Folding Rig, Where Do I Start?

[Tithonius]

Ok, so for a long time i have wanted to use my main gaming rig to fold in the background. But recently i have had the chance to actually be able to build a machine that is dedicated to folding. I want to build the machine, but i have no idea where to start. Do i want to try to get a motherboard with dual CPUs? Or would it be better to get a board that has more GPU slots? what all should i look for in a motherboard for a folding rig? I dont think im going to want to put more then 4 GPUs in one system as i will have to space out the buying of the GPUs so that i can afford it. Also if i keep it down to 4 GPUs per system then it should be easier to find a compatible motherboard. I would also like to be able to build another exact same machine in the future. Would something from coolermaster be good for that? somthing from their HAF series maybie? My gaming and server rig is in a HAF Stacker now, and i love how its all in a single tall machine. Would somthing like a couple HAF XB cases be able to stack on top of one another?

 

Obviously i know that temperatures are going to be a issue. The main thing that is going to be hard to do is keep it cool. But other then that i have no idea where to start with a build that is mainly for folding. The rig will be only for folding and not much else will be going on with it so i don't think ill be needing anything really fancy for the ram and stuff like that.

 

It would be cool too see some pictures of your guys rigs and maybie some part lists, just so i have kind of an idea where to start with the rig. Thanks for the input guys. Im truly a noob, and scince linus hasnt done a build log for folding or anything like that then i dont have any idea where to start. 

 

P.S. If someone would throw a simple PCPartPicker list together, that would give me a great place to start. If not, no biggy

[Reuben]

I would honestly DM Whaler_99 he would definitely be the go-to guy for folding questions

[TJarsun]

Check this Mobo: Asrock H81 Pro BTC It is meant to handle 6 GPU's at 1x PCI-E link for bitcoin mining, if you fold with gpu this looks like a cheap solution!

[Tithonius]

Check this Mobo: Asrock H81 Pro BTC It is meant to handle 6 GPU's at 1x PCI-E link for bitcoin mining, if you fold with gpu this looks like a cheap solution!

 

Yeah, it does look like a good choice, thats for sure. Ill definitly look into it for sure

[blackadder]

it looks like your willing to spend some big money on this. i would like to see how this turns out, if you build, please post how quickly you can do a wu and how many points you get per day. 

[Tithonius]

it looks like your willing to spend some big money on this. i would like to see how this turns out, if you build, please post how quickly you can do a wu and how many points you get per day. 

 

Will do!

[Me1z]

Don't bother with more than 2 GPUs to a single system. You run into serious PCIe bandwidth issues, or you will need to waste several hundred dollars on X99 motherboards and CPUs whose full capacity you will never come close to using. Definitely say as far away from that H81 Pro BTC as well. It's what I used in my first failure of a folding rig, and the PCIe x1 slots were essentially suffocating my GPUs. Another good tip: steer clear of Nvidia for folding. When used for compute, any and all efficiency claims go out the window because they can't make proper use of Nvidia's oh-so-wonderful algorithms. In addition to this, the maxwell driver issues that Nvidia has yet to address leave them with abysmal PPD 70% of the time (There's no reason for a GTX 970 to ever be crawling along at 80,000 PPD).

 

I've run through the numbers countless times and wasted more than enough of my own money. If you want the best bang for your buck and are willing to shell out some real money I suggest an R9 295x2, an ivybridge pentium, the ASRock H61MV-ITX motherboard, and a reputable 700W PSU. Infact, its the exact setup I'm running right now, the specs are in my signature. The dual cores are more than enough to keep the 295x2 happily folding at 100% and it rarely peaks above 460W under full load so there's no worries power wise. Throw it in a compact yet well ventilated case and you're all good! A very stable 480,000 PPD is nothing to sneeze at, my one little rig is among the team's top 3 producers  . If you'd like I can post some pictures tomorrow.

