Which GPUs to buy 07/2021

[MeeLee]

In terms of folding performance:
List below is ordered for folding performance; red = AMD, green = Nvidia:

RTX 3090
RTX 3080 Ti
RTX 3080
RTX 3070 Ti
RTX 3070
RX 6900 XT
RTX 3060 Ti
RX 6800 XT
RTX 2080 Ti
RX 6800
RTX 3060
RTX 2080 Super
RTX 2080
RX 6700 XT
RTX 2070 Super
RX 5700 XT
RTX 2070
RTX 2060 KO (older 2080 based)
RTX 2060 Super
RTX 2060 KO (newer 2070 based)
RX 5700
RTX 2060
RX 5600 XT
RX 5600
RX 5500 XT

In terms of $$$/shaders
List below is ordered on my personal preference on performance, and prices today.
If you're on the market to buy a new (not second hand) GPU, this is what I'd recommend (only Nvidia GPUs, due to AMD having much higher power draw):

1- RTX 3070 Ti
2- RTX 3070
3- RTX 3060 Ti
4- RTX 3080
5- RTX 3060
6- RTX 2080 Ti
7- RTX 3080Ti
8- RTX 3090
9- RTX 2080 Super
10- RTX 2080 and lower

[psaam0001]

Over the last few weeks, I have had to take a look at my hardware as well.

Right now, with the exception of some of the newer projects, my GT1030 is holding its own. And the GTX1050ti I have is still working diligently w/o issues.

However, MeeLee's list should be given serious consideration if you are building new folding systems from scratch, or are updating an older system. The key is to look for something with a Turing or Ampere architecture (NVidia GTX16xx/RTX20xx or RTX30xx cards); or an AMD RX5xxx/RX6xxx series--please do not ask me for the AMD architecture names, as I do not know them off hand. Keep in mind, that many of these newer cards will often require upgrading the power supply first, so use the free tool that EVGA offers on their website (https://www.evga.com/power-meter/) if you are unsure.

Disclaimer: The above listed tool from EVGA, and other similar on-line tools should only be used as a guide for purchasing a power supply for a computer that will be used in the USA/Canada. Where 110-120v single-phase/60 Hertz AC is the standard used.

Paul

[XanderF]

Over the last few weeks, I have had to take a look at my hardware as well.

Right now, with the exception of some of the newer projects, my GT1030 is holding its own. And the GTX1050ti I have is still working diligently w/o issues.

What PPD are you getting on your 1030?

[psaam0001]

I do not often keep track of that card, as it is on a system that was set up for my dad to get onto the internet. And the monitor is actually the 50" living room TV (he is 81 years old with severe visual impairment).

I am getting approximately 25k-30k a day on that GT 1030. Depends on the WU's though.

Paul

[MeeLee]

I was about to say, probably 25k.
I used to get 22k on core 21. It was overclocked, and in linux.

[jchang6]

i would PPD/$ and and PPD/watt, for simplicity, assume the PC is paid for separately. I am thinking the higher cards actually do better on PPD/watt. PPD/$ could be current market price (ebay) or newegg shuffle price. I will probably try to get a second 3080 Ti when Alder Lake comes out

[psaam0001]

I am looking at new hardware as we all speak... I'm just using that GT1030 for now, as I originally purchased it for use in an old Dell PowerEdge T105 (it's no longer operational) due to the fact that the card supported it's PCIe x8 slots (physical size). [Edit: I will be obsoleting it sometime before the end of 2022.]

Paul

[CorbyCarroll]

Hi....The least expensive new and not obsolete GPU is the GTX 1660. Going somewhat further down the stepping stool, you could get a GTX 1050 Ti. Then again, in the event that you have an AM4 motherboard, a 5000 series APU might be a decent other option, on the off chance that you to be sure don't game a lot.

[MeeLee]

Hi....The least expensive new and not obsolete GPU is the GTX 1660. Going somewhat further down the stepping stool, you could get a GTX 1050 Ti. Then again, in the event that you have an AM4 motherboard, a 5000 series APU might be a decent other option, on the off chance that you to be sure don't game a lot.

The 1650 Super is also a good card, but the 1650 (non-super) is older gen stuff, more like a 1060. The 1650 super has more cores, and faster memory as the non-super, and is only marginally slower than the 1660, partly thanks to it's faster memory bus, though also about ~150 less shaders.

Code: Select all

				    GTX 1660	1650 Super GTX 1650
GPU				 TU116		TU116		TU117
CUDA Cores		1,408		1,280		896
Base Clock		1,530MHz	1,530MHz	1,485MHz
Boost Clock	  1,785MHz	1,725MHz	1,665MHz
Memory			 6GB GDDR6  4GB GDDR6  4GB GDDR5
Memory speed	 8Gbps	   12Gbps	  8Gbps
Bandwidth		 192GBps	 192GBps	 192GBps
TDP				 120w		 100w		 75w

[psaam0001]

I was about to say, probably 25k.
I used to get 22k on core 21. It was overclocked, and in linux.

Recently run WU's on that GT 1030 have been pushing it to around 35-40K PPD on my dad's Win10 machine.

Here's a link to info on that specific card I refer to: https://www.evga.com/products/product.a ... P4-6232-KR

Paul

[XanderF]

Hi....The least expensive new and not obsolete GPU is the GTX 1660. Going somewhat further down the stepping stool, you could get a GTX 1050 Ti. Then again, in the event that you have an AM4 motherboard, a 5000 series APU might be a decent other option, on the off chance that you to be sure don't game a lot.

The 1650 Super is also a good card, but the 1650 (non-super) is older gen stuff, more like a 1060. The 1650 super has more cores, and faster memory as the non-super, and is only marginally slower than the 1660, partly thanks to it's faster memory bus, though also about ~150 less shaders.

That's not actually universally true of the 1650 (non-super). Even the Tu117 vs Tu116 core doesn't tell you much - there are just a lot of variations on that one in the market. And, notably, a BIG part of that difference is the memory - if you find yourself with a GDDR6 version, they'll call that out specifically on the packaging, and those aren't bad. It's a Turing-generation (Geforce 2xxx-era) core, and so has the Turing shaders - supporting OpenCL version 3.0 and CUDA 7.5. Have one myself...



That guy is trucking along at 650k-700k PPD in our media PC, paired with just an Intel Core i5-3475S. Not bad for 75w!

[JimF]

The 1650 Super is also a good card, but the 1650 (non-super) is older gen stuff, more like a 1060.

I sometimes run Folding on a 1650 Super and a 1060 on Ubuntu 20.04. Usually there is not much difference in points, and you would be hard pressed to see a difference..
I think the 1650 Super is a little more efficient, maybe using 10 watts less for comparable output, but you would have to measure it closely to know for sure.