Cheapest CPU for Dual R9 295x2 GPUs

[Me1z]

yeah I think ill be getting an i5 4440, just want to make sure Whaler thinks its okay, i kinda trust him. but yeah everyone else seems to think an i5 will be fine

 

Core wise, the i5-4440 is fine. I'm a little concerned about the PCIe bandwidth in the long run though. The i5 4440 only has 16 PCIe lanes, so if you use more than one graphics card it forces each slot into X8 mode. Just something to keep in mind.

 

 

Why would you buy the 2nd best card on the market and cheap out on the cpu? I would go for an i7-4790k.

 

 

Its not for gaming dummy, its for folding. An i7 is WAY overkill, and a waste of money.

[Aniallation]

yeah I think ill be getting an i5 4440, just want to make sure Whaler thinks its okay, i kinda trust him. but yeah everyone else seems to think an i5 will be fine

Core wise, the i5-4440 is fine. I'm a little concerned about the PCIe bandwidth in the long run though. The i5 4440 only has 16 PCIe lanes, so if you use more than one graphics card it forces each slot into X8 mode. Just something to keep in mind.

 

Its not for gaming dummy, its for folding. An i7 is WAY overkill, and a waste of money.

If you're only looking to utilize the GPUs and not the CPU, just get a G1820. It has just as many PCIe lanes as the i5-4440, and PCIe 3.0 x8 won't be a bottleneck for folding.

[mrswagbhinav]

i5-4460

[Tithonius]

Core wise, the i5-4440 is fine. I'm a little concerned about the PCIe bandwidth in the long run though. The i5 4440 only has 16 PCIe lanes, so if you use more than one graphics card it forces each slot into X8 mode. Just something to keep in mind.

Its not for gaming dummy, its for folding. An i7 is WAY overkill, and a waste of money.

OK, so do you have a reccomendation for a different CPU? What about the G1820 like he is saying?

If you're only looking to utilize the GPUs and not the CPU, just get a G1820. It has just as many PCIe lanes as the i5-4440, and PCIe 3.0 x8 won't be a bottleneck for folding.

Yeah maybie, I didn't think about pcie lanes.. Good thought.

So yeah, the G1820 could be an idea, anything else I should be worried about?

[Aniallation]

OK, so do you have a reccomendation for a different CPU? What about the G1820 like he is saying?

Yeah maybie, I didn't think about pcie lanes.. Good thought.

So yeah, the G1820 could be an idea, anything else I should be worried about?

The G1820 and i5-4440 work the same, it's just that the i5 is more powerful. If you're not utilizing the CPU past the point where you'll need more then two cores at 2.7GHz, you won't really notice a difference between the Celeron and the i5. The Celeron still has 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, just like the i5, and should be able to run two 295X2 without issue given you're using a compatible motherboard.

[Tithonius]

The G1820 and i5-4440 work the same, it's just that the i5 is more powerful. If you're not utilizing the CPU past the point where you'll need more then two cores at 2.7GHz, you won't really notice a difference between the Celeron and the i5. The Celeron still has 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, just like the i5, and should be able to run two 295X2 without issue given you're using a compatible motherboard.

so to be safe you think I should get the i5..? I though I was gonna have issues with pcie lanes? Are pcue lanes gonna matter if all I do is fold on the cards?

[Aniallation]

so to be safe you think I should get the i5..? I though I was gonna have issues with pcie lanes? Are pcue lanes gonna matter if all I do is fold on the cards?

If you're going to be folding using only the GPUs, there will be no benefit of getting the i5 over the Celeron. 

[Tithonius]

If you're going to be folding using only the GPUs, there will be no benefit of getting the i5 over the Celeron. 

 

No, the Celeron only has 2 cores. I need somthing with at least 4 cores. Ill have a total of 4 GPUs on two cards, so i need somthing with at least 4 cores.

[Aniallation]

No, the Celeron only has 2 cores. I need somthing with at least 4 cores. Ill have a total of 4 GPUs on two cards, so i need somthing with at least 4 cores.

It doesn't work that way lol, the GPU cores operate independently from the CPU cores

[Tithonius]

It doesn't work that way lol, the GPU cores operate independently from the CPU cores

 

I realize that they operate independently, but back when i had the idea for this project, @Whaler_99 told me that a good rule of thumb is to have at least one CPU core for each GPU core. I kind of like that idea, and its not too hard for me to get a low level i5 anyway. the i5 will be more powerful, and will be better if i want to put it in somthing else down the road.

[Tithonius]

unless there is another reason that i will be fine with the celeron, im tottally okay admitting im wrong, just need to know why

[Casperian]

For the record, the E5-1231V3 Xeon is nice. It's an i7 basically, but it's not i7 priced.

[Aniallation]

I realize that they operate independently, but back when i had the idea for this project, @Whaler_99 told me that a good rule of thumb is to have at least one CPU core for each GPU core. I kind of like that idea, and its not too hard for me to get a low level i5 anyway. the i5 will be more powerful, and will be better if i want to put it in somthing else down the road.