[Tithonius]

Don't bother with more than 2 GPUs to a single system. You run into serious PCIe bandwidth issues, or you will need to waste several hundred dollars on X99 motherboards and CPUs whose full capacity you will never come close to using. Definitely say as far away from that H81 Pro BTC as well. It's what I used in my first failure of a folding rig, and the PCIe x1 slots were essentially suffocating my GPUs. Another good tip: steer clear of Nvidia for folding. When used for compute, any and all efficiency claims go out the window because they can't make proper use of Nvidia's oh-so-wonderful algorithms. In addition to this, the maxwell driver issues that Nvidia has yet to address leave them with abysmal PPD 70% of the time (There's no reason for a GTX 970 to ever be crawling along at 80,000 PPD).

 

I've run through the numbers countless times and wasted more than enough of my own money. If you want the best bang for your buck and are willing to shell out some real money I suggest an R9 295x2, an ivybridge pentium, the ASRock H61MV-ITX motherboard, and a reputable 700W PSU. Infact, its the exact setup I'm running right now, the specs are in my signature. The dual cores are more than enough to keep the 295x2 happily folding at 100% and it rarely peaks above 460W under full load so there's no worries power wise. Throw it in a compact yet well ventilated case and you're all good! A very stable 480,000 PPD is nothing to sneeze at, my one little rig is among the team's top 3 producers  . If you'd like I can post some pictures tomorrow.

 

Yeah, i didnt even think to go with AMD, but if you say its better for folding, then i beleive you! Just a quick question tho, if i were to get 2 of those cards would i be able to run 2 of them at the same time, providing that i can find a board that is compatible? what all would i need to look for in a board that would be able to handle 2 of those beasts?

 

And yes, pictures would be amazing!

 

I also have done some other things with the build as well, including the case and stuff like the psu and other small changes. check it all out here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XYYVyc

[Tithonius]

Also, why did you choose the Pentium? @Me1z Was it just for the fact that it was cheap? or did it have some benefit to the folding? I want to use a i5-440 if i can, because i can get one for SUPER cheap from a buddy. Should i get the Pentium for any reason?

[Imakuni]

Don't bother with more than 2 GPUs to a single system. You run into serious PCIe bandwidth issues, or you will need to waste several hundred dollars on X99 motherboards and CPUs whose full capacity you will never come close to using. Definitely say as far away from that H81 Pro BTC as well. It's what I used in my first failure of a folding rig, and the PCIe x1 slots were essentially suffocating my GPUs. Another good tip: steer clear of Nvidia for folding. When used for compute, any and all efficiency claims go out the window because they can't make proper use of Nvidia's oh-so-wonderful algorithms. In addition to this, the maxwell driver issues that Nvidia has yet to address leave them with abysmal PPD 70% of the time (There's no reason for a GTX 970 to ever be crawling along at 80,000 PPD).

This is SO wrong.....

1. Let's start with the "no more than 2 GPUs" part. While I agree with you that OP should avoid that mobo, you don't need x99 to use multiple GPUs. PCIe 1x 2.0 isn't ideal, but you don't need 16x 3.0 either. At any rate, it's still more efficient, in terms of space and power consumption, to get 1 stronger mobo + multiple GPUs.

   Take a look at what you suggested: that mobo can only hold 1 GPU at a time (without risers, but let's not delve into those..). That + 295 costs 750$. Let's assume you buy it twice = 1500$. However, imagine this mobo + quad Gtx 970*. That adds up to 1410$; the savings become pretty evident.

   And there are other benefits too: it only takes the space of 1 PC; you just need to install the softwares once; you can buy a single stick of RAM, instead of having to buy 2; you only need 1 cable for video, power, ethernet and keyboard + mouse; single CPU, so linux/windows processes only need to hog resources once; 1 1000w Gold Fully modular PSU costs less than 2 700w Gold no modular PSU.

   *I had to use dual 980 SLI and manually enter each card as 2x the price of a single 970, due to partpicker limitations.

    

2. Bullshjt on the "970 sucks for folding!" part. Mine reaches 240k ppd, and that's because I have a severe bottleneck. The only instances where it doesn't are when I get core 15 units, but since the reason is the lack of the QRB, the same would happen with any card out there. There have been problems with Core 18, yes, but those have been disabled.

   And about power consumption, I dare to disagree. Linus' tests showed that Maxwell is VERY efficient. "But dude, he tested in games, folding is just way different!". There's only one flaw: it actually doesn't mater. I grabbed my wattimeter that I had, and tested power consumption while doing Folding / Boinc tasks, and I think you can guess what's coming next... it DID show higher results, but it was only around 10W. That's negligible.

