Folding Forum

Hi,
I've been folding on my own computers for some time now, but I've just set up a dedicated minecraft server so I thought I might as well stick a GPU in it for folding. But the problem is I don't know what cheap GPUs are really worth folding on (read: efficient enough and high PPD to be worth it). It doesn't need to be current gen hardware, because I can get any old GPU fairly easily used. I'm thinking a 9600 GT or a GTS 250 or GTS 450 or 5570 or 6570 or GT 630. Can anyone give any advice? Thanks.

None of the above -- WUs for them are announced as end of life (there may be some exceptions, but old cards would be short term, inefficient, and comparatively low scoring).

Go for an nVidia, preferably a Ti version, to suit your budget. From personal experience the 780Ti performs well, but is big and power hungry. The 750Ti is more efficient, there is also now a 980Ti but it isn't cheap. You could also consider a low end 900 series card.

oops

davidcoton wrote:None of the above -- WUs for them are announced as end of life (there may be some exceptions, but old cards would be short term, inefficient, and comparatively low scoring).

Go for an nVidia, preferably a Ti version, to suit your budget. From personal experience the 780Ti performs well, but is big and power hungry. The 750Ti is more efficient, there is also now a 980Ti but it isn't cheap. You could also consider a low end 900 series card.

Oh so those cant fold anymore?

If GT 630 is Kepler with 384 cuda cores, you can fold. PPD will be around 12-16k. GT 630 with 96 cuda cores are very slow.
As above said davidcoton, 750 Ti is a good card for folding. 65-75k with current projects.

I still like the GTX 970; makes around 270kPPD (Linux) depend on projects and what else is running. Else 750 Ti also sounds good. Keep an eye on running cost, too. Plus cooling.

artoar_11 wrote:If GT 630 is Kepler with 384 cuda cores, you can fold. PPD will be around 12-16k. GT 630 with 96 cuda cores are very slow.
As above said davidcoton, 750 Ti is a good card for folding. 65-75k with current projects.

I don't need the PPD to be very high, I want at least a few thousand PPD and I'm happy with the card as long as it's cheap and consumes little power. A 750 Ti would cost too much for me.

ChristianVirtual wrote:I still like the GTX 970; makes around 270kPPD (Linux) depend on projects and what else is running. Else 750 Ti also sounds good. Keep an eye on running cost, too. Plus cooling.

Yea I don't really need a powerful card, just one that's cheap and consume little power that I can run 24/7. So yea a 750 ti is a bit too much.

Some of these, second hand?

GeForce GT 640 (Kepler) 384 cuda cores (DDR5/128 bit; TDP 75W)
GeForce GT 640 (Kepler) 384 cuda cores (DDR5/64 bit; TDP 49W) Rev.2
GeForce GTX 650 (Kepler) 384 cuda cores (DDR5/128 bit; TDP 64W)
HD 7750
HD 7770

artoar_11 wrote:Some of these, second hand?

GeForce GT 640 (Kepler) 384 cuda cores (DDR5/128 bit; TDP 75W)
GeForce GT 640 (Kepler) 384 cuda cores (DDR5/64 bit; TDP 49W) Rev.2
GeForce GTX 650 (Kepler) 384 cuda cores (DDR5/128 bit; TDP 64W)
HD 7750
HD 7770

Hmm I guess those are good choices thanks. And you can run cards on PCI-E 1x slots right? I'm using this Asus P8H61M-LX R2.0 board that has 1 PCI-E 16x slot and 3 other PCI-E 1x slot. I'd probably mod it so it has an open end and stick them all with 1-slot cards

They will fold on X1 but bottleneck the performance by 10-20%. Will also need adapters.

OWEN10578 wrote:
Hmm I guess those are good choices thanks. And you can run cards on PCI-E 1x slots right? I'm using this Asus P8H61M-LX R2.0 board that has 1 PCI-E 16x slot and 3 other PCI-E 1x slot. I'd probably mod it so it has an open end and stick them all with 1-slot cards

You'd probably be fine with the data bandwidth, but will struggle with power - a 1* slot is normally 10W (maybe 25w)

Even so, 4 slot powered cards will push the MB power traces. A work around with powered risers and the like might get it working, but a single newer card will be easier, more efficient and get more points.

Good luck!

Very true. One fast card will generate more points than several old cards because of the bonus, and cost less over time in electricity.

rwh202 wrote:

OWEN10578 wrote:
Hmm I guess those are good choices thanks. And you can run cards on PCI-E 1x slots right? I'm using this Asus P8H61M-LX R2.0 board that has 1 PCI-E 16x slot and 3 other PCI-E 1x slot. I'd probably mod it so it has an open end and stick them all with 1-slot cards

You'd probably be fine with the data bandwidth, but will struggle with power - a 1* slot is normally 10W (maybe 25w)

Even so, 4 slot powered cards will push the MB power traces. A work around with powered risers and the like might get it working, but a single newer card will be easier, more efficient and get more points.

Good luck!

I thought only the first part of the PCI-E slot supplies power? Hmm I guess it isnt a good idea tho hahaha. I'll stick to one card for now thanks.

I have a 7750 in each of my machines. The current WUs show 15K and 18K PPD. The 55 Watt max power draw means no external power connector. Fanless versions were available from HIS and Sapphire (I have 1 of each, and prefer the HIS).