GPU performance for folding

[G3WGV]

I've been folding for six weeks now, so still a bit of a newbie, hence this "does the team think" question;

My most powerful folding system has a single GeForce RTX 2070 Super GPU, which folds pretty well and seemed, when I got it, to be a decent compromise of power vs. cost.

I am now considering adding a second GPU, essentially just for more folding power. I could get another RTX 2070 Super, or perhaps spring for a 2080 or even (whisper it!) a 2080ti. Cost isn't really an issue but each step up carries quite a significant price increase (here in the UK, circa GBP 500 > 700 > 1100).

Will I get 1.5 times the folding performance (PPD, in effect) from a 2080S or 2.0 times from a 2080TI? My instinct tells me not and that I should be a skinflint and stick with a second 2070 Super. On the other hand, new toys are always nice and I want to make the best contribution I can to FAH.

What does the team think?

John

[HaloJones]

what do you get from the 2080S? averaging 1.8m? 1.7m?

A 2080ti can get you twice that. And it's not twice the cost. If money is really no object (can you buy me a couple of watercooled RTX Titans?) get a 2080ti.

[G3WGV]

Yeah, around 1.8M out of the 2070S (apols, I just realised I have a typo in the original mail... now corrected). The 2080ti is typically around GBP 1100 in the UK, vs GBP 520 for the 2070S, so it sounds like bang per buck (or quid) is about the same.

Wouldn't quite say money is no object, else I'd be thinking about a V100S (GBP 9000). Um... well, I did think about it briefly...

[HaloJones]

I'd also factor in the power costs.

[G3WGV]

I'd also factor in the power costs.

I'm guessing one 2080ti will take less than two 2070S's. Yes, looking at the specs I can see it's quite a bit less. I seem to recall seeing a table of PPD expectations for various GPUs but I can't seem to find it now.

[HaloJones]

the newest table doesn't include a 2080ti or a 2070s. You can find the info in this thread

there is old data in this thread which has a guy with two 2080ti's in a machine getting 8m ppd between them

[HaloJones]

these ppd threads though are very difficult to draw conclusions from. Larger gpus (i.e. more cuda cores) are amazing when given large proteins with lots of atoms but can be awful with small ones. It really depends on the work the cards get.

[G3WGV]

Interesting insight, thanks HJ. It's nearly time for me to clock off and leave the PCs to their night shift folding duties. Decisions to make tomorrow morning!

[MeeLee]

Power cost you can reduce by about 1/3rd by optimizing overclock and capping the power to the GPU.

[kiore]

I have been GPU folding for over 11 years and currently have a RTX 2080ti in windows and all the numbers you see for this card and other cards tend to be best numbers. Currently gpu goes better in Linux so you can get better performance from lower end cards so the 3m+ppd reports tend to live in that land. I currently run some projects that make only 1.4mppd but expect to average 2.4mppd with occasional forays into the 3mppd territory. With these top of the range cards and the QRB small differences in TPF are exaggerate the ppd significantly.
Despite having experience in running systems with 4 GPUs in them this card by itself has given me significant headaches with power draw and heat issues and is the first card I have had that I needed to power limit consistently. My GTX 1080ti the previous 'best folding card' is much less of a prima donna but its out put is approximately half that of the RTX. All this discussion of the best card or the best cpu could easily be overturned by changes in the client or projects such as atom counts. I would buy the card I can afford and use for other stuff and maybe the some of the lower end high performance cards may be a better bet.

[G3WGV]

OK, the day shift is back on duty chez G3WGV, has had its first cup of coffee and has examined the folding factory's overnight productivity.

Thanks for the further thoughts, MeeLee and kiore. My existing 2070S consistently folds at around 1.5M to 2M PPD and it just sits there, chuntering away, getting a bit warm. Most times it seems to get plenty of work. I can buy two 2070S boards for the cost of one 2080ti but I am not sure I can see that I would consistently get twice the PPD out of a 2080ti. It seems to me that the 2070S is like the enthusiastic amateur hill runner putting in a consistently decent top ten performance, event after event whereas the 2080ti is the highly strung prima donna that makes the occasional stunning run but has her off days when the terrain doesn't suit her.

I am coming to the conclusion that getting one more 2070S now and perhaps another one later on is a sensible compromise.

Interesting discussion, learned a lot, thank you guys. Any more for any more before we call last orders?

[HaloJones]

I've always found the xx70 cards to be the best for folding. 670, 970, now 1070. I can get them for reasonable cost (used), their power draw isn't too extreme and they tend to overclock pretty well.

Go with the 2070S (and get one for me while you're there )

[G3WGV]

Afternoon shift on duty now and a bit more research over my cup of tea revealed this spreadsheet, which makes the case very compelling for the 2070S or perhaps the 2080S, but much less so for the 2080ti. I'll probably defer the decision to the morning shift tomorrow - he's the one with the credit card.

[MeeLee]

I think the time for a 2080Ti has passed. If you're planning on buying one, save the money, because Q2/Q3 should bring the mid range RTX 3000 GPUs, all of which should nearly equal the performance of a 2080Ti, at a lower TDP.
Q4 should get the top of the line, RTX Titan Crusher. Don't expect that one to be cheap though!
And Q1 2021 should bring the bottom of the line RTX 3000 series GPUs (like a 2060 or something), which from the rumors should outperform a 2070 Super to 2080.

[G3WGV]

And so the arms race continues! Having cut my teeth on PDP8s and the first IBM/360s I still find it astonishing how the world of computing just keeps on delivering more and more power. Until I got involved in this folding malarkey I never gave GPUs a second thought beyond how many screens and what resolution I wanted. Now I seem to have launched into a world previously only inhabited by gamers (whatever they are), whose needs, apparently, feed much of what we crave as folding artillery.

I'll ask the boss (the one with the credit card) what he wants to do, tomorrow. I know he's quite partial to new toys but he also has an impatient streak to him so I suspect he won't want to wait. It'll be a short discussion with myself.