Most power efficient PPD?

[NotSoEpicMods]

So it's been a while since I've done any sort of folding and well I'm considering doing it again and building a dedicated rig for it. So has anything changed in the past few years? Last I remember SMP folding was the most power efficient way of gaining PPD, I guess you would call it PPW. Any suggestions on power efficient parts that would fit a $500ish budget?(I have a low power i3 and mobo already if I need to run video cards)

[alby800]

I don't know if it will fit in the budget but the Maxwell cards are great, maybe a cheap 970 or wait for the 960?

 

@Whaler_99 know a lot about this stuff, he would be able to help

[LemonSpice]

I don't know if it will fit in the budget but the Maxwell cards are great, maybe a cheap 970 or wait for the 960?

 

@Whaler_99 know a lot about this stuff, he would be able to help

yea the 970 is amazing for that and gaming with very low power and price

[terrytek]

Ok, while we're still on the topic of folding, how many PPD do you think I would get with a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and GT610? Not much, I'm assuming.

[Briggsy]

As a comparison (for reference sake), my PC pulls about 130-140 watts from the wall while idle, or about 117 actual watts with efficiency loss. While folding@home my PC pulls about 475 watts from the wall (no cpu) while idle/folding, or about 413 actual watts with two R9 290's @ 1100Mhz Folding (mild overclock). Depending on the project, I get about 350-450k PPD. Actual power draw is roughly 296 watts for two slightly overclocked R9 290's. At stock speeds of 947 Mhz the power draw is roughly 245 watts for two R9 290's, but PPD drops by 8-9%.

[Clyne]

Ok, while we're still on the topic of folding, how many PPD do you think I would get with a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and GT610? Not much, I'm assuming.

Not much really, my 8320 gets like 2K PPD but again each WU is different. 

[Bigdaddy5414]

My three 980s clear 1 million ppd and total system draw is about 500 watts with no cpu folding.

[terrytek]

Not much really, my 8320 gets like 2K PPD but again each WU is different. 

Well, I'm assuming my CPU can get more than my GPU. My GPU is on the verge of dying from stupidly overclocking it to 1200MHz.

[Clyne]

Well, I'm assuming my CPU can get more than my GPU. My GPU is on the verge of dying from stupidly overclocking it to 1200MHz.

uhh pretty sure that you would get more PPD if you used your GPU than your CPU.

[Briggsy]

My three 980s clear 1 million ppd and total system draw is about 500 watts with no cpu folding.

 

too bad you aren't folding for LTT's Team.  

[NotSoEpicMods]

Great responses from everyone, I just knocked my 7950 back to stock settings and it's currently pulling 120k ppd which is way more than my 1090T was doing at 10k ppd but that cpu is old and an AMD what are the new cpus like for PPD? Anyone have stats on a 5960X, just out of curiosity  . What if I were to get some used server CPUs/mobo would that be worth the hassle? If not I just might just hold off and do a system upgrade and keep my 7950 for folding 24/7 in the same system.

[alby800]

Great responses from everyone, I just knocked my 7950 back to stock settings and it's currently pulling 120k ppd which is way more than my 1090T was doing at 10k ppd but that cpu is old and an AMD what are the new cpus like for PPD? Anyone have stats on a 5960X, just out of curiosity  . What if I were to get some used server CPUs/mobo would that be worth the hassle? If not I just might just hold off and do a system upgrade and keep my 7950 for folding 24/7 in the same system.

I believe that gpus are better for folding now, although I am not sure

 

I bet @Whaler_99 knows :lol:

[tobben]

*Snip*

My three 980s clear 1 million ppd and total system draw is about 500 watts with no cpu folding.

well.. it would be nice to do the math's and make a comparison between you guys.

But i get the impression you aren't on the same wavelength when you do the wattage estimate.

 

And op, i don't have any solid numbers for you, but if you want ppd to watt, gpu is your only way to go.

That isn't even a discussion, take 300-350k ppd for a 980 drawing around 160 watts ish. and compare

that to a cpu. Well you can't...you would need 8-10+ of them, if not moreso. Each drawing 100+ watts. 

[DoubleY]

well.. it would be nice to do the math's and make a comparison between you guys.

But i get the impression you aren't on the same wavelength when you do the wattage estimate.

 

And op, i don't have any solid numbers for you, but if you want ppd to watt, gpu is your only way to go.

That isn't even a discussion, take 300-350k ppd for a 980 drawing around 160 watts ish. and compare

that to a cpu. Well you can't...you would need 8-10+ of them, if not moreso. Each drawing 100+ watts. 

So that raises a question then. Why do people like you and Whaler (and now me...) have multi processor units when you say GPU folding is more efficient on a watt/PPD stand point?

[tobben]

So that raises a question then. Why do people like you and Whaler (and now me...) have multi processor units when you say GPU folding is more efficient on a watt/PPD stand point?

whaler currently doesn't as far as i know. it was sold months ago.

 

As for you, you have a server that is always running right?

so it's good to have it folding and do something productive?

they need some cpu horse power aswell, otherwise they

wouldn't support it, the more the better.

