Current best cards for F@H

[Kick]

Hello all, it's been a while since I participated here and I was wondering if we could have a quick discussion on the current best graphics cards for folding. 

 

I want to put together a folding rig that could output an optimal PPD while maintaining some power efficiency. From what I've read recently, it seems 4p machines are loosing their advantage and will soon be obsolete so I would like to focus on GPU folding. Previously, NVIDIA cards seemed to have better power usage over AMD cards, is this still true or are they about the same? How important is CUDA for Folding now? 

 

So, I guess we could break it down from simplistic to more advanced:

AMD vs. NVIDIA

Dual cards vs. single/SLI/Crossfire

How important are memory speeds?

For an always-on machine, would liquid cooling be ideal or just...lots of fans?

 

Thanks yall.

[Jerakl]

Optimal power efficiency, Nvidia then.

[tobben]

Amd will release new gpu's sometime in the near future.

Maxwell is doing pretty good but it still has some unresolved issues,

either way it's great for power efficiency and hopefully they will get those problems sorted out.

 

More cards = more better

but you run them separately as individual cards.

No sli/crossfire, there's just no point, not even sure if folding supports it. 

 

What memory speeds? ram? vram?

 

For an always on machine i would just go normal heatsink cooling

for reliability and simplicity.

[Kick]

Thanks @tobben! As for the memory speeds, I was thinking about the VRAM and whether one should overclock it or not (or even underclock).

 

Thanks for the advice re: heatsinks and Maxwell.

[Briggsy]

My system pulls ~475 watts from the wall @ ~87% efficiency with 2 x R9 290's @ 1100Mhz while folding. = (475*0.87) 413 watts full system for 350-400k ppd depending on project (no cpu folding). obviously my system isn't folding 24/7, but if it was those would be the numbers for 2 x 290's @ 1100Mhz. I have a buttload of fans in my case so factor that in too. my system idles @ 130watts from the wall, or 100ish watts if you account for efficiency.

 

I would be interested to see just how much higher 970/980's are scoring and for how many watts.

 

 

*edited* had some numbers wrong, was going from memory (or lack thereof)

[Whaler_99]

So... based on current numbers the 980 is the boss, follow by AMD r9 290x then the 970. In three to six months, who knows.

 

Overall for the past while NVidia has been the better cards in regards to power efficiency and thermals.

 

Do not water cool. Waste - you would need so much rad space and fans, would be ridiculous on say a triple GPU system.Lot of water cooling is only rated to 50C continuous, so a triple GPU loop folding would easily pass that. I know from experience... and leaks...

 

Folding works with or without SLI/Crossfire - so if this a dedicated folding box, don't bother. Using it for other things, then yes, enable it. You could have say two 980's in SLI and a third 970 even. 980's for folding/gamin and the 970 just for folding.

 

Typically more VRAM won't make a huge difference in folding. OC'ing also typically leads to more instability. If buying dedicated cards for folding, don't buy fancy OC'ed or Classified or some other gimick. Just save the cash and get a stock card.

[tobben]

a 980 yields practically 50% more ppd on the right project compared to a 970.

So The question is whether it's cost effective or not

in consideration to the prices where you live.

 

currently we seem to be getting alot of non qrb(quick return bonus) eligible wu's.

Probably because of the recent problems with maxwell and certain wu's.

so you might be stuck with 70k ppd instead of 230k.

But that doesn't necessarily mean it's doing less work.

And hopefully this is something they will fix.

 

 

 

I would be interested to see just how much higher 970/980's are scoring and for how many watts.

i'm not sure about the power it pulls from the wall because i have too much stuff on one socket.

But my 970 is getting about 230k ppd, and a 980 get's around 350k.

The TDP on the 980 is less than 180 watts, so yeah, i'd say it's a very significant step up.

The card is bloody expensive though, atleast down here in Norway.

[Kick]

Awesome info guys, thanks again! I was looking at setting up a dedicated box with two R9 285s but I think I'll try to get some GTX 970s instead. 

[Samfisher]

a 980 yields practically 50% more ppd on the right project compared to a 970.

So The question is whether it's cost effective or not

in consideration to the prices where you live.

 

currently we seem to be getting alot of non qrb(quick return bonus) eligible wu's.

Probably because of the recent problems with maxwell and certain wu's.

so you might be stuck with 70k ppd instead of 230k.

But that doesn't necessarily mean it's doing less work.

And hopefully this is something they will fix.

 

 

i'm not sure about the power it pulls from the wall because i have too much stuff on one socket.

But my 970 is getting about 230k ppd, and a 980 get's around 350k.

The TDP on the 980 is less than 180 watts, so yeah, i'd say it's a very significant step up.

The card is bloody expensive though, atleast down here in Norway.

 

 

If you OC'd yout 970 you could hit 300k PPD too

[tobben]

If you OC'd yout 970 you could hit 300k PPD too

might be fun to have a crack at ocing it.

The only problem is that i can't find any stress testing software that lets me choose a specific gpu to test.

Since i have a 7950 in the same system, would have to pull it out...

[AK0490]

My 290s are making great folding cards atm. If I don't fold I get cold :lol:

[Bigdaddy5414]

 

Hello all, it's been a while since I participated here and I was wondering if we could have a quick discussion on the current best graphics cards for folding. 

 

I want to put together a folding rig that could output an optimal PPD while maintaining some power efficiency. From what I've read recently, it seems 4p machines are loosing their advantage and will soon be obsolete so I would like to focus on GPU folding. Previously, NVIDIA cards seemed to have better power usage over AMD cards, is this still true or are they about the same? How important is CUDA for Folding now? 

 

So, I guess we could break it down from simplistic to more advanced:

AMD vs. NVIDIA

Dual cards vs. single/SLI/Crossfire

How important are memory speeds?

For an always-on machine, would liquid cooling be ideal or just...lots of fans?

 

Thanks yall.

 

I did a video on this with my triple 980s and a watt meter on the wall. Not sure if I can post that here or not i duno lol.

 

Without CPU folding its around 540 watts from the wall generating around 1 million PPD.