TPU's F@H Team

[johnspack]

My ppd may go down quite a bit, sorry. I have to wait until end of June to get another psu to power my folding rig, and my other 2 cards, and I need my main rig now. My little game development project just went mainstream, we are forming a corporation, and I have a ton of work to do now... Good news is I'll be making extra money at some point, and will be able to build my farm, cross your fingers! Patience is a virtue I guess....

 

[theonedub]

Quick question for you guys, I am going to be testing out an i7 860 I am finishing up this weekend by running F@H and WCG on it for ~24hrs. It has one WD Caviar Black HDD, one DVDRW, the i7 860 and a GTX 280 (on the way ). The PSU is an OCZ 500w w/ 2 18A 12v rails with a combined 36A capability.

I have read the reviews and run the numbers, and I believe I am absolutely fine with this setup although I am cutting it close. This is not going to be a dedicated 24/7 machine, so it will never see this type of use in the future. I just would like to hear it will be fine from a couple other people as well

 

[bogmali]

500W PSU running i7-860 and a GTX280 eh Not sure because at one point I ran an i7-920 with 2 GTX285's with a 850W and 2 GTX275 with a 750W so I really don't know. One way to find out (and it might be at the expense of a 500W PSU).

 

[NastyHabits]

Quick question for you guys, I am going to be testing out an i7 860 I am finishing up this weekend by running F@H and WCG on it for ~24hrs. It has one WD Caviar Black HDD, one DVDRW, the i7 860 and a GTX 280 (on the way ). The PSU is an OCZ 500w w/ 2 18A 12v rails with a combined 36A capability.

I have read the reviews and run the numbers, and I believe I am absolutely fine with this setup although I am cutting it close. This is not going to be a dedicated 24/7 machine, so it will never see this type of use in the future. I just would like to hear it will be fine from a couple other people as well

You'll probably be OK, but I wouldn't do it. Also, some models of OCZ P/S units are absolute crap. See if you can find a review on Jonny Guru's site.

 

[theonedub]

500W PSU running i7-860 and a GTX280 eh Not sure because at one point I ran an i7-920 with 2 GTX285's with a 850W and 2 GTX275 with a 750W so I really don't know. One way to find out (and it might be at the expense of a 500W PSU).

My current i7 860 + SLI GTX 275s are run off an Antec 750w w/ 62A on the 12v rails combined

If the absolute max the i7 can pull stock is 95w and the GTX pulls 236w that is a total of ~28A needed on the 12v, that leaves 8A left for the rest of the system to pull from the 12v side, which I think is cutting it close. I highly doubt in everyday use the computer will ever be pushed 100%. The rails are split 18A each, but the card will pull some power from the slot which is 12v1 and the rest from 12v2 (dedicated to the PCIe plugs). Is my reasoning no good here?

You'll probably be OK, but I wouldn't do it. Also, some models of OCZ P/S units are absolute crap. See if you can find a review on Jonny Guru's site.

The link to one of the reviews I read is here:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/973

Gave it a good review and were even able to pull 20A from each rail before shut down, so this one looks to be at least average and not one of the crap ones.

The computer will only have the CPU, HDD, DVDRW, GPU, and 3 case fans. I used that one popular power supply calculator and it estimated the system at 432w.

Let me know if I am overlooking something guys, and thanks for the replies- help me get to the bottom of this

 

[johnspack]

I'm having a similar issue with psus, trying to figure out how cheap I can get one that can run a gtx280 and a 9800gtx 24/7. Really, anything under a silverstone 750 strider+ doesn't look good. Except maybe corsair hx series, but I'm taking a corsair break.... If you're running a gtx280, I wouldn't run it on a dual rail 36amp psu, and from what I hear, ozc puts both pci-e lines on the same rail. Reason why I'm shunning ozc psus.

 

[theonedub]

Yes, on this model the PCIe plugs are off one rail, but am I wrong in reasoning that the card will pull 75w from the MB which is being supplied by the other 12v rail? If that's the case I should be fine, no?

 

[Chicken Patty]

Guys I need your opinions.

In the near future, maybe next month or two I want to buy a few cards to fold with. I don't want to break my wallet, but I wouldn't mind spending a few bucks neither. I'm looking for two cards, maybe three. What are your suggestions?

 

[sneekypeet]

470's Im pretty sure there are better bang for the buck cards....but I love the just under 12K PPD these make with little effort.

 

[Chicken Patty]

470's Im pretty sure there are better bang for the buck cards....but I love the just under 12K PPD these make with little effort.

Seems like some $$$$$$ What about some 260' or 280's. I know they won't do as much, but they seem to be found a great prices nowadays.

 

[sneekypeet]

for the price maybe, but I got my folding 470 for $275

 

[Chicken Patty]

for the price maybe, but I got my folding 470 for $275

I got confused in pricing with the 480 for a second. Guess the pricing on the 470 is not that bad brand new. However, it is a bit on the expensive side on what I would like to spend. But at the given time god knows what deals might be available for me. Thing is I just got into folding for the Chimp Challenge and that's the motive I needed. I fold with my 5770 all day now, just stop for bed time since room gets a bit on the warm side. I feel like I need to contribute more now so that's why I want to get a card or two that can fold good. This 5770 just doesn't cut it. At least it's something for now though.

