Guide to running multiple GPU work units

Mindweaver · Dec 22, 2012

Try this one:
*4 HCC gpu wu's (1.0 CPU + 0.25 GPU) and 2 HCC cpu wu's

Code:

<app_info> 
	<app> 
		<name>hcc1</name> 
		<user_friendly_name>Help Conquer Cancer</user_friendly_name> 
	</app> 
	<file_info> 
		<name>wcg_hcc1_img_7.05_windows_intelx86__ati_hcc1</name> 
		<executable/> 
	</file_info> 
	<file_info> 
		<name>hcckernel.cl.7.05</name> 
		<executable/> 
	</file_info> 
	<file_info>
		<name>wcg_hcc1_img_7.05_windows_intelx86</name>
		<executable/>
   </file_info>
	<app_version> 
		<app_name>hcc1</app_name> 
		<version_num>705</version_num> 
		<platform>windows_intelx86</platform> 
		<plan_class>ati_hcc1</plan_class> 
		<avg_ncpus>1.0</avg_ncpus> 
		<max_ncpus>4.0</max_ncpus> 
			<coproc> 
				<type>ATI</type> 
				<count>.25</count> 
			</coproc> 
		<file_ref> 
			<file_name>wcg_hcc1_img_7.05_windows_intelx86__ati_hcc1</file_name> 
			<main_program/> 
		</file_ref> 
		<file_ref> 
			<file_name>hcckernel.cl.7.05</file_name> 
			<open_name>hcckernel.cl</open_name> 
		</file_ref> 
	</app_version>
	<app_version>
		<app_name>hcc1</app_name>
		<version_num>705</version_num>
		<platform>windows_intelx86</platform>
		<avg_ncpus>1.000000</avg_ncpus>
		<max_ncpus>1.000000</max_ncpus>
		<api_version>6.13.0</api_version>
		<file_ref>
			<file_name>wcg_hcc1_img_7.05_windows_intelx86</file_name>
			<main_program/>
		</file_ref>
	</app_version>
</app_info>

I've run into some minor scheduling glitches but it gives me 60-65k ppd on the FX 8350/7870 rig (6 gpu, 2 cpu)

I'll try it out and let every one know how it goes. :respect:

Norton · Dec 22, 2012

Mindweaver said:
I'll try it out and let every one know how it goes.

You may want to switch over to the new app_config setup if starting fresh. Download the latest BOINC manager (7.0.42) from BOINCstats and go for it. See my later post

*note- it seems easier to setup than app_info

agent00skid · Dec 22, 2012

Do note that max concurrent is for both CPU and GPU WU's.

And for most people, it's not really necessary, I just included it to show what could be done with the new app_config. (And it was part of the example I made mine from.)

mstenholm · Dec 22, 2012

So back home in cold Denmark. Santa came early and left me two 7970s. They are now installed and is running stock (925 MHz) and with 6 WUs each on a i970. I will leave them run like this for an hour or so and then go for 2x12 and 950 MHz.

KieX · Dec 22, 2012

OP guide overhaul: app_config.xml

Detailed the new app_config.xml process in OP. I've hidden the old one inside a spoiler tag for reference. Please change to this whenever you can, as this is the recommended way by WCG and the app_info will not be useable in future.

Big thanks agent00kid for the code on this. :toast:

[Ion] · Dec 23, 2012

KieX said:
Detailed the new app_config.xml process in OP. I've hidden the old one inside a spoiler tag for reference. Please change to this whenever you can, as this is the recommended way by WCG and the app_info will not be useable in future.

Big thanks agent00kid for the code on this.

Thank you for the update! :respect:

Any idea when they'll be phasing it out? I'd rather not mess with my configuration twelve hours before I leave for a week, but I'd also rather it not stop working while I'm gone

EDIT: I have it set up--it seems to be working fine. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it. An added advantage is that the estimated time/GPU WU is much more accurate now.

manofthem · Dec 23, 2012

KieX said:
Detailed the new app_config.xml process in OP. I've hidden the old one inside a spoiler tag for reference. Please change to this whenever you can, as this is the recommended way by WCG and the app_info will not be useable in future.

Big thanks agent00kid for the code on this.

Very good, thanks. I'm going to try it out tomorrow and see how it runs on Windows 8. I'll report back with any news

Norton · Dec 23, 2012

[Ion] said:
Thank you for the update!

Any idea when they'll be phasing it out? I'd rather not mess with my configuration twelve hours before I leave for a week, but I'd also rather it not stop working while I'm gone

EDIT: I have it set up--it seems to be working fine. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it. An added advantage is that the estimated time/GPU WU is much more accurate now.

