort would I get from my HD 5670? 4000?

We can only guess what would happen with the GPU3 client. We can, however, get a good idea what we can get if ATI and Nvidia cards of roughly equal power would get if they could fold equally well in GPU2.

For example a 4850 and a GTS 250 are roughly equivalent. One similar easy F@H jobs - 353 for Nvidia, 384 for ATI - the 250 gets @7000 PPD, the 4850 gets @2400. That's roughly a 3 to 1 ratio.

According to a TPU review of the 5670, it's roughly equivalent to a 9600 GSO. Rig number 4 in my sig has been down for a while now, but if memory serves me well (and it sometimes doesn't), my best 9600 GSO would just about hit 4000 PPD on a 353 on a good day with a tail wind.

Therefore, when the GPU3 client comes out, (alas the Nvidia version will be first), just apply that 3 to 1 ratio to what people are getting on their Nvidia G92 based cards, and I would hope that you would do as well with your 5670.

I've got my fingers and toes crossed that the GPU3 client for ATI will give it similar performance to the Nvidia version. The 5xxx series ATI cards have moved the power usage meter in a more economic (and green) direction. Also, it seems to me that we have a heck of a lot more ATI users on TPU. That way we can have some sort of contest to lure huge numbers of TPU's ATI using members to our cause, and finally kick some Canadian butt!

[BUCK NASTY]

OP has been revised. Thanks to Nastyhabits for the revision material and Bluebumblebee for "prodding" him into writing it. Now lets get some more ATI cards folding!

[cauby]

thanks for the tutorial!now my 5770 can finally do some heavy folding!!

[thebluebumblebee]

If you don't know WHERE to enter the Environmental Variables in step 5 of the OP:
XP: Computer=>Properties=>Advanced=>Environmental Variables
Vista: I don't have/know, but should be in a similar location
Win7: Computer=>Properties=>Advanced System Settings=>Environmental Variables

As to whether to enter them under the user or system heading, I don't think it matters unless you intend to log into the computer under a different user name and still intend to Fold.

[Mussels]

does this work with crossfire yet?