Folding Forum

Just wanted to stop by and say "thank you" Gentlemen. I recently installed a second NVidia GPU (GTX 1650) in the second PCIe slot, and the heat from card #2 raised the operating temperature on card #1 (RTX 2070) above what I was comfortable with. Your discussion definitely helped me moderate the power to manipulate the temperature and keep it below 80c. Well done!

This is also an example of not just what card to buy but what model of card. If you are going to have two gpus in a standard case where the gpus are horizontal, the bottom card needs to be a "blower" type cooler that emits the heat our of th eback of the case and not dumping it inside the case directly below the primary card.

HaloJones wrote:This is also an example of not just what card to buy but what model of card. If you are going to have two gpus in a standard case where the gpus are horizontal, the bottom card needs to be a "blower" type cooler that emits the heat our of th eback of the case and not dumping it inside the case directly below the primary card.

Which is why I long went with an open bench platform.
In fact, forget about the bench, just buy M3 hexagonal spacers, and stack the motherboards on top of one another with that, and use a box fan for cooling.
All my GPUs run at or below 60C with 75<x<90F ambient.

It seems like 2X 2060 should perform same work (or slightly more) as a single 2080ti.
However, the current points formulae favors fast return of the WUs, so 2X faster processing gives ~40% more points for same amount of work. For this reason, on points basis, 2080ti will get ahead. Ultimately it's a question of how to balance throughput and latency.

Some numbers: stock 2080ti at 1920-1905 Mhz, 2.4-3.4M PPD, power limit set to 110% (some larger WUs trigger it and reduce the clock), Fans up to 60% to keep it under 60C.
Edit: a small x21 WU with 178 atoms, processing at 1.4M PPD at 58% power draw.

A single 2080ti would use I think less power than a pair of 2060s but is more than twice the price. If used long enough the saving in power usage might offset the price excess.

I'm sure there are some PPD databases or charts somewhere but you can get 1080 TIs for $300-$450 if you are patient on eBay. Should net you 1.4M-1.5M PPD each. Play your cards right and you could have 3 1080 TI (3.5 PPD) for the price of a 2080 TI (2.2M PPD).

I picked up three 1080 TIs myself, when the time came to step my game up.

lazyacevw wrote:I'm sure there are some PPD databases or charts somewhere but you can get 1080 TIs for $300-$450 if you are patient on eBay. Should net you 1.4M-1.5M PPD each. Play your cards right and you could have 3 1080 TI (3.5 PPD) for the price of a 2080 TI (2.2M PPD).

I picked up three 1080 TIs myself, when the time came to step my game up.

For that price, you're better off with a 2060 Super, or a 2060Ko. Higher PPD, lower TDP.

Concerning the equilibrium of overclocking and power capping on an open bench system:
Nvidia RTX GPU :: Stock Watt :: Power Capped Watts
--------------// 2060 :: 170W :: 125W to 129W
2060 Super // 2070 :: 215W :: 127W to 135W
2070 Super // 2080 :: 225W :: 129W to 145W
2080 Super//2080Ti:: 275W :: 179W to 225W

2x RTX 2060 Super GPUs can be easily capped below an RTX 2080Ti GPU, outperforming it, and using less watts to do the job.
However, the extra GPU uses one extra PCIE slot, which uses 1 extra CPU slot, resulting in extra CPU wattage to feed the GPU.

MeeLee wrote:

lazyacevw wrote:I'm sure there are some PPD databases or charts somewhere but you can get 1080 TIs for $300-$450 if you are patient on eBay. Should net you 1.4M-1.5M PPD each. Play your cards right and you could have 3 1080 TI (3.5 PPD) for the price of a 2080 TI (2.2M PPD).

I picked up three 1080 TIs myself, when the time came to step my game up.

For that price, you're better off with a 2060 Super, or a 2060Ko. Higher PPD, lower TDP.

Concerning the equilibrium of overclocking and power capping on an open bench system:
Nvidia RTX GPU :: Stock Watt :: Power Capped Watts
--------------// 2060 :: 170W :: 125W to 129W
2060 Super // 2070 :: 215W :: 127W to 135W
2070 Super // 2080 :: 225W :: 129W to 145W
2080 Super//2080Ti:: 275W :: 179W to 225W

2x RTX 2060 Super GPUs can be easily capped below an RTX 2080Ti GPU, outperforming it, and using less watts to do the job.
However, the extra GPU uses one extra PCIE slot, which uses 1 extra CPU slot, resulting in extra CPU wattage to feed the GPU.

The GTX 1080 TI and the 2060 Super both give around 1.5M PPD (according to this dude's database viewtopic.php?f=38&t=34240). You can buy both for around $400. Comparing your above wattages, it would appear that the stock power draw is roughly the same (my reference 1080 TI draws 197W and my FTW3 watercooled draws 220W). I have no idea what the "capped" power differences would be but one can safely infer thus far that they will be roughly the same.

Perhaps the only variable will which card will drop in value more when the RTX 3000 series comes out? A used GTX a new RTX card? I keep thinking of that old analogy about driving that new car off the lot....

I am building a PC for simulation and mathematics/engineering and also for FOH. I bought one DUAL GeForce RTX 2070 at a discount price. My plan is to eventually add another RTX 2060 or 2070 for FOH. My CPU is an i9-9900K with a Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO RGB 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler, and my power supply is 850W Gold. The heat dissipation will be quite significant running the two GPUs for FOH. People have cautioned that keeping the temperature at a level that is OK can be a problem without the right case and cooling.

Does anyone have a similar PC and if so what case do you have or recommend? Perhaps your PC(S) are different but you have some advice?

I have seen people recommend running FOH only using GPUs to reduce power consumption and heat, so this is what I plan to do.

Welcome to the F@H Forum ottmarkw,

Can you please tell us what chassis you currently have?

I would start off with a full size tower so things are less cramped. Maybe read a few reviews about cases. I got an old Coolermaster case, which came with a couple of efficient, yet silent fans already. From there on it is a matter of keeping the airflow right, often the recommendation is to leave the left side panel open.

The benefit from having another 2070 is that if one goes out, the WU can be transferred around.
If you have a system with different GPUs, WUs will be aborted once the client sees there's no GPU with the specifications that match the WU.