Folding Forum

Hi all

I have a Core 2 Duo machine here which I use pretty much exclusively for Folding@Home. It now has a new purpose which requires a video card with S-video out.

Of course... If I'm going to be adding a GPU to this machine... Ideally I want it to do some work! So my question is, Which GPU can I use which is cheap to run (electric) is old enough that it has S video out but also will be able to fold for some time yet?? PPD isn't my main concern its mainly cost of the card and energy use as our KW/h rate sucks...

I was thinking an Nvidia 8400 GS or something...? Budget card yes but I'm sure it would do something and at about 17 watts max it's not going to cost a fortune to leave on 24/7. Any better suggestions welcomed though as I'm sure the 8400 GS isn't even on the list of compatible GPU's anymore.

Any advice is appreciated.

Nvidia GTX 750ti

The 750 TI is a great card from a points per watt perspective. My core 2 duo machine gives me 25 - 56 K points per day with the quick return bonus. The variance is based on which type of unit is being folded. The x'15 units give about half the points that the x'17 units do.

The bad news is that I'm pretty sure that the GTX 750 TI does not have S Video output, which is one of the requirements. Mine has HDMI, display port and DVI. Getting S video would require some kind of conversion, I think. I don't know whether it's even possible to do this or how it's done.

G80 class NV GPUs are no longer supported for folding. You would need a Fermi class (4xx series or above) GPU. Sorry, SVideo is very rare in that class of GPU. But you can go from a more common VGA to SVideo via adapter. But to buy new, it will be hard to find anything less than a low end 6xx or 7xx card, which is better, and not much more $.

The 750ti offers one of the better PPD-to-power ratios, and the MSI N750TI-2GD5/OC G-SYNC (newegg item number N82E16814127784) with rebate is just under $100. It supports a VGA output, and with adapter PC 15 Pin VGA Male to TV S-Video/RCA Female AV OUT Adapter Cable (newegg item number 9SIA4SR1V61180) for about $5 you should be able to support your s-video monitor.