Who's Running the GPU Folding@Home Client?

Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
edited October 2006 in Folding@Home
Well, considering I am getting almost 800PPD just with my X1900XTX (@ 650/800Mhz) alone... the more people goes along we can improve SM total PPD a great bunch. :wow2:

Who´s with me? :rockon:
«1

Comments

  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited October 2006
    Wow, 800PPD! Looks like those recent GPU core optimizations that Stanford made has improved the output!
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I've been running it on my stock x1900xt for 4-5 days now... I can't seem to track progress though. How are you figuring out how many PPD you're getting out of it?
  • Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
    edited October 2006
    Lately there has been found a bug on the reporting frames (both in the console and gui version). The core fails to report each processed frame. This is happening on recent Gen 1 and 2 WUs (usually 2711) so you cant estimate precisely each frame time.

    But you can see how much time it took since it begun till it was returned. I was getting 6.10 min/frame on Gen 0 and with newer Gens, they take near 10hs to complete, so it seems the estimate time to frame remains the same.

    BTW, are you running stock 2D speeds? @ 500/600 it takes 8min/frame on these WUs.
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Sounds great! Maybe we can see when they get the x1800's going...might be a cost-effective addition to the SMx or other 24/7 machines...? Might only be an extra 500ppd? But newegg has an x1800GTO for $166... might be a cheaper way to go than the cheapest x1900 at $195?

    Just trying to think of what might be the best pay to get as many ppd as possible for as few $$ as possible...

    $165 X1800GTO:256MB, 256-bit, 500mhz core, 1000mhz mem, ? ppd
    $195 X1900GT: 256MB, 256-bit, 575mhz core, 1200mhz mem, ? ppd

    If the difference is only 30ppd or something, might not be a bad deal. Of course, we'll have to wait until the GPU client can run on the x1800's...
  • Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
    edited October 2006
    Theres a hack to make it work on X1800s and even X1600s... but frame time increases considerably... check them out over standford F@H forums.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    wow... imagine if there was an agp version of the x1900.. All those old crappy computers that aren't "worth it" as far as folding goes - old P3s, P2s, etc... They could be turned into folding powerhouses with a nice GPU :eek3:
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited October 2006
    primesuspect wrote:
    wow... imagine if there was an agp version of the x1900.. All those old crappy computers that aren't "worth it" as far as folding goes - old P3s, P2s, etc... They could be turned into folding powerhouses with a nice GPU :eek3:
    Just thinking about it is making me dizzy. :woowoo:

    There are going to be a few teams who make a major move on the teams ahead of them by shifting their emphasis to GPU Folding. We could be one of them. :D
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    There ARE AGP x1600s... not sure if the folding performance would be worth it, but we could turn a fleet of junk computers into hot ass GPU folders with a $100 video card upgrade...... :eek3:
  • Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
    edited October 2006
    Check this and this threads about which GPU is best... :)
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    primesuspect wrote:
    There ARE AGP x1600s... not sure if the folding performance would be worth it, but we could turn a fleet of junk computers into hot ass GPU folders with a $100 video card upgrade...... :eek3:

    Does anyone have an AGP x1600 they could try this on? If it works well, I'm sure we could rally for some donations to cover a couple cards for our older rigs.

    Heck, if the cards turn out to be impressive folders, I have a 1.3 Ghz Duron that's below the current minimum requirements to be an SMx rig, but it would make a decent host to a GPU folder. :thumbsup:
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Ultra Nexus wrote:
    Check this and this threads about which GPU is best... :)

    nice links:thumbsup:
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    the_technocrat wrote:
    nice links:thumbsup:
    Very nice links! Especially the second on the x1600. :thumbsup:
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Gargoyle wrote:
    Does anyone have an AGP x1600 they could try this on? If it works well, I'm sure we could rally for some donations to cover a couple cards for our older rigs.

    Heck, if the cards turn out to be impressive folders, I have a 1.3 Ghz Duron that's below the current minimum requirements to be an SMx rig, but it would make a decent host to a GPU folder. :thumbsup:

    here's what I got from the links above, and here:

    GPU Times
    330s/step: X1900XT 512MB OC@729/828
    360s/step: X1900XTX @ 688/838
    480s/step: X1900XTX 512MB, no OC
    660s/step: X1900GT 256MB, no OC
    682s/step: X1900GT 256MB, no OC
    1236s/step: x1600XT on cat6.5 as x1900

    If I have tome, I'll throw them onto a spreadsheet with the core/mem size/speed and see what combo's are working best... might not get to it for a while, HW to do...
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Do I understand this right?
    You take folding off your pc CPU and reconfigure it to run on your graphics card?
    I've got an X1600 Pro 256 MB. Will setting this GPU up give me better results than an AMD 2800+ or an AMD 3200+ setup?
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Hawk wrote:
    Do I understand this right?
    You take folding off your pc CPU and reconfigure it to run on your graphics card?
    I've got an X1600 Pro 256 MB. Will setting this GPU up give me better results than an AMD 2800+ or an AMD 3200+ setup?

    the x1600 isn't officially supported yet, but if your processor takes more than 1,236 seconds to finish each step, it appears so.
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    here's what I have so far...

    1. can anyone think of any other columns we want to keep track of?
    2. anyone have any data to share? your own, or otherwise?

    chart.jpg
  • Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
    edited October 2006
    There are X1900GTs for 200 bucks... for 50 more than a x1600XT seems like a no brainer... considering the performance difference.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    But those are PCI Express. I'm talking about old ass computers with AGP only. Those dead machines (I have several P3-600s, 450s, and even 333s laying around) could be turned into monster folders with AGP X1600s if the x1600 performance is worth it... An AGP x1600 is only $100.
  • Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
    edited October 2006
    Gotcha! :D
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    primesuspect wrote:
    But those are PCI Express. I'm talking about old ass computers with AGP only. Those dead machines (I have several P3-600s, 450s, and even 333s laying around) could be turned into monster folders with AGP X1600s if the x1600 performance is worth it... An AGP x1600 is only $100.

