For the last couple weeks, the K9A2 system has been stable and running fine on 175.19 drivers and 3 8800GTs. It's been making me some nice points!
I'd still like to figure out how to get the 4th GPU in it, though.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited March 2010
From what I remember from the Foldingforum.org forums, it seemed to be luck of the draw with the K9A2 board users with four video cards. Some got all four cards working, others only three. If you can't get an answer here, I suggest you inquire at Foldingforum.
I was just on the phone with MSI tech support and explained the problem to them. There is a newer version of the motherboard driver out, so I'm trying that now. If that doesn't fix it I can RMA it, they are close enough that I might drive it to them instead of mailing it. I hate to lose 10,000 PPD for even a few days!
I saw Atlas Folder's Youtube video, and he had multiple K9A2s running what looked like dual slot X2 GPUs for 8 folding instances per board. I could be wrong about that but they were dual slot GPUs.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited March 2010
Yes, Atlas has a quite a number of quad-GX2 --8 GPUs-- machines. Previously, his machines were a mix of 9800GX2s and 295GTXs.
You could always buy my 9800 GX2 off of me. Tim I would be slightly apprehensive about sending in boards fro RMA that you use for folding. Merely on a cost basis because the money it takes to ship stuff around to try and get something working better you could be buying a whole new K9A2 or something similar that you could cram more video cards in.
Farming points is really about buying cheap parts that are stable and give you enough room to load up with GPUs and a decent CPU. If you are having to ship stuff for RMA because it doesn't work right the first time or all the time you might want to consider your choices. My other rigs I built for folding are dirty cheap single PCI-e slot Giga boards that are stable for folding and gaming and run a GX2 flawlessly. I needed something small and didn't have anything over a 550W for PSU laying around.
I didn't ship the motherboard off to MSI. I drove it there. I'm only about 40 miles from their L.A. headquarters. I went in and was able to speak directly to a tech guy who also folds and he understood the problem. They will be able to ship me another one in the next few days, or if they call me I'll drive over and pick it up if it's before rush hour when I'm on the way home.
How much for the 9800 GX2? PM me if you prefer on that.
I'd like to run as many GPUs per computer, that'll reduce costs for parts and take up less space in my apartment. I have another single GPU PC here, but it seems to be a bit unstable when folding so I may get rid of it as soon as I find another PC, or a motherboard that is compatible with the CPU and RAM in this one.
I successfully RMA'd my Version 1 K9A2 for a Version 2. Brought it home, got it all setup, and.... the same problem. I can fold reliably on 3 GPUs with 175.19 drivers but even just having a 4th GPU in messes it all up.
With 3 GPUs in, I tried driver versions 175.19, 181.22, 185.85, 190.38, 191.07, 195.62, and 197.13 today. Only 175.19 worked.
There must be some sort of tweak in the BIOS settings or something that needs to be adjusted. I made sure this new board was also on the 1.90 BIOS version.
I was talking to some people on the folding forums today, and they seem to think that the 3 split 12 volt rails in my 750 watt power supply (19, 18, and 18 amps) are the cause of the shutdown problems. Because it's a split rail design, too much power is being lost and isn't being used to power the GPUs, so that may be the cause of my shutdowns.
I'm looking for a good 850+ watt single 12v rail PSU now. Power supplies are EXPENSIVE !!!
If you have a spare PSU, you can try using two PSUs to make sure that you need it before buying an expensive PSU. The second PSU will only power one graphics card that is not working. Here is a link on how to jump start a PSU. I used that method before it works.
If you have a spare PSU, you can try using two PSUs to make sure that you need it before buying an expensive PSU. The second PSU will only power one graphics card that is not working. Here is a link on how to jump start a PSU. I used that method before it works.
Interesting article ...I was just wondering how to power up my pump w/o having the psu connected to the mobo ...I can remove the air from my water setup without turning the whole system on and off again. Thanks.
Interesting article ...I was just wondering how to power up my pump w/o having the psu connected to the mobo ...I can remove the air from my water setup without turning the whole system on and off again. Thanks.
Don't forget green and black cables And, some PSU's need actual power load to turn on as well. So, make sure you connected something (even a fan is sufficient) that uses power if it does not turn on.
A few people have told me that the 8800GT video card needs 20+ amps to operate smoothly, and my power supply doesn't give that much. I have a second PSU I can try, using the Y cables to put some power from each supply to each GPU. Hopefully that will work. I certainly don't want to spend money if it won't fix the problem!
I did try using a second PSU once before, but I didn't make the effort to Y each GPU cable into each PSU.
I ordered a new power supply from Tiger Direct today, a Corsair TX950W, with a single 12 volt rail and 78 amps capacity.
That BETTER fix it! I'm spending too much money on this thing now! I'll have to put some other PC parts on eBay like I've been meaning to for a while now.
A few people have told me that the 8800GT video card needs 20+ amps ...
I ordered a new power supply from Tiger Direct today, a Corsair TX950W, with a single 12 volt rail and 78 amps capacity.
That BETTER fix it! I'm spending too much money on this thing now! I'll have to put some other PC parts on eBay like I've been meaning to for a while now.
How many video cards did you say you wanted to run?
I got the new Corsair 950 watt PSU installed today. And the computer runs a lot better. I put in the 195.62 drivers and the 4th 8800GT, and they are all folding happily now for the last hour!
Now I'll try changing the 6.23 CPU client for the 6.29 SMP one and see if it works this time.
And as an extra bonus - all the GPUs in HFM.net monitor seem to be folding MORE. Right now I've got 3 folding at 4500 PPD on P6600-6601 work packets, and a P10503 running at 4900 PPD!