[Imakuni]

OP, here's my build. As I mentioned in my post above, each 980 is actually 2x 970, but since I couldn't put quad 970 in partpicker, I resorted to manually entering the price. The link for the GPU can be found here: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-video-card-vcggtx9704xpb

 

In regards to the rest of the build, you can pick any case of choice; just make sure that it has all the external slots for you to plug your GPUs. You might also want to upgrade the CPU to the Xeon E3-1230 V3; it's basically the same CPU, but it has HT. You can find a OEM version in partpicker; if you do, make sure to add a CPU cooler of your liking, as the OEM version has no CPU cooler in the box.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: EVGA Z97 FTW ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($51.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F1 DT 80GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($14.15 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($638.00) 

Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($638.00) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($143.43 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1794.51

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-09 10:14 EDT-0400

[TJarsun]

That EVGA board has no official suport for 4way sli, it says 2 way, but maybe it will work, if not check this build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.98 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Extreme ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($203.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital RE3 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($24.40 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($309.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($309.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Arc XL ATX Full Tower Case  ($114.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($143.43 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($87.89 @ OutletPC) 

Other: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($309.99)

Other: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($309.99)

Total: $2095.57

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-09 11:10 EDT-0400

[Me1z]

 

This is SO wrong.....

1. Let's start with the "no more than 2 GPUs" part. While I agree with you that OP should avoid that mobo, you don't need x99 to use multiple GPUs. PCIe 1x 2.0 isn't ideal, but you don't need 16x 3.0 either. At any rate, it's still more efficient, in terms of space and power consumption, to get 1 stronger mobo + multiple GPUs.

   Take a look at what you suggested: that mobo can only hold 1 GPU at a time (without risers, but let's not delve into those..). That + 295 costs 750$. Let's assume you buy it twice = 1500$. However, imagine this mobo + quad Gtx 970*. That adds up to 1410$; the savings become pretty evident.

   And there are other benefits too: it only takes the space of 1 PC; you just need to install the softwares once; you can buy a single stick of RAM, instead of having to buy 2; you only need 1 cable for video, power, ethernet and keyboard + mouse; single CPU, so linux/windows processes only need to hog resources once; 1 1000w Gold Fully modular PSU costs less than 2 700w Gold no modular PSU.

   *I had to use dual 980 SLI and manually enter each card as 2x the price of a single 970, due to partpicker limitations.

    

2. Bullshjt on the "970 sucks for folding!" part. Mine reaches 240k ppd, and that's because I have a severe bottleneck. The only instances where it doesn't are when I get core 15 units, but since the reason is the lack of the QRB, the same would happen with any card out there. There have been problems with Core 18, yes, but those have been disabled.

   And about power consumption, I dare to disagree. Linus' tests showed that Maxwell is VERY efficient. "But dude, he tested in games, folding is just way different!". There's only one flaw: it actually doesn't mater. I grabbed my wattimeter that I had, and tested power consumption while doing Folding / Boinc tasks, and I think you can guess what's coming next... it DID show higher results, but it was only around 10W. That's negligible.

 

 

1) Based on my own testing, the lowest PCIe slot type you can use and still run a high-end GPU (GTX 970-80/ R9 290x) at 100% is PCIe 3.0 X8. Anything lower will bottleneck them. All modern intel CPUs other than the X99 based models are limited to a MAX of PCIe 3.0 x16, meaning you can only run 2 GPUs properly with no perfomance loss. In terms of extra power costs as a result of needing additional host systems you will end up paying a negligible $10 a year extra. 2x$120 + $10 per year is WAY cheaper than the $500 extra you would need for a system capable of supporting more than 2 GPUs. That motherboard you chose is going to limit 4 970s to about 75-80% capacity. In a best case scenario where you manage to completely avoid core 15s and 18s, you're looking at 800,000 PPD max. In the real world, closer to 650k PPD. This is all before bringing up the topics of overheating/thermal throttling and noise that comes with 4 way sli/crossfire.

