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$500 Folding Rig

RevoltTrain
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I was wondering what PC I could build for $500 USD that would be the best for F@H

 

The rig would be purely for Folding and would be run 24/7 or close to it. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time :D

CPU: R5 5800X3D Motherboard - MSI X570 Gaming Plus RAM - 32GB Corsair DDR4 GPU - XFX 7900 XTX 4GB Case - NZXT H5 Flow (White) Storage - 2X 4TB Samsung 990 Pro PSU - Corsair RM100E Cooling - Corsair H100i Elite Capellix Keyboard Corsair K70 (Brown Switches)  Mouse - Corsair Nightsword RGB

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Maybe that PSU is not up to scratch for 24/7 use!

 


 

CPU: AMD 5150 1.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI AM1I Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Elite 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($17.99 @ Newegg) 


Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($354.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Azza Cosmas ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $500.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-27 07:04 EDT-0400

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buy an r9 290 with another cooler and get 8gb RAM and cheapish AMD CPU and mobo

 

 

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Something like this would be quite good :)

 

 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Team Elite 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($17.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($308.98 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $473.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-27 07:04 EDT-0400
 
I didn't include a case because your opinions on aesthetics might differ from mine, and you might be able to spend more money on the case if you had a spare hard drive laying around :)

Specs: CPU: AMD FX 6300 Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A DS3P RAM: HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz GPU: MSI R9 270 OC edition Case: Sharkoon VS3-S SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB HDD: 1TB Caviar Blue PSU: Corsair CX500W

*If I say something that seems offensive, please don't take it seriously, it was most likely meant as a joke/sarcastically*

 

 

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Something like this would be quite good :)

 

 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Team Elite 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($17.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($308.98 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $473.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-27 07:04 EDT-0400
 
I didn't include a case because your opinions on aesthetics might differ from mine, and you might be able to spend more money on the case if you had a spare hard drive laying around :)

 

I second this.

I am a member of the PCMasterRace. I am terribly sad to announce that I own a PeasantStation 3 Super Slim. it's in a drawer away from my glorious PC.
F@H stats:http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userpage&username=AngelKoura

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Something like this would be quite good :)

 

 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Team Elite 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($17.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($308.98 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $473.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-27 07:04 EDT-0400
 
I didn't include a case because your opinions on aesthetics might differ from mine, and you might be able to spend more money on the case if you had a spare hard drive laying around :)

 

Case aesthetics I don't truly care about, all I want is a system that will help out the cause a lot and bank some points my way. Any reason you chose the 970 over a 290 or 390?

CPU: R5 5800X3D Motherboard - MSI X570 Gaming Plus RAM - 32GB Corsair DDR4 GPU - XFX 7900 XTX 4GB Case - NZXT H5 Flow (White) Storage - 2X 4TB Samsung 990 Pro PSU - Corsair RM100E Cooling - Corsair H100i Elite Capellix Keyboard Corsair K70 (Brown Switches)  Mouse - Corsair Nightsword RGB

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Case aesthetics I don't truly care about, all I want is a system that will help out the cause a lot and bank some points my way. Any reason you chose the 970 over a 290 or 390?

Less power consumption and lower temperatures meaning it is cheaper in the long run with very little performance impact.

 

 

 

 

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Case aesthetics I don't truly care about, all I want is a system that will help out the cause a lot and bank some points my way. Any reason you chose the 970 over a 290 or 390?

Lower power consumption, less heat output and it gives more points than a 290 generally

Specs: CPU: AMD FX 6300 Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A DS3P RAM: HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz GPU: MSI R9 270 OC edition Case: Sharkoon VS3-S SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB HDD: 1TB Caviar Blue PSU: Corsair CX500W

*If I say something that seems offensive, please don't take it seriously, it was most likely meant as a joke/sarcastically*

 

 

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you might need a fast cpu as it only uses 1 core per gpu so if you have a really slow clocked cpu you will get less ppd. a g3258 is best for 1 gpu. 

Rig Specs:

AMD Threadripper 5990WX@4.8Ghz

Asus Zenith III Extreme

Asrock OC Formula 7970XTX Quadfire

G.Skill Ripheartout X OC 7000Mhz C28 DDR5 4X16GB  

Super Flower Power Leadex 2000W Psu's X2

Harrynowl's 775/771 OC and mod guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/232325-lga775-core2duo-core2quad-overclocking-guide/ http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/365998-mod-lga771-to-lga775-cpu-modification-tutorial/

ProKoN haswell/DC OC guide: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/41234-intel-haswell-4670k-4770k-overclocking-guide/

 

"desperate for just a bit more money to watercool, the titan x would be thankful" Carter -2016

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I was wondering what PC I could build for $500 USD that would be the best for F@H

 

The rig would be purely for Folding and would be run 24/7 or close to it. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time :D

Honestly, I'd just sell those 7770 on your sig and buy 2x Gtx 970. It's going to get you better PPD than having to buy an entire PC, as you'd be wasting money on RAM, PSU, Mobo, HD and Case (things that don't help folding in any way). And as a bonus, it'll also boost your gaming experience by a lot.