24 hrs running on one of my rigs (7770's w/4 wu's each) and all is well so far

[Ion] · Dec 23, 2012

Norton said:
24 hrs running on one of my rigs (7770's w/4 wu's each) and all is well so far

Seems to be OK on the i7-920 system. I'm not touching the GTX460 setup--that card won't be running in that setup for all that much longer anyways, so I'll just leave it doing 1 WU. Now to just decide on the GPU I need for it...

KieX · Dec 23, 2012

[Ion] said:
Any idea when they'll be phasing it out? I'd rather not mess with my configuration twelve hours before I leave for a week, but I'd also rather it not stop working while I'm gone

No idea when. WCG plan to give a heads-up the their members and a short grace period to make the change whenever they announce it.

But after reading Kevin Reed's explanation about why the old method is bad for WCG and the benefits of the hassle-free new method.. I recon it's worth doing sooner rather than later.

Norton · Dec 23, 2012

Couple of quick questions:

How do you set the BOINC Manager to report completed wu's as soon as completed?

Most of my machines are now hanging onto completed wu's for longer than usual and I've done some manual dumps of up to 100 or wu's more at times...

and

Does anyone know the relative performance from a 7950 compared to a 7870?
I'm looking to pickup a 7950 but I'm not completely convinced that the 7950 is the better card (watt for watt, wu efficiency, etc..) The 7870 and 7770's I have run very smooth and very cool and may end up just adding another 7870 and 7770 rather than mess around with anything other than a 7970 as the ultimate upgrade to the gpu fleet.

Thanks in advance for any input! :toast:

KieX · Dec 23, 2012

Norton said:
Couple of quick questions:

How do you set the BOINC Manager to report completed wu's as soon as completed?

Most of my machines are now hanging onto completed wu's for longer than usual and I've done some manual dumps of up to 100 or wu's more at times...

and

Does anyone know the relative performance from a 7950 compared to a 7870?
I'm looking to pickup a 7950 but I'm not completely convinced that the 7950 is the better card (watt for watt, wu efficiency, etc..) The 7870 and 7770's I have run very smooth and very cool and may end up just adding another 7870 and 7770 rather than mess around with anything other than a 7970 as the ultimate upgrade to the gpu fleet.

Thanks in advance for any input!

You can use Mindweaver's util to automatically upload as they complete: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106370

I don't know the performance of 7870, but a 7950 can do 100K like the 7970's with little effort. Just keep in mind 7950 will want you to feed 10WU at least for best results. If you don't have at least 4 cores/threads to push them, you lose a lot of points at which stage the 7870 might do better for the wattage.

Norton · Dec 23, 2012

KieX said:
You can use Mindweaver's util to automatically upload as they complete: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106370

I don't know the performance of 7870, but a 7950 can do 100K like the 7970's with little effort. Just keep in mind 7950 will want you to feed 10WU at least for best results. If you don't have at least 4 cores/threads to push them, you lose a lot of points at which stage the 7870 might do better for the wattage.

Thanks- that utility just adds a line into cc_config AFAIK, which I should be able to do manually (wasn't sure if there were any other tweaks or settings to check)

I can get around 60-65k on the 7870 w/6 wu's and likely closer to 75-80k with 8 wu's (we'll find out soon enough... switching that rig over to app_config w/8 wu's this evening

). I have 8 threads on the FX cpu's so feeding 2x 7870's with 16 wu's or a 7950/70's with 10 or more wu's should be fine...

KieX · Dec 23, 2012

Norton said:
Thanks- that utility just adds a line into cc_config AFAIK, which I should be able to do manually (wasn't sure if there were any other tweaks or settings to check)

I can get around 60-65k on the 7870 w/6 wu's and likely closer to 75-80k with 8 wu's (we'll find out soon enough... switching that rig over to app_config w/8 wu's this evening ). I have 8 threads on the FX cpu's so feeding 2x 7870's with 16 wu's or a 7950/70's with 10 or more wu's should be fine...

Yup. Quick note on that cc_config.. it sometimes doesn't exist and needs to be created from scratch (why I pointed to the util). If it exists and it's filled with a lot of stuff (from newer BOINC clients) then the line is there already.. search and modify it - otherwise you'll add a line with 1 and have the default one with 0 resulting in 0.