 

2) Yes, your 970 REACHES 240k ppd, as did mine, but its not constant, your peaks are worthless when paired with the lows. A GTX 970's long-term average is closer to 180K ppd, while each of the 290x's in a 295x2 have a long-term average of 240K ppd. Like your tests, my test have also shown that while a 970's folding power consumption is not terrible, it by no means better than the 290x when under the same work load. So if the power consumption is the same but the 970 needs to struggle with Core 15s and 18s, why would you go that route? If you already have 2 970s for gaming then there's nothing wrong with it, but for a dedicated folding rig, a 295x2 is the better choice.

[Imakuni]

1) Based on my own testing, the lowest PCIe slot type you can use and still run a high-end GPU (GTX 970-80/ R9 290x) at 100% is PCIe 3.0 X8. Anything lower will bottleneck them. All modern intel CPUs other than the X99 based models are limited to a MAX of PCIe 3.0 x16, meaning you can only run 2 GPUs properly with no perfomance loss. In terms of extra power costs as a result of needing additional host systems you will end up paying a negligible $10 a year extra. 2x$120 + $10 per year is WAY cheaper than the $500 extra you would need for a system capable of supporting more than 2 GPUs. That motherboard you chose is going to limit 4 970s to about 75-80% capacity. In a best case scenario where you manage to completely avoid core 15s and 18s, you're looking at 800,000 PPD max. In the real world, closer to 650k PPD. This is all before bringing up the topics of overheating/thermal throttling and noise that comes with 4 way sli/crossfire.

 

2) Yes, your 970 REACHES 240k ppd, as did mine, but its not constant, your peaks are worthless when paired with the lows. A GTX 970's long-term average is closer to 180K ppd, while each of the 290x's in a 295x2 have a long-term average of 240K ppd. Like your tests, my test have also shown that while a 970's folding power consumption is not terrible, it by no means better than the 290x when under the same work load. So if the power consumption is the same but the 970 needs to struggle with Core 15s and 18s, why would you go that route? If you already have 2 970s for gaming then there's nothing wrong with it, but for a dedicated folding rig, a 295x2 is the better choice.

1. Wut.... even gaming doesn't need PCIe 3.0 8x.... What kind of testing you did? A special benchmark made to abuse memory speed?
2. Oh, so you tell me that AMD cards get the quick return bonus on the core 15? And that I'll get a Core 18 unit when the server is not even sending then? Yup, sounds legit.
3. Yup, difference in power consumption is minimal. Sure. Once again, I question your numbers.

   

   Remember that 780tis need more power than 970s.

   

   Notice how you can double the consumption of a 970 and still not reach r9 295x2 levels. Not to mention the extra CPU, which can also be used for folding (ppd is not everything).

   

[Me1z]

 

1. Wut.... even gaming doesn't need PCIe 3.0 8x.... What kind of testing you did? A special benchmark made to abuse memory speed?
2. Oh, so you tell me that AMD cards get the quick return bonus on the core 15? And that I'll get a Core 18 unit when the server is not even sending then? Yup, sounds legit.
3. Yup, difference in power consumption is minimal. Sure. Once again, I question your numbers.

   Remember that 780tis need more power than 970s.

   Notice how you can double the consumption of a 970 and still not reach r9 295x2 levels. Not to mention the extra CPU, which can also be used for folding (ppd is not everything).

    

 

1) No, I simply let my GTX 970 fold for multiple days in different systems, periodically adjusting the PCIe slots speed and monitoring the effects. Anything lower than PCIe x8 causes a 970 to throttle down to about 80% capacity, irrelevant of overclock. Folding utilizing Core 17 and 18 constantly requires insane amounts of bandwidth because the GPU essentially works as a co-processor for the actual CPU core assigned to it. This was not the case with core 15 where the GPU ran independently, and its why my original H81 Pro BTC rig was a failure.

 

2) AMD cards DONT GET ASSIGNED CORE 15 OR 18 AT ALL, NUMB-NUTS. Core 15 and 18 are Nvidia ONLY. Unfortunately, the segregation of core 18 units from Maxwell GPUs is poorly implemented because the F@H client often confuses GPUs, incorrectly assigning work units, and from time to time they lift the core 18 ban because they don't have enough core 17 work units and not enough non-Maxwell, Nvidia folders to handle the waves of core 18 units.

