GPU2 client for nVidia cards

[Samuknow]

Either one should do fine. I think the 9600 will do better.

I think you are safe for a couple of years. Unless I throw another GPU in the mix. LOL

[ThunderRd]

Originally Posted by SteveI

Bang for the buck, what's the best nvidia card (sub $100)?

Hey Steve, good to hear from you.

I'm with Sam on that; the 9600GT is surprisingly good, very overclockable and easy on the pocket. They are significantly cooler than the 8800s, too. 2 of them for about $175 now...[I paid more for mine when they were a new item].

I have 2 of them running with my Q6600; I modded the BIOS witn NiBiTor and they run at overclocked speeds mostly in the shaders. More than 4500 ppd each + the SMP client yields something like 11500 ppd for one machine, sometimes a bit more or a bit less depending on the project.

Are you on a Quad yet? Post back when you get going and I'll help you tune it up.

[SteveI]

Hmm. I just missed out on sale for 9600GSO.

It has 384megs of RAM to 512 for the GT
and 96 stream processors to 64 for the GT.
Speeds seem comparable.

Would this be similiar in performance if the deal comes back?

[ccperf721p]

I thought I saw a post about running the GPU client under linux using wine but now I can't seem to find it. If someone could point me to it I'd be grateful. I have to see if I can set it up to run on multiple cards under linux. If so I will hit it with a 3 card setup.

[gedon]

You mean this thread from foldingforum.org?
Folding Forum • View topic - GPU2 in Linux via WINE

[ThunderRd]

@ccperf: That is the one. I posted it here for dsio who was thinking of giving it a shot. I haven't had the time to try it out on my Linux boxen as yet, but I may soon. It will be nice when the planned GPU2 client for Linux comes.

@SteveI: I'm not sure how much the extra memory means to the folding client, but this rather long thread may give you some info:

http://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=4709

The most important thing for folding is high shader clock on the card, or the potential of overclocking to a high setting there. Mine are at stock on the core and memory clocks [they seem to generate more heat than the shader clock]; but are pushed about 18% shaders[about 1950]. Stock is 1650 on my GTs. The 18% overclock is a difference of roughly 20-25 seconds on each frame.

[ThunderRd]

@SteveI:
If you're out there...did you make any decision on that card?

[SteveI]

Originally Posted by ThunderRd

@SteveI:
If you're out there...did you make any decision on that card?

Yup, found another sale for 9600GSO... better card too. I started another thread. Just one card for now... I just have to wait until it comes. but wil look more closely at information out there.

[ThunderRd]

The long awaited Big Bang II drivers have arrived here:

GeForce Release 180

Who's gonna be first?

[SteveI]

Release highlights:

* Beta driver for GeForce 200-series, 9-series, and 8800-series desktop GPUs (refer to the products supported tab for more detail).


* Recommended for the best experience on Far Cry 2:

“Since we first began working on Far Cry 2 in early 2005, we have used GeForce GPU’s to develop the game and worked closely with NVIDIA’s excellent engineers. While Far Cry 2 represents an outstanding PC gaming experience for a wide range of systems, GeForce users can expect to enjoy the game quite literally ‘The Way It Was Meant To Be Played’.” - Louis-Pierre Pharand, Ubisoft, Far Cry 2 Producer


* Enables NVIDIA SLI technology on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards with the following GPUs: GeForce GTX 280, GeForce GTX 260, GeForce 9800 GX2, GeForce 9800 GTX+, and GeForce 9800 GTX."

I'm so caught up in folding, I was hoping the notes would mention folding. Anyone know if farcry2 is shader intensive?

[ThunderRd]

I'm waiting til I see others on the community forum attest to its worth [180.xx]. There is a 24 page thread developing over there regarding the many woes of users with this new core v1.15. Some folders are reporting as much as a 50-100% failure rate on known good equipment after the core update. There is a 1.17 core currently in QA that addresses some of the problems, but it may be some time before it's ready. 1.16 had so many problems in alpha that it never got released. These larger proteins are becoming difficult for the PG codeslingers.

Get ready for your ppd to go down when the big proteins get in full swing, just as they did last time. The bigger ones were 430 points and crunched about 10-20% slower than the ones you have now, but these will be the ones PG wants the most. They are really pushing to get this core situation worked out for that reason.

Guys: check your logs regularly to see if you are getting EUEs and/or Unstable_Machine errors. These WUs move so fast you may not notice. It is common to see them in bunches; several WUs crapping out quickly, maybe under 10%, downloading a new unit, and continuing in a loop. You have to look for the errors and be vigilant. If you get an unusual number of these errors it's usually your overclock or a heat problem; but now it appears that there *may* be some incompatibilities of certain drivers and certain cards + the new core version. Keep your eyes peeled for problems.

So far my cards are running OK with the new core, that's why I'm hesitant to change drivers just yet. If the last two or three Forceware drivers are an indication, problems are likely.

The thread is here:
Folding Forum; New Nvidia core v1.15

[SteveI]

Thanks for the heads up.
My 9600 is using 1.15, and the only crash was from me pushing the shader too high. (it looped 5 times before I caught it, so you ain't kiddin'.)

