Folding with CPU plus both Nvidia and AMD GPU slots?

[ocmusicjunkie]

Hey, I am sure this has been covered to some degree in the past if I were to search around, but with the Core 17 changing the CPU drain and point capability of the AMD cards so much, I don't know if any of that would still be relevant. I have all my folding systems pulled apart right now to try cleaning them out of dust and cat hair from running all of March without a break, and I am thinking of reallocating the GPU's I have to different machines. So, any thoughts from those confident of their ideas would be great.

The idea would be to go from running my FX-8350 alongside a pair of GT620 cards to running a non-folding GPU in that machine to free up 100% of the CPU ability. I'd then drop one GT620 next to my HD6870 that fold alongside the X4 965 CPU @ 4ghz. The final GT620 would get added to my old HP that will be stripped down and running nothing but a barebones windows OS and the client in the garage until I figure out if my next folding rig can make use of the card.

So, would a 6870 running then new Core 17 WU and CCC 13.1 clash at all with a GT620 running a standard GPU slot- and would the two combined be too much of a drain to still fold across all four cores of the Phenom 965?

Some of the answers will obviously be best guesses and speculation, but I still would be thankful for ideas. Thanks!

[PantherX]

Please note that since FahCore_17 is still a Beta FahCore, it is against the policy to provide troubleshooting in the public forum. If you want to fold using the public FahCores (FahCore_15 for Nvidia and FahCore_16 for AMD), then suggestions can be provided. However, trying to fold on both Nvidia and AMD simultaneously on a single system is a hit-and-miss currently with V7 since it still needs manual tweaking to get both GPUs folding if your lucky.

[bruce]

Besides, with FahCore_17 still in beta, it might change before it's ready for advmethods so even if you think you found an answer, it might not be correct in the released version of the FahCore. That's the nature of beta testing.

[JimF]

It worked surprisingly well for me with a GTX 560 Ti on Core_15, and an HD 7770 on Core_17, though I tried it for only a short time. And the CPU usage was quite low for both cards. I think there is hope.

[ocmusicjunkie]

Thanks guys- well noted that the beta testing isn't something that is promoted to be taken on "just 'cause" and I can see the reason why it would set a bad example for other situations in the future to troubleshoot beta clients for anyone who asks. Although I would imagine everyone on the other side of the project is already aware, I think it is worth noting that at this point, the cat has gotten out of the bag on the advantages of core 17 for AMD GPU's to the extent that almost everyone who folds with dedicated hardware looks to be running the beta units. I know that there is nothing good that could come from pushing the beta units to full release before they are known to be free of issues, but I think that in the future it would be better for everyone to either adjust the rules for beta projects that reach a certain level of commonality (intentional or not), or to try to take a look at how it might be possible to keep these sort of changes from becoming such open knowledge so far ahead of final release. Especially with the CC coming up and people looking for every possible edge for the competition, the choice now is to either run the unsupported beta client or be fighting with one less CPU core than all the other participants who are going to be running it to be sure.

Actually ended up trying the combo and decided it wasn't worth keeping configured with both the faster AMD card and slower Nvidia card for the most basic reason that was even more of a headache than driver conflicts would have been- the CPU slot would wrap a unit multiple times a day, the AMD about twice, and the Nvidia once. Losing any real opportunity to have all slots finishing somewhere around the same time at least once a day was way too big of headache, especially when trying to figure out the right overclocks and settings for optimal output. I think I've reached the conclusion I'm going to try sticking with one GPU and one CPU per folding rig for simplicity whenever possible...

[bruce]

Thanks guys- well noted that the beta testing isn't something that is promoted to be taken on "just 'cause" and I can see the reason why it would set a bad example for other situations in the future to troubleshoot beta clients for anyone who asks. . . .

The Information On Beta Team topic was written with several things in mind.
1) We want beta testers who are going to learn from the process and to continue to use that experience for long enough to make it worth while.
2) We want beta testers that are dedicated to beta testing, whether or not they get good PPD.
3) We do NOT take things like the CC into account since it has nothing whatsoever to do with finding and fixing bugs.

If these facts are not clear in that Information topic, PM me with suggestions about how I can make it clearer.