Just recently bought and built myself a i7 3770/GTX 670/16GB ram rig so i had a Core 2 Quad Q6600 with Asus P5Q Pro mainboard and AMD 6850 GFX card kicking around... i found an old case and decided this will be my folding machine...
Anyway, reason for my post is I want to know which the best client(s) are for this type of abit dated machine and also the best OS (linux or windows) to use...
Any info greatly appreshiated. THANKS!
Edit by Mod: Pictures removed. [They don't contribute to our being able to answer your question. We're here to help with problems related to FAH, not to display hardware.]
Just recently bought and built myself a i7 3770/GTX 670/16GB ram rig so i had a Core 2 Quad Q6600 with Asus P5Q Pro mainboard and AMD 6850 GFX card kicking around... i found an old case and decided this will be my folding machine...
Anyway, reason for my post is I want to know which the best client(s) are for this type of abit dated machine and also the best OS (linux or windows) to use...
I think the biggest issue to for this old machine is if the user should use windows or linux. As bruce said there is only one recommended client per OS.
To get the best use from your gpu, Id recommend a win 7 install using F@H client version 7.3.6( Same client bruce mentioned). Ive seen WINE guides for using gpus with linux but win 7 will have you folding with a few clicks with no need to use to OS emulator. If this old machine has under one GB of RAM then you might not be able to GPU fold under win 7.
There are beta clients on the forum viewforum.php?f=94 Ive read some good reviews about them however they are still beta so if you want to stick to sure and simple use non beta.
Once the chrome client servers are running again it wont hurt to try outviewforum.php?f=95
OS wise, Win 7 seems to be the champ for GPU folding.
The Q6600 will easily Fold an SMP work unit. The big question is whether you can get the 6850 to Fold without adversely impacting the SMP output. Previously the answer was generally "No," but from my recent experience with my 7750, it may now be possible with the right combination of AMD drivers and FAHControl parameters. My experience is with Win7 only, so I don't know about other OSes.
Assuming Win7 (may work with XP, Vista, or 8.x, but who knows), install the Catalyst 13.9 drivers (not the later 14.x) on the initial OS install. Get the SMP slot running on FAH 7.44 beta. Ensure your passkey is entered and active. In the Advanced Control Configure | Slots | CPU |Edit tab, set the number of cores to 4 instead of -1. Check the Windows Task Manager Processes tab to ensure the fahcore_xx.exe process is using near 100% of the CPU time. Let it run for a few days to get a good running average of PPD as well as to ensure stability.
Then try adding a GPU slot. If it starts Folding without an immediate error, check the Windows Task Manager for the CPU usage of both the the original fahcore process (fahcore_a3 or similar) still near 100% (down just a few % from previous), and the new fahcore process (fahcore_17 or similar) using less than 5% CPU time.
If all that happens, you should be able to efficiently Fold SMP+GPU. Monitor CPU and GPU temps (CPUid HWMonitor or similar). If you have problems (EUEs, overtemps, crashes, SMP slot using <75% CPU time) after adding the GPU slot, you'll be better off Folding SMP only.
Hardware configuration: Intel i7-4770K @ 4.5 GHz, 16 GB DDR3-2133 Corsair Vengence (black/red), EVGA GTX 760 @ 1200 MHz, on an Asus Maximus VI Hero MB (black/red), in a blacked out Antec P280 Tower, with a Xigmatek Night Hawk (black) HSF, Seasonic 760w Platinum (black case, sleeves, wires), 4 SilenX 120mm Case fans with silicon fan gaskets and silicon mounts (all black), a 512GB Samsung SSD (black), and a 2TB Black Western Digital HD (silver/black).
Only because I don't know for sure that they will work. In my experience, the lower-end AMD GPUs have been harder to get Folding than the high-end units. If someone has specific info on the new drivers with a 7750 or similar, then I might try them as well.
Also, can you quantify "better performing" in end-use terms?
Hardware configuration: Intel i7-4770K @ 4.5 GHz, 16 GB DDR3-2133 Corsair Vengence (black/red), EVGA GTX 760 @ 1200 MHz, on an Asus Maximus VI Hero MB (black/red), in a blacked out Antec P280 Tower, with a Xigmatek Night Hawk (black) HSF, Seasonic 760w Platinum (black case, sleeves, wires), 4 SilenX 120mm Case fans with silicon fan gaskets and silicon mounts (all black), a 512GB Samsung SSD (black), and a 2TB Black Western Digital HD (silver/black).
13.x to 14.x PPD comparisons...
R290X added 24K PPD
Next post, R280 added 25K PPD
Two posts later, HD5870@930MHz got a 5% speed boost, no PPD # posted, so the full range of AMD devices may see an increase.
So while we are getting slightly off topic, the newer drivers seem to be part of the "Best Options" the OP is asking for.
CygnusXI wrote:...To get the best use from your gpu, Id recommend a win 7 install using F@H client version 7.3.6( Same client bruce mentioned). Ive seen WINE guides for using gpus with linux but win 7 will have you folding with a few clicks with no need to use to OS emulator. If this old machine has under one GB of RAM then you might not be able to GPU fold under win 7. ...OS wise, Win 7 seems to be the champ for GPU folding.
Please note that the WINE Guide is only if you have a Pre-Fermi GPU and would like to fold in Linux. Any Fermi or better GPU can fold natively within Linux once you have installed Nvidia Drivers (closed-source ones) and V7 F@H Client.
The only difference between Windows and Linux is that in Linux, you have to manually add a GPU Slot via Advanced Control (AKA FAHControl) since auto-configuration of GPU is currently disabled, at least until AMD GPUs can fold natively in Linux (No ETAs).
Depending on the GPU and drivers, you can get higher PPD in Linux than in Windows, or vice versa. Overclocking GPU in Windows is much simpler as opposed to Linux.
Thus, use the OS that you are most comfortable using.
PS. Welcome to the F@H Forum dreamscape
Mod EDIT: Fixed spelling error.
ETA:
Now ↞ Very Soon ↔ Soon ↔ Soon-ish ↔ Not Soon ↠ End Of Time
Thank you all for the information, very informative. I am getting a bigger Antec case today so will rehouse the machine into that and then go from there. I will use Windows 7 Pro i think. I also might give the CPU abit of an overclock as the Antec case I'm getting is a monster with insane ventilation.
thanks again for the info i will report my findings and ppd results.