 

You can buy one of the 970s now, sell your 7770s, and then buy the second, to help spread out the expenses.

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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buy an r9 290 with another cooler and get 8gb RAM and cheapish AMD CPU and mobo

You don't even need 8gb of ram. folding + MSI Afterburner + Speedfan + background processes uses 3.5GB for me. Put that $30 into more efficient components. Your CPU is also so bad at folding compared to a GPU that you might as well put in just enough to get your GPU to fold. I'd suggest something like this (and turn off your CPU worker): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CtRYxr

This is assuming you're using the machine to fold and nothing else. 

i7-4790K | Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)

Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 | Corsair 350D | 256GB Crucial MX100 / 1TB WD Blue | Corsair RM 650 | NH-U12S
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9XN2dC | http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userpage&username=Deil_Grist

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You don't even need 8gb of ram. folding + MSI Afterburner + Speedfan + background processes uses 3.5GB for me. Put that $30 into more efficient components. Your CPU is also so bad at folding compared to a GPU that you might as well put in just enough to get your GPU to fold. I'd suggest something like this (and turn off your CPU worker): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CtRYxr

This is assuming you're using the machine to fold and nothing else. 

I dont fold but its nice PC you made for folding.

 

 

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I dont fold but its nice PC you made for folding.

Oh, that's not my build; it was just a suggested part list. I have a 4790k and 970 gaming rig that I fold with on occasion. I just use the GPU when folding.

i7-4790K | Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)

Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 | Corsair 350D | 256GB Crucial MX100 / 1TB WD Blue | Corsair RM 650 | NH-U12S
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9XN2dC | http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userpage&username=Deil_Grist

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Oh, that's not my build; it was just a suggested part list. I have a 4790k and 970 gaming rig that I fold with on occasion. I just use the GPU when folding.

So, uh, how about you claim your LTT medal then? Would make your account look much better imo.

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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So, uh, how about you claim your LTT medal then? Would make your account look much better imo.

Oh, how do you do that?

i7-4790K | Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)

Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 | Corsair 350D | 256GB Crucial MX100 / 1TB WD Blue | Corsair RM 650 | NH-U12S
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9XN2dC | http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userpage&username=Deil_Grist

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Oh, how do you do that?

V

 

 

In order to be rewarded with the Folding @ Home badge, please note the following requirements. (subject to change)

·         Contributor - When you have contributed more than 21 Work Units (WU), you will qualify for this badge, to show your commitment to LTT and the team. post-765-0-42400500-1432214132.png

·         Bronze Contributor - When you have contributed more than 1 Million points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your serious and continued support of the team. post-765-0-88699400-1432214130.jpg

·         Silver Contributor - When you have contributed more than 25 Million points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your serious and continued support of the team and your very generous donation of resources. post-765-0-93957800-1432214131.jpg

·         Gold Contributor - When you have contributed more than 100 Million points, you will qualify for this badge.. This reflects your dedication and continued support of the team and your very generous donation of resources. You are now a legend! post-765-0-44578900-1432214131.jpg

 

 

That's it. Once you hit one of the milestones, PM your Folding ID to one of the moderators who will update it in due time.

By moderators, it means "Whaler_99".

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3250 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($47.70 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($21.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($19.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290X 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($284.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.70 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $498.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-30 17:10 EDT-0400

The site has changed....

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I'm going to depart from everyone else here and say to go used on everything. Buy a cheap AM2+ processor or older Intel CPU and mainboard.. Get about 2GB or 4GB or RAM and a good power supply. It's on this where the latest Scrapyard Wars series can be of a benefit to you. Then spend the remainder of what you've got on GPUs and put Linux on it. To hook up the GPUs, go with USB 3.0 PCI-Express extenders. You can get 2 GTX 680s for under 300 USD on eBay right now, probably less still. And GTX 780s are probably going for a good price right now as well, same with Radeon cards.

Right now I have 2 GTX 680s and 2 GTX 660s hooked up to an AMD Athlon X2 4200+ using USB 3.0 PCI-Express extenders, and Folding@Home is saying it can pull between 260k and 270k PPD.

Wife's build: Amethyst - Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X570-P, EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 12GB, Corsair Obsidian 750D, Corsair RM1000 (yellow label)

My build: Mira - Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB EVGA DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X470-PRO, EVGA RTX 3070 XC3, beQuiet Dark Base 900, EVGA 1000 G6

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I'm going to depart from everyone else here and say to go used on everything. Buy a cheap AM2+ processor or older Intel CPU and mainboard.. Get about 2GB or 4GB or RAM and a good power supply. It's on this where the latest Scrapyard Wars series can be of a benefit to you. Then spend the remainder of what you've got on GPUs and put Linux on it. To hook up the GPUs, go with USB 3.0 PCI-Express extenders. You can get 2 GTX 680s for under 300 USD on eBay right now, probably less still. And GTX 780s are probably going for a good price right now as well, same with Radeon cards.