I don't think you can wrong with either choice of GPU, though I will definitely recommend 7950. It's good enough to play Far Cry 3 with full eye candy in my short spells off crunching duties

mstenholm · Dec 23, 2012

KieX said:
I don't think you can wrong with either choice of GPU, though I will definitely recommend 7950. It's good enough to play Far Cry 3 with full eye candy in my short spells off crunching duties

Since solitaire is the most demanding game I have ever played on my PCs I can't comment on the last statement but I think that my previous 6 WUs on the 7950 were on the low side. I got 83K but rising it to 8 seems to add a bit to that. I will let it run a day or two like this before going for 10 just to make sure I'm not missing the "sweet point" on my rig.

Norton · Dec 23, 2012

mstenholm said:
Since solitaire is the most demanding game I have ever played on my PCs I can't comment on the last statement but I think that my previous 6 WUs on the 7950 were on the low side. I got 83K but rising it to 8 seems to add a bit to that. I will let it run a day or two like this before going for 10 just to make sure I'm not missing the "sweet point" on my rig.

Solitaire isn't so demanding.... However, in the olden days I used to use speed rounds of FreeCell to test stability on Super Socket 7 rigs. It was just as good as any other stability test back then

EDIT- looks like those 7770's are spooling up nicely- over 150k total today (All rigs) with 2 hours left :toast:

ThE_MaD_ShOt · Dec 23, 2012

I use Spider Solitaire these days as it even gives my Crossfired rig fits.

manofthem · Dec 25, 2012

Well, I didn't get a chance to update BOINC yesterday, so today is the day. I've already set No New Tasks and am waiting for the WUs to finish and report. After that, i'm going to uninstall and then update

I'll be posting later with any news; hopefully it'll work without any issue :toast:

Edit and update:
Well, it looks like the steps worked but I'm still getting driver crashes a few seconds in. Every time I try to run more than 1 WU, boom! driver crash. So this sucks! I was really hoping that it would work on Windows 8 finally, but alas, not yet.

If anyone knows if i'm missing something or if anyone knows how to get it working nicely on Windows 8, I'm ALL EARS!

*I'm running 12.11beta driver, either 7 or 8. I have tried 12.10 before, but maybe I'll give it another go
**Norton pointed me to a link at XS which may prove to be beneficial; I'm trying it out now

***No success yet, going to try later on.

mstenholm · Dec 26, 2012

Since I was not happy with running 8 GPU and 4 CPU units on my 12 "cores" (yield less then running 8 GPUs on a lesser CPU) I changed it to run 12 GPU and no CPU units. What happened was now one 7770 is running 8 and one is running 4. Any workaround? 8 is way to much. I was expecting an even spilt. The one with the 8 is GPU0.

[Ion] · Dec 26, 2012

mstenholm said:
Since I was not happy with running 8 GPU and 4 CPU units on my 12 "cores" (yield less then running 8 GPUs on a lesser CPU) I changed it to run 12 GPU and no CPU units. What happened was now one 7770 is running 8 and one is running 4. Any workaround? 8 is way to much. I was expecting an even spilt. The one with the 8 is GPU0.

Can I see your app_config file? Mine is doing an even split between all three GPUs (you need to specify that it requires 1 CPU and .25 GPUs/WU)

ThE_MaD_ShOt · Dec 27, 2012

manofthem said:
Well, I didn't get a chance to update BOINC yesterday, so today is the day. I've already set No New Tasks and am waiting for the WUs to finish and report. After that, i'm going to uninstall and then update

I'll be posting later with any news; hopefully it'll work without any issue

Edit and update:
Well, it looks like the steps worked but I'm still getting driver crashes a few seconds in. Every time I try to run more than 1 WU, boom! driver crash. So this sucks! I was really hoping that it would work on Windows 8 finally, but alas, not yet.

If anyone knows if i'm missing something or if anyone knows how to get it working nicely on Windows 8, I'm ALL EARS!

*I'm running 12.11beta driver, either 7 or 8. I have tried 12.10 before, but maybe I'll give it another go
**Norton pointed me to a link at XS which may prove to be beneficial; I'm trying it out now
***No success yet, going to try later on.

I have been getting a driver crash from time to time on my cfired rig and it only runs 1 wu per card. The crash happens like once a week or can be longer in between. The rig always recovers and continues crunching though. I think I a going to pick up another gpu for this rig (79xx) and then split the 6850's up in the 2 other rigs that are just crunching on the cpus right now. That or I may just not crunch with the 6850's at all after I get my next gpu. Still deciding on what I am going to do.