 

3) All of those benchmarks are incorrect for the context. They apply to gaming and synthetic benchmarks, folding uses much less power, or at least is does in the case of an R9 295x2. Like I have said earlier, my folding rig's TOTAL SYSTEM power consumption peaks at 465W when under full load. Quite literally, HALF of what those gaming oriented benchmarks are claiming. Why won't you listen to someone with actual experience rather than clinging to irrelevant benchmarks run by a third party? 

 

How's that for power consumption? "700 watts under load" my arse . 

 

"(PPD is not everything)" Oh, please. If you are designing a dedicated folding rig meant to be left on 24/7, no one who pays their own power bill would even consider CPU folding anymore. Its inefficiency is outright laughable. On the same note, if you are building a dedicated folding rig meant to be left on 24/7, PPD IS EVERYTHING. The power bill and cost of hardware is coming out my pocket and I want to make sure I am donating the most work possible for what I am paying. 'Its just charity work, why do you care?' does not apply if you are shelling out just as much as everyone else only for your efforts to be pissed away by an inefficient system. Screw that, I'm trying to help OP here and you're doing everything in your power to waste the poor guy's time and money. smh.

[ssttevee]

I find this argument oddly amusing...

 

That aside, I'm on Imakuni's side.  Without being technical, Maxwell's power efficiency is unparalleled, but the R9 295X2 is a special card containing 2 GPUs and twice as many stream processors as R9 290.  Taking that into consideration, the R9 295X comes kinda close to the GTX 970 per GPU.  Add in the fact AMD cards are better at this kind of stuff with their stupid number or stream processors.  Then again... the R9 295X is 4 times the price of a GTX 970.

 

I haven't tried folding with my AMD cards, but they seem to perform equally on PCI-E  16x and 1x for mining.

[Me1z]

I find this argument oddly amusing...

 

That aside, I'm on Imakuni's side.  Without being technical, Maxwell's power efficiency is unparalleled, but the R9 295X2 is a special card containing 2 GPUs and twice as many stream processors as R9 290.  Taking that into consideration, the R9 295X comes kinda close to the GTX 970 per GPU.  Add in the fact AMD cards are better at this kind of stuff with their stupid number or stream processors.  Then again... the R9 295X is 4 times the price of a GTX 970.

 

I haven't tried folding with my AMD cards, but they seem to perform equally on PCI-E  16x and 1x for mining.

 

What do you mean the R9 295x2 is 4 times the price? A GTX 970 is $350, times 2 brings it up to $700 and you can pick up an R9 295x2 as low as $650-750 depending on the sale. Dual GPU vs dual GPU the price is nearly the same and the R9 295x2 is liquid cooled to boot, which completely eliminates the possibility of thermal throttling.

 

I find the argument quite amusing as well, debates on folding performance are quite rare.

[blackadder]

What do you mean the R9 295x2 is 4 times the price? A GTX 970 is $350, times 2 brings it up to $700 and you can pick up an R9 295x2 as low as $650-750 depending on the sale. Dual GPU vs dual GPU the price is nearly the same and the R9 295x2 is liquid cooled to boot, which completely eliminates the possibility of thermal throttling.

 

I find the argument quite amusing as well, debates on folding performance are quite rare.

they are, i followed the right post,  who would have know.

[Imakuni]

AMD cards DONT GET ASSIGNED CORE 15 OR 18 AT ALL, NUMB-NUTS. Core 15 and 18 are Nvidia ONLY.

 

(..)

 

"(PPD is not everything)" Oh, please. If you are designing a dedicated folding rig meant to be left on 24/7, no one who pays their own power bill would even consider CPU folding anymore. Its inefficiency is outright laughable. On the same note, if you are building a dedicated folding rig meant to be left on 24/7, PPD IS EVERYTHING. The power bill and cost of hardware is coming out my pocket and I want to make sure I am donating the most work possible for what I am paying. 'Its just charity work, why do you care?' does not apply if you are shelling out just as much as everyone else only for your efforts to be pissed away by an inefficient system. Screw that, I'm trying to help OP here and you're doing everything in your power to waste the poor guy's time and money. smh.