 

[hertz9753]

Seems like some $$$$$$ What about some 260' or 280's. I know they won't do as much, but they seem to be found a great prices nowadays.

Since this is just for folding, I would go with the GTX 260 or 275, the 280's and 285's are still overpriced when buying used.

 

[Chicken Patty]

Since this is just for folding, I would go with the GTX 260 or 275, the 280's and 285's are still overpriced when buying used.

There was a 260 for an awesome price here the other day, not sure if still available. I really wanted to snag it but just can't at the moment. I think it was $75 shipped or something.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Since this is just for folding, I would go with the GTX 260 or 275, the 280's and 285's are still overpriced when buying used.

Well...., http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/sys/1770742209.html

 

[hertz9753]

Well...., http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/sys/1770742209.html

Is that for one card or both?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Is that for one card or both?

If it's for both, they're stolen.

 

[hertz9753]

If it's for both, they're stolen.

I was thinking the same thing. $175-200 is still the selling price for a used GTX 280.

 

[theonedub]

Darwin has a used GTX285 for $200. He sold me the GTX 280 I am asking about for well under $175

I agree that for folding, esp if the results from GPU3 are any indication of the final client, GTX 200 cards are the better bet. Dual 275s are great for folding

Hmm, speaking of that 280... does anyone else have any more input on this? I would prefer not to open a thread up in the Sys Builders Advice forum, but I really want to know if it will work plus I do not want to buy a new PSU or break something!

 

[thebluebumblebee]

CP, I'd recommend, especially with you being in Miami, the more efficient cards such as the 55nm 260/216, the 285, and, I believe, the 470. How about this?:http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/sys/1769023220.html

dub, I would like to see 600+ watts for that PSU, but it should work. Get a watt meter and keep an eye on how much it draws. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I think most of us don't want to tell you it will work and then have you come back and saying something went poof. I think a PSU should be sized to run at 40-60% capacity at the system's max load. You're looking at 80%+. The PSU is also going to make more noise, than a higher capacity PSU, because the fan will have to ramp up to deal with the heat generated. Oh, and overclocking that 860 is a no no with that PSU. So, I'd have to say, don't mess around with the V6, put a V8 in 'er.
Buck posted the wattage used by his bigadv, overclocked, and watercooled 860. (somewhere in this thread, (March 17th or latter of this year) I can't remember the exact numbers, but it seems that it was under 300 watts without a F@H GPU client. Maybe you can use that information to help make your decision.)

 

[Chicken Patty]

CP, I'd recommend, especially with you being in Miami, the more efficient cards such as the 55nm 260/216, the 285, and, I believe, the 470. How about this?:http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/sys/1769023220.html

dub, I would like to see 600+ watts for that PSU, but it should work. Get a watt meter and keep an eye on how much it draws. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I think most of us don't want to tell you it will work and then have you come back and saying something went poof. I think a PSU should be sized to run at 40-60% capacity at the system's max load. You're looking at 80%+. The PSU is also going to make more noise, than a higher capacity PSU, because the fan will have to ramp up to deal with the heat generated. Oh, and overclocking that 860 is a no no with that PSU. So, I'd have to say, don't mess around with the V6, put a V8 in 'er.
Buck posted the wattage used by his bigadv, overclocked, and watercooled 860. (somewhere in this thread, (March 17th or latter of this year) I can't remember the exact numbers, but it seems that it was under 300 watts without a F@H GPU client. Maybe you can use that information to help make your decision.)

That seems to be a sick price if you ask me. I just don't have the cash right now but boy that is a great deal!

 

[kaneda]

joined

running over my HD5770, had to take the side off my case and up the fan speed to 100% to keep it under 60.

 

[NastyHabits]

[url]http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3805/fhgpukaneda.jpg[/URL]

joined

running over my HD5770, had to take the side off my case and up the fan speed to 100% to keep it under 60.

Very happy to have you join the team. It looks like you're running the systray client. You should run the console client. You'll get more PPD. See how to at this link. It also gives some examples of how you can set some environment variables that will do wonders for your ATI card folding. (Lower CPU usage, greater stability, and a few more PPD). Feel free to post back here or in the tech assistance thread in this forum. We'll be only too happy to help!

 

[kaneda]

Very happy to have you join the team. It looks like you're running the systray client. You should run the console client. You'll get more PPD. See how to at this link. It also gives some examples of how you can set some environment variables that will do wonders for your ATI card folding. (Lower CPU usage, greater stability, and a few more PPD). Feel free to post back here or in the tech assistance thread in this forum. We'll be only too happy to help!

i switched over to the console client, following the guide. now utilization is at 37-55% never over. is this normal?

EDIT: here is pic



EDIT #2 : as you can see my temps are down a bit from doing it.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

did you enter the Environmental Variables? That would explain your low utilization if you haven't.