    I wonderhow crappy of a CPU you could do with a X1600 AGP?

    I mean, basically, we're talking about a GPU life support system here, and I'm sure you'd need a better CPU to support an X1900XTX than a X1600, but how good (or bad) can you go?

    Most people who are running GPU's have their CPU (or one core of a dual-core CPU) dedicated to feeding that GPU. What % is it running at? If it takes 50% of a 2Ghz CPU to feed an X1900GT, then maybe we could get away with running a single-core 1Ghz CPU? (same L2, etc)
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    primesuspect wrote:
    But those are PCI Express. I'm talking about old ass computers with AGP only. Those dead machines (I have several P3-600s, 450s, and even 333s laying around) could be turned into monster folders with AGP X1600s if the x1600 performance is worth it... An AGP x1600 is only $100.

    don't forget you save a bundle on memory too... slow memory is VERY cheap. I think I have a few gigs of PC100 laying around in 128MB modules. If the GPU client just uses the onboard graphics card memory, you'd just need 256MB to run WinXP, and let the GDDR3 or whatever handle FAH.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I think I'm going to set up an experiment. I'd like to buy an X1600 AGP card and put it into one of these dead boxes laying around. Maybe we can dip into the team funds for this, but of course we'd have to run it by the committee.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Hey Prime, if it works I'll bet that we could get a group together. What kind of price could we get buying a dozen OEM cards at once?
    I still have a bunch of TBird boxes folding. If I could double or triple the output for $100/box I would be game.
  • Ultra-NexusUltra-Nexus Buenos Aires, ARG
    edited October 2006
    According to Standford, the CPU cycles are just checking to see if the GPU is doing its thing... so I bet there should be any performance differences between low end and high end cpus... as long as the cpu is dedicated to "checking" on the GPU 100% or the time.

    If, by changing the cpu clocks/platform the GPU looses its performance, then all the GPU folding thing is compromised, since the idea is that the GPU is doing all the work, not shared with the CPU/MEM system.

    Besides, I believe they are working on eliminating this "issue" completely, since its a waste of hardware (on those high end machines) to spare 1 CPU/Core to the GPU.

    So, if my theory is right, either a Duron 1ghz or a C2D@3Ghz should "feed" a X1600XT (and whatever other GPU) perfectly as long as its dedicated to it (@ 100%).

    Either way, the idea is cool, huh? :D
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I heard a Athlon XP 1900 will power a X1900 pretty well. I am guessing a P3 can compete :) not sure about a P2.... I have a dual P3 450 setup here with 1 Gig of ram, wonder what i can do with it.. it has Xp installed on it.

    Also Brian ATI mnakes those 1600 in slim server sizes :)
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Ultra Nexus wrote:
    According to Standford, the CPU cycles are just checking to see if the GPU is doing its thing... so I bet there should be any performance differences between low end and high end cpus... as long as the cpu is dedicated to "checking" on the GPU 100% or the time.

    If, by changing the cpu clocks/platform the GPU looses its performance, then all the GPU folding thing is compromised, since the idea is that the GPU is doing all the work, not shared with the CPU/MEM system.

    Besides, I believe they are working on eliminating this "issue" completely, since its a waste of hardware (on those high end machines) to spare 1 CPU/Core to the GPU.

    So, if my theory is right, either a Duron 1ghz or a C2D@3Ghz should "feed" a X1600XT (and whatever other GPU) perfectly as long as its dedicated to it (@ 100%).

    Either way, the idea is cool, huh? :D


    very cool. I have many, many mb's here with P3's on them, mostly 600mhz I think. I'd definitely send them off to SMx if the CPU indeed has no effect on a GPU box. Along with their crappy mb memory, and 6GB HD's, should be good for a dozen or so SMx boxes.

    I wonder how low down the ATI card lineup they'll go? Maybe we'll see a box with multiple PCI cards in it!
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    primesuspect wrote:
    I think I'm going to set up an experiment. I'd like to buy an X1600 AGP card and put it into one of these dead boxes laying around. Maybe we can dip into the team funds for this, but of course we'd have to run it by the committee.
    If it turns out your older boxes bottleneck, let me know and I'll send you my Duron. :fold:
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited October 2006
    primesuspect wrote:
    I think I'm going to set up an experiment. I'd like to buy an X1600 AGP card and put it into one of these dead boxes laying around. Maybe we can dip into the team funds for this, but of course we'd have to run it by the committee.
    I'm all for this idea, but I honestly think that all experimentation should be done on the -OFFICIAL- SMx Test Bench. Let me know when to expect the UPS guy. :cool:

    No one things I'm being too greedy, do they? :vimp:

    (Just greedy enough... ;) )
  • the_technocratthe_technocrat IC-MotY1 Indy Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    profdlp wrote:
    I'm all for this idea, but I honestly think that all experimentation should be done on the -OFFICIAL- SMx Test Bench. Let me know when to expect the UPS guy. :cool:

    No one things I'm being too greedy, do they? :vimp:

    (Just greedy enough... ;) )

    Let's do something. I can get a test rig going here too. We're going to get pwned by CustomPC pretty quickly, so let's decide:

    What tests we want to do
    Who's willing/able to do some testing

    ...before we get completely blasted by the 300+ 3.4 Xeons CustomPC just picked up...
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I'll pitch in some money to help offset the cost of the experiment, if you guys decide to go through with it :thumbsup:
Sign In or Register to comment.