AlienIsGOD · Dec 27, 2012

4 WU's on the 7870

Norton · Dec 27, 2012

AlienIsGOD said:
4 WU's on the 7870

7870's will do 6-8 wu's easy. Try it out once you're spooled up some

[Ion] · Dec 31, 2012

I got the HD7950 in about an hour ago. I've installed it in my i3 system and it's running 1 WU quite nicely. However, it doesn't recognize the app_config.xml file (BOINC never even sees it) so it's only doing 1 WU. Any suggestions? :ohwell:

EDIT: NVM, I realized I was using an ancient version of BOINC. Fixed

HammerON · Jan 1, 2013

So I got home and deleted the app_info file and used the app_config but I am having some trouble...

Any suggestions? I restarted BOINC and re-read the config..
The Event Viewer showed that it was reading Mindweaver's app_config only, so I deleted it and tried again:

Now it states that there is no app_config file found

I would actually like to run 8 WU's per GPU. How would I set that up?

System Name	Tower of Power / Delliverance
Processor	i7 14700K / i9-14900K
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II / Z690
Cooling	CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / Air
Memory	CORSAIR - VENGEANCE RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 7200MHz / DDR5 2x 16gb
Video Card(s)	ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / GeForce RTX 4080
Storage	4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / NVM3 PC801 SK hynix 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, 2x LG HDR 32" 60hz 4k / 2x LG HDR 32" 60hz 4k
Case	Phantek "400A" / Dell XPS 8960
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC4080 / Sound Blaster X1
Power Supply	Corsair RM Series RM750 / 750w
Mouse	Razer Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed Wireless / Glorious Gaming Model O 2 Wireless
Keyboard	Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD	Quest 3 (512gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 11 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	Yes

System Name	Main PC- Gamer- Main Cruncher/Folder and too many crunching/folding rigs
Processor	Ryzen 5900X- Ryzen 5950X- Ryzen 3950X and etc...
Motherboard	Asrock X570 Extreme4- MSI X570S Tomahawk MAX WiFi- MSI B450M Bazooka Max and etc...
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S (dual fan)- EK 360 AIO with push/pull fans- Corsair H115i RGB Pro XT and etc...
Memory	2x16GB GSkill FlareX 3200/c14- 4x8GB Corsair Vengeance 3600/c16- 2x16GB Team 3600/c18 and etc..
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming RX 6800- Asus RTX 3070 TUF OC- MSI Ventus GTX 1660Ti and etc...
Storage	Main PC (1TB WD SN850- 2TB PNY CS 3040- 2TB Seagate Firecuda) and etc...
Display(s)	Main PC (2x24" Dell UltraSharp U2414H)
Case	Phanteks P600s- Seasonic Q704- Fractal Meshify C and etc...
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z625 THX 2.1 speakers
Power Supply	EVGA 750 G3- SeaSonic DGC 750- EVGA P2 850 and etc...
Mouse	G300s
Keyboard	Corsair K65
VR HMD	N/A
Software	Windows 10 Pro or Ubuntu
Benchmark Scores	Why sit on the Bench when you can get in the game and Crunch!!!

System Name	Waterfall \| xe
Processor	Core i3-12100F \| i5-1240P
Motherboard	Gigabyte B660M-DS3H \| HP laptop
Cooling	Custom Watercooling \| Stock laptop
Memory	2*16GB \| 16GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	RX 5700 with WC blocks \| Iris Xe
Storage	Intel 660 1TB + Crucial BX100 500GB \| 1TB SSD
Display(s)	U24E850R+U2515H \| Internal 16"
Case	Be Quiet! Dark Base 900 \| Laptop
Audio Device(s)	Audio 2 DJ + Xenyx Q802USB \| Realtek
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W \| 65W USB-C Power brick
Mouse	Logitech M330
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion Brown \| Laptop
Software	Gentoo + Windows 10 Pro \| Gentoo

System Name	The work PC /2700x/5950x
Processor	3900X stock/ 2700x stock/ 5950x 4200 MHz fixed @ 1,056-1,08V
Motherboard	Gigabyte AORUS Master X570/2xMSI X470 M7 AC
Cooling	Custom WC XSPC RX480, Laing DDC, XSPC Laing DDC Top V3 and EK Velocity/NH15/NH-U12S SE
Memory	32 GB Viper 3600/14 /16 GB Trident Z F4-4000C18D-16GTZSW 3600 /32 GB G Skill Flare CL14 3400
Video Card(s)	2070 Super X MSI/GTX 970 MSI/ GTX 970 MSI
Storage	1 TB SSD+500 GB NVMe / 500 GB SSD/ 2 TB 990 Pro
Display(s)	Dell UltraSharp U2518D/2408WFP
Case	Corsair 800D / Lian test bench/NZXT 500
Power Supply	AX 850 Titanium/AX 860i/AX 760
Software	Dual boot/Win 10 / Linux / Win 10+Linux