I don't think I ever saw any one of the GPUs doing more than 3500 PPD on the old PSU.
Perhaps the GPUs had throttled themselves down previously when they had inadequate power?
HFM on my main PC is showing 5000 PPD on a 6.23 CPU instance, a 4870, and a 4850, and the pure folding PC is showing 18000 PPD on 4 8800GTs. That's 23K per day, we'll see if I can get the 6.29 SMP working and how much more it adds!
So the lesson here is do not try to go cheap on the PSU. It leads to FAIL.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited April 2010
Good work! I'm so glad that you found the fix.
If it were me, the next steps:
1. install EVGA Precision and monitor the computer for a couple days with that and with HFM.net. With EVGA Precision, you can monitor all four GPUs in one Window. It's also a GPU overclocking utility.
2. When you are sure of system's stability, starting boosting the video cards' shader clocks.
For GPU Folding@Home production, don't worry about video RAM and core speed.
I've had EVGA Precision installed for weeks. I have the core clock set at 600, shader at 1650, memory at 700, and fans at 75%. Right now the GPU temps are 71,70,71,72. I have all 4 in sync so they all get the same settings.
I was on eBay last night while I was at work (I like a job with lots of free time and no boss around, and I can bring my laptop to work! ) and some motherboard sales company listed another K9A2 Platinum with a $59.99 Buy It Now price.
Like a woman at a shoe sale, I knew a great deal when I saw it. Even if the board has a problem, RMA-ing it is no problem, MSI HQ is only a 40 mile drive away.
So I got it. Now I guess I have to build another folding PC. Donations of or discounts on parts are welcome!:)
Got the new K9A2 today! It arrived in factory sealed packaging from MSI, just like the RMA K9A2 I picked up last week. So this board should be in good condition as a fresh RMA. It's a Version 1 K9A2.
If and when I amass all the other parts to turn it into a working computer, we'll see how it does.
Comments
I'd still like to figure out how to get the 4th GPU in it, though.
I saw Atlas Folder's Youtube video, and he had multiple K9A2s running what looked like dual slot X2 GPUs for 8 folding instances per board. I could be wrong about that but they were dual slot GPUs.
Farming points is really about buying cheap parts that are stable and give you enough room to load up with GPUs and a decent CPU. If you are having to ship stuff for RMA because it doesn't work right the first time or all the time you might want to consider your choices. My other rigs I built for folding are dirty cheap single PCI-e slot Giga boards that are stable for folding and gaming and run a GX2 flawlessly. I needed something small and didn't have anything over a 550W for PSU laying around.
How much for the 9800 GX2? PM me if you prefer on that.
I'd like to run as many GPUs per computer, that'll reduce costs for parts and take up less space in my apartment. I have another single GPU PC here, but it seems to be a bit unstable when folding so I may get rid of it as soon as I find another PC, or a motherboard that is compatible with the CPU and RAM in this one.
With 3 GPUs in, I tried driver versions 175.19, 181.22, 185.85, 190.38, 191.07, 195.62, and 197.13 today. Only 175.19 worked.
There must be some sort of tweak in the BIOS settings or something that needs to be adjusted. I made sure this new board was also on the 1.90 BIOS version.
I'm looking for a good 850+ watt single 12v rail PSU now. Power supplies are EXPENSIVE !!!
Don't forget green and black cables
I did try using a second PSU once before, but I didn't make the effort to Y each GPU cable into each PSU.
That BETTER fix it! I'm spending too much money on this thing now! I'll have to put some other PC parts on eBay like I've been meaning to for a while now.
How many video cards did you say you wanted to run?
4x20 = ?
Shwaip, 20 amps per card may be a set number, but all the cards won't need that much all the time.
This 950 watt PSU comes with 6 6+2 pin GPU power plugs. I'll only need 4 6 pin ones.
And for $150, this PSU better make this computer sing and dance! I must be out of my mind spending so much on a folding pc!
Fortunately, one of my neighbors called me today to fix their computer, so I'll get back $80 of that money pretty easily.
Now I'll try changing the 6.23 CPU client for the 6.29 SMP one and see if it works this time.
And as an extra bonus - all the GPUs in HFM.net monitor seem to be folding MORE. Right now I've got 3 folding at 4500 PPD on P6600-6601 work packets, and a P10503 running at 4900 PPD!
I don't think I ever saw any one of the GPUs doing more than 3500 PPD on the old PSU.
Perhaps the GPUs had throttled themselves down previously when they had inadequate power?
HFM on my main PC is showing 5000 PPD on a 6.23 CPU instance, a 4870, and a 4850, and the pure folding PC is showing 18000 PPD on 4 8800GTs. That's 23K per day, we'll see if I can get the 6.29 SMP working and how much more it adds!
So the lesson here is do not try to go cheap on the PSU. It leads to FAIL.
If it were me, the next steps:
1. install EVGA Precision and monitor the computer for a couple days with that and with HFM.net. With EVGA Precision, you can monitor all four GPUs in one Window. It's also a GPU overclocking utility.
2. When you are sure of system's stability, starting boosting the video cards' shader clocks.
For GPU Folding@Home production, don't worry about video RAM and core speed.
What's a safe max temp for the 8800GT?
Like a woman at a shoe sale, I knew a great deal when I saw it. Even if the board has a problem, RMA-ing it is no problem, MSI HQ is only a 40 mile drive away.
So I got it. Now I guess I have to build another folding PC. Donations of or discounts on parts are welcome!:)
If and when I amass all the other parts to turn it into a working computer, we'll see how it does.