Right now I have 2 GTX 680s and 2 GTX 660s hooked up to an AMD Athlon X2 4200+ using USB 3.0 PCI-Express extenders, and Folding@Home is saying it can pull between 260k and 270k PPD.

Just remember that Linux SUCKS for folding purposes. And good luck with GPU drivers, they are a pain...

 

Also, sorry, but your machine sucks. For ~300 USD (+ the money of the 2 660s), you can get a Gtx 970. Not only it'll get around the same PPD, it'll also pull WAY less energy, allow for expansion (with more 970s in the future), have better support, etc.

 

I'm not saying a 970 is your best bet, but your suggestion surely is much worse.

Want to help researchers improve the lives on millions of people with just your computer? Then join World Community Grid distributed computing, and start helping the world to solve it's most difficult problems!

 

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Just remember that Linux SUCKS for folding purposes. And good luck with GPU drivers, they are a pain...

 

Also, sorry, but your machine sucks. For ~300 USD (+ the money of the 2 660s), you can get a Gtx 970. Not only it'll get around the same PPD, it'll also pull WAY less energy, allow for expansion (with more 970s in the future), have better support, etc.

 

I'm not saying a 970 is your best bet, but your suggestion surely is much worse.

I'm not having any problems with Linux. And many are running Folding@Home on Linux without concerns. And in comparing PPD numbers for Linux vs Windows, neither seems to win out. Plus Linux being free means more money for hardware. Getting the GeForce drivers installed for the GTX cards was straightforward as well. Not had any problems.

At the same time, I provided my specifications only to show potential. I already know it's not the greatest out there. The GPUs are likely being held back by the processor, comparing the PPD numbers I'm getting with some published numbers I've seen online. But what I'm using is what I had laying around.

My suggestion is to buy used, not copy my setup. 500 USD when buying new won't go nearly as far.

Wife's build: Amethyst - Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X570-P, EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 12GB, Corsair Obsidian 750D, Corsair RM1000 (yellow label)

My build: Mira - Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB EVGA DDR4-3200, ASUS Prime X470-PRO, EVGA RTX 3070 XC3, beQuiet Dark Base 900, EVGA 1000 G6

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Best bang for your buck in GPU folding is look into snagging a GTX970-980Ti, since you're looking at a $500 Budget go w/ a 970 and run F@H in Linux and with a good OC on the GPU you'll net close to 350-400k PPD (290/290x's can't touch that from what I've seen)  Also with an implement of Kraken in Linux you'll see good numbers (total I hit 375-425kPPD - when I run my 970 and 5930k (10 threads running)

Project Gray Scale
Intel Core i7 6900k @ 4.2Ghz - Dominator 32GB DDR4 2400 CL10 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 1TB NVMe - 2 Samsung 840 EVO 1TB (Gaming and Sratch) - 2 Barracuda 2TB 
Asus x99 Deluxe - MSI Aero OC GTX 1080Ti - Seasonic 760 XP² - Mod1PC Custom Cables - EKWB CPU & GPU Blocks Nickle/Plexi - EKWB D5 PWM 
EKWB PE360 - Corsair ML120 (6)  - InWin 303- NK65 Entry Watermelon w/ Gat Laseron 70g (205g0 & Filmed) - Logitech G Pro x Superlight
Kanto YU2 - Sennheiser PC360 SE - Acer XF270HU

BUT DOES IT FOLD?! https://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/user_summary.php?s=&u=963814

 

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Just remember that Linux SUCKS for folding purposes. And good luck with GPU drivers, they are a pain...

 

Also, sorry, but your machine sucks. For ~300 USD (+ the money of the 2 660s), you can get a Gtx 970. Not only it'll get around the same PPD, it'll also pull WAY less energy, allow for expansion (with more 970s in the future), have better support, etc.

 

I'm not saying a 970 is your best bet, but your suggestion surely is much worse.

Actually, most of the best folding rigs are running on Linux (Ubuntu). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vcVoSVtamcoGj5sFfvKF_XlvuviWWveJIg_iZ8U2bf0/pub?output=html#

i7-4790K | Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)

Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 | Corsair 350D | 256GB Crucial MX100 / 1TB WD Blue | Corsair RM 650 | NH-U12S
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9XN2dC | http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userpage&username=Deil_Grist

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Case aesthetics I don't truly care about, all I want is a system that will help out the cause a lot and bank some points my way. Any reason you chose the 970 over a 290 or 390?

If you are keeping it on for long periods of time you would certainly want lower power consumption and lower temperatures. An nvidia card would come before AMD for folding.

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