Getting the most out of my cheap build? GPU options?

[dreamscape]

Hey all

I'm currently running a little rig i got for free 24/7. It's an Athlon x2 4600+ @ 2.4Ghz (refuses to overclock which sucks..) Now I know it's pretty poor, the PPD/w ratio isn't the best (65w) but every little helps right?

Three photos if you want to look at it:
http://ridgeracer.co.uk/pro/fah/18.jpg
http://ridgeracer.co.uk/pro/fah/20.jpg
http://ridgeracer.co.uk/pro/fah/11.jpg

It does 1400+ PPD which isn't the best I know. Still it was completely free and has no other use in life. It is running Ubuntu Server from a USB stick and I was wondering if i could put a low end GPU on this to help the PPD a bit?

My questions are, can Ubuntu server/linux in general run GPU folding and secondly, which GPU(s) could i use? I was thinking about a Nvidia GT610 or something. Again i know this isn't going to be a monster but I'm doing it on a cheap as possible basis.



Thanks for any advice.

Mod Edit: Switched embedded images to links to those images.
We know you're proud of you handiwork, but we discourage embedded images to reduce our bandwidth. People who want to look can follow the links.

[JimboPalmer]

I do not think a GT x10 is going fold fast enough to complete before the deadline, I would want a GT x30 or up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 7906#close
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125680

[foldy]

AMD RX 460 - 130k PPD - 75W - $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
Nvidia GTX 1050 - 130k PPD - 75W - $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
Both no external gpu power connector required.

[Nathan_P]

a 2nd hand 750ti might be a cheaper option, 60k PPD and no external power connector required.

As for Linux, yes you can GPU fold on it but it can be tricky to set up - there are lots of guides out there to help though. Don't get a 1050 yet - the drivers don't work properly yet.

[foldy]

For gtx 1050 we have a hotfix driver now

[Nathan_P]

For gtx 1050 we have a hotfix driver now

I know, but that's the drivers still not working properly. Working properly is downloading drivers and hitting install, not having to copy dll files back and forth because something is broken

Edit:- I don't class the hotfix as working properly either - unless ppd remains the same, in which case as Bruce said on slack -" wtf are the optimisations doing if disabling them keeps ppd at current levels?"

[7im]

Progress is progress. Not folding at all, and now folding is progress. I don't think anyone will mistake a hotfix driver for a WHQL driver.

[foldy]

Nothing needs to be copied back and forth. Just install the new driver and folding works fine.
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=29497

[v00d00]

As for Linux, yes you can GPU fold on it but it can be tricky to set up - there are lots of guides out there to help though.

I see this a lot, but in reality I find the windows install far more perplexing than the linux install. It always has some issue with something.

For instance on my latest system I dropped a GTX 970 in, installed the drivers, installed FAH and it couldnt find the GPU. Tried troubleshooting it, gave up after an hour. Its only really for gaming so I just removed FAH.

The same card was formerly used on a Slackware system. To make it work on Slack, I installed the latest x64 Nvidia drivers, told my xorg.conf to use them, deb2tgz/untarred the debian fahclient to a directory, made a config.xml for it and ran it, and it worked out the box. Yes I've done it before, yes I've folded before (for a long long time), but I can teach an average person to do the same in about 10 mins. I also dont add all the faff like control and viewer. I just want it to fold. Someone quite nicely provided a web interface which works very well for switching it on and off, dont really need anything else.

As for the guides, well they are hit and miss on linux. Try and find a simple guide for a non deb/rpm system, its not easy. Not everyone uses Fedora/Debian/CentOS/Ubuntu. But I guess they reckon that if you are using something other than those you probably aren't a beginner and can resolve the issues yourself.

Startup scripts and control scripts are the only hitch on linux. But not hard, just need thought and a little bash knowledge (or some other scripting language).

So no. Linux is not harder. In most ways its more straightforward. As long as you've got rid of the nouveau driver and installed the real nvidia driver, it tends to run without issue. To get it going you only need to generate a config and edit to your own taste.

On a sidenote, does this 1050 issue affect linux as well, or is it a windows only problem?

[Joe_H]

On a sidenote, does this 1050 issue affect linux as well, or is it a windows only problem?

The earliest driver the supports the 1050 and 1050ti on Linux is 375.10 and has the same problem as the Windows version 375 and 376 drivers processing Core_21 WU's. As best as I can tell, they have not issued a hot fix driver for Linux, just Windows. The hot fix version is 376.48 on Windows.

So the two 1050 GPU's are not supported by older versions of the drivers and apparently need an updated driver for Linux before they can be used successfully on all the available projects under Linux.

[bruce]

I do not think a GT x10 is going fold fast enough to complete before the deadline, I would want a GT x30 or up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 7906#close
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125680

The GT710 / GT720 is fast enough; the GT610 is not.... but faster GPUs are always encouraged.

(The only reason I have a GT710 is it's the only Low Profile GPU that will fit in my tiny case, and a GPU that'll fold is better than an iGPU that won't.)

[v00d00]

On a sidenote, does this 1050 issue affect linux as well, or is it a windows only problem?

The earliest driver the supports the 1050 and 1050ti on Linux is 375.10 and has the same problem as the Windows version 375 and 376 drivers processing Core_21 WU's. As best as I can tell, they have not issued a hot fix driver for Linux, just Windows. The hot fix version is 376.48 on Windows.

So the two 1050 GPU's are not supported by older versions of the drivers and apparently need an updated driver for Linux before they can be used successfully on all the available projects under Linux.

Cheers.

Looks like it will be a cheap 1060 then.