System Name	Slick
Processor	Intel i5 2467M
Motherboard	Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook
Memory	8GB Corsair Value
Storage	Crucial M4 7mm 256GB
Display(s)	13"
Software	Windows 8 Pro x64

System Name	Niedersachsen / Ribe / Minsk
Processor	i3 3240 / i7-3520M / 4x Opteron 6376 @ 2.86GHz
Motherboard	BIOSTAR H61M / HP Q77 / Supermicro H8QG7
Cooling	Stock / Stock / 4x 1U G34
Memory	1x8GB / 2x4GB / 4x4GB
Video Card(s)	GTX260 / Intel HD 4000 / nVidia GT310
Storage	80GB Intel SSD / 256GB Intel SSD / 2x 60GB SSD (RAID1)
Display(s)	Dell 3007 + HP 2245w / 12.1" 1366x768 / None
Case	Antec NSK3480 / HP / Supermicro 1U
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Enermax 500W / HP 130W / Supermicro Gold 1400W
Keyboard	IBM Model M
Software	Windows 7 (Niedersachsen/Ribe) / Linux Mint 17.2 (Minsk)

Processor	3900X @ 4.0
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X570-E
Cooling	DeepCool Castle 360EX
Memory	G Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB 3600
Video Card(s)	RX 5700 XT Pulse
Storage	Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB
Display(s)	LG 34UC88
Case	Thermaltake P3
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III 750w
Mouse	Logitech G900
Keyboard	G Skill KM570 MX Silver
Software	Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Agent Texas / Selene / Eve
Processor	Ryzen7 5800x / Fx 8350 / Fx 8350
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite Ax V2 / Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 r4.0 / Msi 970a Krait
Cooling	Msi Mag Core liquid / H100i / Cryo-pc Cooler
Memory	2 x32 GB Gskil Ripjaws v series / 4x 8gb G.Skill Snipers / 2x 8gb G.Skill Ripjaws
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Rx 6800xt / Msi RX580 / Gigabyte R9 290x
Storage	1tb M.2, 2tb wd / 500 gb ssd, 2x 2tb Wd Blacks/ 500 gb ssd, 1tb WD Black
Display(s)	Dell Ultra Sharp 2408 WFp / Hp w2207 / Sanyo tv
Case	Corsair 780t White / Raidmax Vampire / NZXT Phantom 240
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Hd Audio / Onboard Hd Audio / Onboard Hd Audio
Power Supply	Corsair Rm 850 watt / Corsair TX 850 watt / Corsair TX 750 watt
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero / Logitech G500s / Logitech wireless
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe / Corsair k50 / Logitech wireless
Software	Win 11 pro / Win 11 pro / Win 11 pro
Benchmark Scores	What are benchmarks anyway?

System Name	Aliens Ryzen Rig \| 2nd Hand Omen
Processor	Ryzen R5 5600 \| Ryzen R5 3600
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite (F61 BIOS) \| B450 matx
Cooling	DeepCool Castle EX V2 240mm AIO\| stock for now
Memory	16GB X 2 DDR4 3200mhz Team Group VulcanZ \| 16GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 7700 12GB \| GTX 1650 4GB (soon to be RX 5700)
Storage	Adata XPG 8200 PRO 512GB SSD OS / 240 SSD + 2TB M.2 SSD Games / 1000 GB Data \| SSD + HDD
Display(s)	Acer Nitro x27OU 27" VA 165hz Freesync Premium\|TCL 32" 1080P w/ HDR
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Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek \| Onboard Realtek
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650w 80+ Gold \| 500w
Mouse	Steelseries Rival 500 15 button mouse w/ Razor Goliathus Chroma XL mousemat \| Logitech G502
Keyboard	Corsair K65 Mini w/ Cherry MX brown keys \| Logitech G513 Carbon w/ Romer G tactile keys
Software	Windows 10 Pro \| Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Aki
Processor	AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A
Cooling	MSI MAG CoreLiquid E360
Memory	Patriot Viper Elite 5 32GB 6200
Video Card(s)	PNY RTX 4090 XLR8
Storage	Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB + WD Black SN850 1TB
Display(s)	Dell 32" Curved Gaming Monitor (S3220DGF)
Case	Corsair 5000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	On-board
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5
Mouse	Roccat Kone Pure
Keyboard	ASUS ROG Strix Scope II Wireless
Software	Win 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Always changing~

Guide to running multiple GPU work units

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