There's always the i3 which has dual cores with Hyper-Threading if you're going to put it to use somewhere else down the road, but for just GPU folding it's fine to have a dual core with 4 GPUs. I've seen people run 6 or more GPUs using risers with a mere Core 2 Duo

[Extingquish]

It doesn't work that way lol, the GPU cores operate independently from the CPU cores

From what @Me1z told me, (I think it was him anyway) they work with the CPU on core17 and core18 projects, and the GPUs only work independently on core15s, which I've never got one ever on my 270

[topsu]

Just like the title says, what would be the cheapest CPU that i could buy that will have enough power to be able to run a pair of 295x2 cards? Will I have to go i7? Or will somthing like an i5 work? @Whaler_99 can you help out here?

 

You just want to boot your computer or game with it?

 

So you actually want a cpu which wouldn't bottlebeck dual r9 295x2 cards?

[Tithonius]

From what @Me1z told me, (I think it was him anyway) they work with the CPU on core17 and core18 projects, and the GPUs only work independently on core15s, which I've never got one ever on my 270

 

^ this is the reason that i want to make sure i have enough cores on my CPU. even if your not folding on the CPU it is still gonna be being used, and with 4 GPUs on one CPU it can be hard to decide. I know that i want something with 4 cores, before hyperthreading. i dont want to have to rely on hyperthreading to do work. So i dont want somthing with less then 4 cores. I just wish @Whaler_99 would weigh in on this, that man is a genius.  

[Tithonius]

You just want to boot your computer or game with it?

 

So you actually want a cpu which wouldn't bottlebeck dual r9 295x2 cards?

 

the ONLY thing i will be doing with this rig is folding. IO want a cpu that wil be able to power all 4 GPU cores i will be putting in the machine.

[Tithonius]

There's always the i3 which has dual cores with Hyper-Threading if you're going to put it to use somewhere else down the road, but for just GPU folding it's fine to have a dual core with 4 GPUs. I've seen people run 6 or more GPUs using risers with a mere Core 2 Duo

 

I dont want to have to rely on hyper threading. I want somthing with 4 cores, wether i need it or not.. idk, but i like to be more safe then sorry. for me i think an i5 is a safe bet.

[Aniallation]

^ this is the reason that i want to make sure i have enough cores on my CPU. even if your not folding on the CPU it is still gonna be being used, and with 4 GPUs on one CPU it can be hard to decide. I know that i want something with 4 cores, before hyperthreading. i dont want to have to rely on hyperthreading to do work. So i dont want somthing with less then 4 cores. I just wish @Whaler_99 would weigh in on this, that man is a genius.  

If you really don't want to use HT, AMD has cheaper quad cores, but i5-4440 is really the best option for the money you'll get on Intel's side.

[Tithonius]

If you really don't want to use HT, AMD has cheaper quad cores, but i5-4440 is really the best option for the money you'll get on Intel's side.

 

what AMD chip did you have in mind. i dont mind going amd, i was just told that intel had better reliability for folding, but it would be cool to do an amd build. we do have to keep in mind the PCIe lanes tho, i need a TON of pcie bandwith for these cards

[Aniallation]

what AMD chip did you have in mind. i dont mind going amd, i was just told that intel had better reliability for folding, but it would be cool to do an amd build. we do have to keep in mind the PCIe lanes tho, i need a TON of pcie bandwith for these cards

There's the FX4 and the 860K. I'm not too big into folding, but I'm pretty sure PCIe bandwidth is an issue as long as you have enough PCIe lanes to support the cards in the first place, cause the cards are just receiving data, doing the computing/folding on that data, and then sending it back. It's not like gaming where you have constant heavy loads of data being streamed back and forths to the card. X8 should not bottleneck a 295X2 for folding.

[Tithonius]

There's the FX4 and the 860K. I'm not too big into folding, but I'm pretty sure PCIe bandwidth is an issue as long as you have enough PCIe lanes to support the cards in the first place, cause the cards are just receiving data, doing the computing/folding on that data, and then sending it back. It's not like gaming where you have constant heavy loads of data being streamed back and forths to the card. X8 should not bottleneck a 295X2 for folding.

 

okay, ill take a look into those CPUs as soon as i get the chance, but yeah, they could very well be good options. and yeah im not sure about PCIE lanes, i just know i need enough, no idea what i need for speed. i assume x8 should be enough

[Atomicnerd64]

I would go x99 with a 5820k.....but that's just me. one core per gpu and 2 to spare

[Tithonius]

I would go x99 with a 5820k.....but that's just me. one core per gpu and 2 to spare

 

yeah im kinda trying to go cheap, the 5820k isnt exactly cheap

[Under_Score]

Don't listen to the moron telling you to get the 5960X. Any i5 from 2nd gen and up will be fine. Possibly even older CPUs wouldn't be a problem.