 

As for me, i am doing bigadv, big advanced wu's specifically aimed

at machines like this with alot of cpu cores/crunching power. But the bigadv

project is ending first thing in 2015, meaning i will go from 500k ppd to

150k-180k ish. So these machines will no longer be viable ppd wise.

And maxwell seems like a game changer. That is why i decided

i would invest in more gpus instead of upgrading my cpus,

because these cpus are hella expensive.

 

 

EDIT: PPD doesn't necessarily correspond to the work being done.

@TheDoubleYGamer re-reading your comment, a better summary would be this:

pdd isn't everything, plain and simple.

[Bigdaddy5414]

well.. it would be nice to do the math's and make a comparison between you guys.

But i get the impression you aren't on the same wavelength when you do the wattage estimate.

 

And op, i don't have any solid numbers for you, but if you want ppd to watt, gpu is your only way to go.

That isn't even a discussion, take 300-350k ppd for a 980 drawing around 160 watts ish. and compare

that to a cpu. Well you can't...you would need 8-10+ of them, if not moreso. Each drawing 100+ watts. 

Its not an estimate, its what is right on the watt meter at the wall socket. It was 540 without cpu and just under 700 with cpu. Factor in the efficiency and its right around 500 as i said. Just beacuse the tdp is 165 watts for a 980 does not mean it must draw 165. Folding is not using the hole card.

[Whaler_99]

Ya, with the BIGADV project coming to an end, CPU/SMP folding on the big systems will tank. I took advantage and sold my systems a little while ago, and could still get top dollar for them. I assume come this spring we may see a glut of 24+ core systems for sale at various forums.  

But, you can always take those systems and turn them to BOINC projects, they do very well there...

 

For Folding, GPU is the way to go, the more the merrier...

[tobben]

Its not an estimate, its what is right on the watt meter at the wall socket. It was 540 without cpu and just under 700 with cpu. Factor in the efficiency and its right around 500 as i said. Just beacuse the tdp is 165 watts for a 980 does not mean it must draw 165. Folding is not using the hole card.

from what i have seen core 16 usually seem to be more taxing than core 17.

160 watt was just a random guess, and if your 3 cards use 500 watts.

500/3 = 166,66   i'd say it wasn't half bad.

 

i'm just not sure @Briggsy followed the same procedure as you.

He seems to have done a few more steps, i'm not sure what to make of it.

But let's just assume 400k ppd and 300 watts, he can correct me if it doesn't

correspond to his conclusion, he added alot of unnecessary info

 

he is getting around 1333 ppd per watt with 2 r9 290's.

you are getting about 2000 ppd per watt with 3 980's.

that is a 50% increase in favor of the 980.

[DoubleY]

<snip>

Alright, thanks for clarifying

[Briggsy]

i'm just nore sure @Briggsy followed the same procedure as you.

He seems to have done a few more steps, i'm not sure what to make of it.

But let's just assume 400k ppd and 300 watts, he can correct me if it doesn't

correspond to his conclusion, he added alot of unnecessary info

 

he is getting around 1333 ppd per watt with 2 r9 290's.

you are getting about 2000 ppd per watt with 3 980's.

that is a 50% increase in favor of the 980.

 

yeah, i tend to be a touch incoherent if its late at night and I've had a few  :wacko:

 

that being said you are correct. 400k for 300 watts (more or less depending on the project). 50% increase in efficiency with a 980 is quite impressive.

[Bigdaddy5414]

from what i have seen core 16 usually seem to be more taxing than core 17.

160 watt was just a random guess, and if your 3 cards use 500 watts.

500/3 = 166,66   i'd say it wasn't half bad.

 

i'm just not sure @Briggsy followed the same procedure as you.

He seems to have done a few more steps, i'm not sure what to make of it.

But let's just assume 400k ppd and 300 watts, he can correct me if it doesn't

correspond to his conclusion, he added alot of unnecessary info

 

he is getting around 1333 ppd per watt with 2 r9 290's.

you are getting about 2000 ppd per watt with 3 980's.

that is a 50% increase in favor of the 980.

 

Sort of as the the cpu is still being utilized to feed the gpus, not to mention what everything else is drawing to keep the system on and running. So they are well below 165 watts.

[tobben]

Sort of as the the cpu is still being utilized to feed the gpus, not to mention what everything else is drawing to keep the system on and running. So they are well below 165 watts.

well they certainly are below, i'm not so sure about "well" below.

it is exactly because of this, the gap would likely be smaller if 

we compared it to 3 290's instead of 2, but i don't think the

difference it would make would be very substantial. 

[NotSoEpicMods]

I didn't know bigadv was ending in 2015 so I guess the best thing to do is just do my normal upgrade and keep my 7950 in the same system for folding or somehow trade it for a lower end maxwell card(power efficiency). 

[tobben]

I didn't know bigadv was ending in 2015 so I guess the best thing to do is just do my normal upgrade and keep my 7950 in the same system for folding or somehow trade it for a lower end maxwell card(power efficiency). 

bigadv would involve you spending thousands of dollars on server hardware.

so that wasn't something to be concerned with on your budget.

 

you pretty much have adequate housing already? so just chug some decent gpu's in it.

i have kinda done what you are thinking about, just the other way around , i got a 970 always

folding while i still use the 7950 as daily driver.