Man... I hate when people forget the REASON behind folding. It's not about getting PPD. It's about doing work for a greater cause. Core 15 units still have to be done, whether we like them or not. Likewise, CPU work, if applicable, can only be done by a CPU and that needs to be done as well; else, scientists won´t get their research done.

 

I give up on all I've said. You are not interested. Have you ever hear "omg, X company sucks because they do Y practice just to get money"? It's the same, but change the words "company" and "money" for the words "person" and "PPD".

[Me1z]

Man... I hate when people forget the REASON behind folding. It's not about getting PPD. It's about doing work for a greater cause. Core 15 units still have to be done, whether we like them or not. Likewise, CPU work, if applicable, can only be done by a CPU and that needs to be done as well; else, scientists won´t get their research done.

 

I give up on all I've said. You are not interested. Have you ever hear "omg, X company sucks because they do Y practice just to get money"? It's the same, but change the words "company" and "money" for the words "person" and "PPD".

 

I see your point, its not the nicest thing to be compared to, but I think every unit has their place. Core 15 is EoL and the hoards of temporary folders with Nvidia gpu's, only in it for the forum badge can handle what's left of them. The 4P machines, remnants of the BigAdv project, can handle the necessary CPU folding. I'm just trying to give a newbie the upper edge because he seems like he's in it for the long run. I see folding as a friendly competition all of which is in the name of charity. The points encourage us to fine tune our systems and maximize our output, which only benefits the cause. If this makes me the enemy, then so be it. I have a feeling that if everyone like me were to suddenly quit folding there wouldn't be very many folders left. I'm sorry we couldn't see eye to eye.

[Me1z]

Also, why did you choose the Pentium? @Me1z Was it just for the fact that it was cheap? or did it have some benefit to the folding? I want to use a i5-440 if i can, because i can get one for SUPER cheap from a buddy. Should i get the Pentium for any reason?

 

Sorry, I didn't see your post when I was replying earlier today. The reason I went with the pentium was actually because folding only requires one CPU core per GPU, so a dual core is perfect for folding with a dual GPU card like the R9 295x2. Its relatively low power and the low cost was just a bonus. If you heart is set on the i5-440, there's nothing wrong with it, its just a bit overkill. My pentium hovers between 25 and 60% usage so an i5 would probably spend most of its time idling.

[Tithonius]

Sorry, I didn't see your post when I was replying earlier today. The reason I went with the pentium was actually because folding only requires one CPU core per GPU, so a dual core is perfect for folding with a dual GPU card like the R9 295x2. Its relatively low power and the low cost was just a bonus. If you heart is set on the i5-440, there's nothing wrong with it, its just a bit overkill. My pentium hovers between 25 and 60% usage so an i5 would probably spend most of its time idling.

 

Yeah, i think i wanna go with the i3-4150 So hopefully it will all work out okay Also, do you have any issues with your GPU temps with the 295x2? ive done some research and it seems like it has a really low throttle limit of 75c.. what is the max temp youve ever reached when folding for long periods of time?

[Me1z]

Yeah, i think i wanna go with the i3-4150 So hopefully it will all work out okay Also, do you have any issues with your GPU temps with the 295x2? ive done some research and it seems like it has a really low throttle limit of 75c.. what is the max temp youve ever reached when folding for long periods of time?

 

Mine has been folding for about 2 weeks straight since the last time I shut it down and the core temperatures have leveled out at 64c, so no temperature issues at the moment. I've found that the key is to have one more intake fan than exhaust in the case, otherwise the temperatures do get a bit high. My theory is that the positive air pressure forces more air through the radiator. 

[Tithonius]

So you have your radiator set as exhaust then? Would it be better if you ran it as an intake? Or maybie even in push pull? I have the room to run in push pull... But I think I would need different screws to do that right? I've never done a push pull setup before...

[Tithonius]

I was thinking of ditching the fan that is included with the car and going with 2 corsair static pressure series fans. I wanna hook them both up to a fan header with a splitter cable, so that I can control them by the card temps maybie? Sounds like a good plan to me, idk how well it will actually work. Does something like that sound plausable?