[Samuknow]

I think we will have to mod them again so they will work with older cards.

[ThunderRd]

FWIW;
You can download new EVGA precision version 1.3.3 with driver-level fan support for 180.xx drivers here:

EVGA | EVGA Precision

This is a Rivatuner-based product by the same developer. If you want [many, many] more options, functions, etc then wait for the upcoming Rivatuner release scheduled soon.

[dabaerman]

Originally Posted by SteveI

Thanks for the heads up.
My 9600 is using 1.15, and the only crash was from me pushing the shader too high. (it looped 5 times before I caught it, so you ain't kiddin'.)

me too. pushed the shaders back to stock and getting 'unstable_machine' error. if 1.15 has issues, is 1.17 a forced update?
whats a guy to do? BTW, the 9800GT is up and running 1.15. content to let it run and keep an eye on it for a while.
as for drivers? let the 180.xx get thrashed? stay with 178.24? I ask only because Cuda installed 178.08 and I will look into the driver question.

Ron

[ThunderRd]

Originally Posted by dabaerman

me too. pushed the shaders back to stock and getting 'unstable_machine' error. if 1.15 has issues, is 1.17 a forced update?
whats a guy to do? BTW, the 9800GT is up and running 1.15. content to let it run and keep an eye on it for a while.
as for drivers? let the 180.xx get thrashed? stay with 178.84? I ask only because Cuda installed 178.08 and I will look
into the driver question.

Ron

There is a 30-page thread at the forums about the issues with the 1.15 core. PG knows there is a problem, Vijay has posted about it in the thread. The core rebuilds aren't ready yet. PG/nVidia are both working on the likely causes of the problem and they have told us to be patient. They don't want to release a lemon, it has to be something significantly improved. The problem is most likely NOT your setup or your overclock settings [no guarantee but it's probably the core problem.] I would stay with your current driver for now, until the smoke clears. Playing with settings and drivers will only exacerbate the problem. See what driver is recommended when the new core is out.

If you are having Unstable_Machine-EUE-or other errors, especially in batches, causing the 24-hour shutdown to happen, there is little you can do but wait for the new core.

Feel blessed-many are reporting a nearly 100% failure rate with their rigs and particular cards at stock.

I have a fail rate of about 5%. That is doing very well in light of what others are doing.

I'll let you all know as soon as the new core is ready, and what to do to get it. I don't think it will be 1.17, but rather 1.18+ [they don't like 1.17 enough to release it.] Just hang in there, help is on the way.

[dabaerman]

read most of the posts on the 1.15. enough to make my head spin. lots problems indeed. just knowing that help is out there makes being patient worth while. watching both cards closer.

Ron

edit: the 9600 is @ 1m40s per %. the 9800 is 1m15s per %. so far so good

[ThunderRd]

Originally Posted by dabaerman

read most of the posts on the 1.15. enough to make my head spin. lots problems indeed. just knowing that help is out there makes being patient worth while. watching both cards closer.

Ron

The thread got so long the mods made a part I and part II...heh.

Today I see new info...the new 5801 WU looks like it is troublesome and there are already reports of multiple failures by users. I'm not at home so I can't check to see if I have one of these as yet, but again, don't go crazy if your client[s] start crapping out soon. Leave your rig as is, and wait for the core to be released.

EDIT: OK, there's a new core 1.18 released for testing only. It's not ready for prime-time, but if you are having serious problems with 1.15 it has been made available to try. Again, this is not a forced upgrade, it won't happen unless you choose to do it yourself by deleting or renaming your fahcore_11 file. Here is the related thread:

http://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=6552

Personally, I don't consider my problems serious, so I am going to wait for a proper release.

EDIT 2:
I have checked my home boxen to find that both of them have had 100% failure rate with 5801, on 16 attempts. Due to all the problems with 5801, [apparently no one can complete them with core 1.15+], Vijay has posted that they have been taken off the shelf and are no longer being assigned.

[dabaerman]

so far so good. EUE's on 5014. never got past 82% everything else on the 9800GT is 00:01:15 per % and showing 5500 ppd. with the 1.15 core.
the 9600GT is a bit slower @ 00:01:40 per %, 4100 ppd. and it has completed 4 of the 5014's in the last 12 hours.

if everything evens out as you say, I'll have to get a couple of ATI cards to spread the load.

Ron

[ThunderRd]

A new core version 1.19 is now available for download:

http://www.stanford.edu/~friedrim/FahCore_11.exe

This one should help you if you are having problems with WUs erroring out with EUEs or Unstable_Machine.

Some of the optimizations have been modified/removed to make it run easier, and as a result, the production will be slightly slower than 1.15. The flip side is, temps will also be a bit lower, and there will be a bit less CPU usage, so there will be some unused cycles to boost your SMP client if you run one.

If you want to try it, download the above file and rename/delete the file of the same name in your GPU directory [or overwrite it with this file.] Restart the client and you're good to go.