SM25

FoldingAddictFoldingAddict Montgomery, AL
edited July 2008 in Folding@Home
Well, after a long hiatus, spending time with work, school, fiance etc etc life in general, I'm back on the folding bandwagon.

SM25 is still around, haven't had the time or patience to really mess with her. But I've got her back up and running, 18 hours a day for now (Alabama summers are a B****). One CPU client and one GPU2 client running on an 8800 GTS. Everyone should see her back on the charts by tomorrow. Her CPU is an E6300 @ stock due to RAM issues.

I'm looking to setup a farm again, I have $1000 set aside to get started. I know a lot has changed since I've been out of the picture. I've read that a Q6600 + 8800 gen nVidia card is the best folding combo right now, but is that the best bang for the buck if I were building a "stomp monster" style cluster. For a stomp monster, would it be better to go with a lower end C2D + an 8800? What's good?

And thanks to the team for not putting a warrant on me. :p I know a few of you were worried about SM25 and whether I stole her and hit the Mexican border. Q, Keebler, I appreciate the steady patience.

Cheers.
~FA

Comments

  • _k_k P-Town, Texas Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    if you want to run just a C2D I would say throw two 8800GT's in and run no SMP, should be looking at around 10000 ppd. You could easily do 2 of these systems for 1K.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    I've read that a Q6600 + 8800 gen nVidia card is the best folding combo right now
    If overclocked, it's good for around 7000PPD. What _K_ describe above is even better!
  • FoldingAddictFoldingAddict Montgomery, AL
    edited July 2008
    Is there much difference between the 8800 GT and the GTS/GTX? PPD wise.

    ~FA
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    It depends on core clock, RAM speed, and shader clock. Of those three GPU qualities, the shader clock is the most important. The GTX will usually have higher specifications so it should usually outperform the GT. Right now, the consensus seems to be that the 8800GT is the best card on a price-performance compromise.
  • _k_k P-Town, Texas Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    I haven't seen a difference on the cards once the shader goes above 1700, game wise and bench wise any increase in shader though rips its.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    I haven't seen a difference on the cards once the shader goes above 1700
    I just installed another 8800GT yesterday that I got from a trading forums. The shader clock will go much higher than the one of the other card of which I posted in this thread. This weekend I'll try and run some tests at different shader clocks, all above 1700, to see what shakes. (but then, that will be with whatever time is leftover after salmon fishing! :) )
  • everyguyeveryguy El Cajon, California
    edited July 2008
    Just to be contrary to the popular opinion about the best rig for GPU folding, I'm getting about 6800 ppd from an AMD phenom X4 9600 and cheapo ECS motherboard combo I bought at Fry's for $200 and an 8800 GT card. That's with project 2665 on SMP, which is a really slow SMP client compared to the others.

    Nothing is overclocked. The AMD quad cores aren't quite as fast as the Intels, but they are considerably cheaper, and offer a lot of bang for the buck. I'm running one GPU2 client and one SMP on that rig.

    Also, I'm getting about 7600 ppd with an AMD Phenom X4 9750 and mid-range ASUS mobo with a 9800 GTX card. These aren't overclocked either.

    BTW, these are the results when its running without interference. The real rate for the 8800 GT is a bit lower because my kids use it for gaming a good part of each day.
  • _k_k P-Town, Texas Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    I am about to turn my rig into a ~12K ppd machine running two 88's.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    Eagerly awaiting. When it is running to your satisfaction, why don't you open a new thread with short how-to on setting up and configuring a dual video card Folding@Home machine! That could be very useful, not to mention the fame, fortune, and deep satisfaction it would bring you. :)
  • _k_k P-Town, Texas Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    Well the last two things I wrote got booted after a month. http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72189&page=5 There is enough info there to set up an XP or Vista box with dual GPU2s running.

    FoldingAddict, I would say use this board. You get your two PCI-e slots for $100 and that leaves you enough money to grab a 7200, $124, and then just part the rest of it out cheap and grab the 88s. Should get everything in under 1 large for two machines.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    I'm starting to get the feeling that folding isn't dead now that people can crank out over 5,000 on ONE system for under $500. LOVE THIS STUFF!!!
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited July 2008
    QCH2002 wrote:
    I'm starting to get the feeling that folding isn't dead now that people can crank out over 5,000 on ONE system for under $500. LOVE THIS STUFF!!!

    Hehe- not quite. The numbers don't lie- those of us who are committed are adopting the technology and despite having fewer people folding, we are increasing our production still.

    Last year I thought that 20,000 points per week was a stunning accomplishment. Now, there are a lot of us for whom 100,000 points per week is not out of reach.

    You just keep cranking 'em out, FA!
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