Thanks texas,
good links and I’m sure I’ll be using them a great deal, but it’s got to do more than fold. This will also be my new primary work at home and gaming machine.
Priority one is having these three monitors active on one machine, providing for fast (or at least really good, considering...) full screen 2560x1600 frame rates on the 30” monitor, while still having the two 24” ones active and reasonably well powered themselves, on either side.
It will be used to run Lotus Notes, SameTime, various office suites, instant messengers, Dragon Naturally Speaking, electronic and mechanical design tools, photo and presentation tools, VoIP, video/web conferencing, and dozens of constantly open browser tabs and windows, not to mention games, DVDs and BluRay’s. (Pretty much like I do now, but with three monitors on one machine, instead of two on one machine and one on another...)
When I’m not otherwise keeping it engaged, I’d like it to also fold it’s little heart out...
I’m prepared for plenty of installation and configuration pain, but in the end, it has to deliver on my requirements.
It may be that CrossFire/SLI are not quite ready to do three monitor support the way I want. Would it be a better idea to get a GeForce GTX 280 or 285 for the 30”, and leave the two 24’s on a 9800GT each with no SLI enabled on any? Will a GTX 285 and a pair of 9800GTs play well together with no SLI involved? (I already have the two 9800 GT’s..)
Watch out for the NVidias to ensure that you do not have any doping-heat related issues ( http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/703/1028703/nvidia-g84-g86-bad . Also make sure that the hardware vendor didn't just use a renamed chipset and bump the price up ( http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-radeon,2218.html ).
Still, there are a lot of reviews that will help you pick the right card for your needs.
Sorry for not spotting this thread earlier, especially when I’m about to mow you over, EasySt. :-)
First of all, I’ve never heard of anyone mixing ATI and Nvidia in the same box, and I see from the FoldingForum thread that it’s probably not going to work. The general recommendation is to keep all the cards as identical as possible (same shader count on each card is preferred — the 9800 GT has either 112 or 128 shaders depending on the exact model). I’ve also read that mixing GTX and non-GTX cards in the same box tends not to work. I’ve avoided trouble by keeping my cards identical in each box.
I think you’re right that SLI probably isn’t what you want for a multi-monitor setup. The GTX 285 is a great folder and should drive your 30” with monitor with no problems, but I don’t know if it’ll work with your other cards. The best option might be to buy two GTX 260s (which cost about the same as one GTX 285), use those to drive all your monitors, and put the 9800 GTs in a second machine. I took a quick look at some reviews, and the GTX 260 will do 2560 x 1600. You could power the 30” with one card and the other monitors with the second card. If you really want to keep the 9800 GTs, then ask over at FoldingForum; they’re the experts on what works together and what doesn’t. I’ve heard of people mixing cards and getting it to work, but often it hurts folding performance, and there are no guarantees.
When shopping for cards, Nvidia cards still generate more points than ATI, but the ATI software continues to improve. Definitely look for newer 55nm chipsets, because the heat difference is big. If you go with the GTX 260, get the 216-shader model, which is better for folding. You might want to look at some of the new cards that have twice the RAM, but check the reviews to see if it’s worth it.
Finally, I use XP x64 on my box with quad 9800GX2s for three reasons. First, the memory issues, but any 64-bit OS will solve those. Second, I don’t have any monitors hooked to the machine, and Vista/Windows 7 require monitors (or dummy plugs) to be connected to all cards. Since you have monitors, this won’t affect you. Third, Vista has problems with a lot of GPUs in the same machine, and definitely doesn’t support eight. I don’t know the exact limit in Vista (check FoldingForum), but I know two cards will work, so if you went with dual GTX 260s for example, you could choose Vista instead of XP if you wanted.
I forgot to mention motherboards. The favorite board for multi-card folding is the MSI K9A2 Platinum. It’s an AMD/Crossfire board, but the ATI chipset is reported to be better for folding than Nvidia boards. You can’t do SLI, but the only reason for SLI is if you want to do a lot of gaming on your 30” at full resolution and maximum framerates. Certainly Crossfire with ATI cards is an option. And with fewer cards, lots more motherboard options are available.
If you like Intel and want to spend some extra money, there are Core i7 motherboards that will support both Crossfire and SLI. I have DFI Lanparty JR X58-T3H6 which is micro-ATX, but there are full-size ATX boards that are similar.
I think a 1000W PSU should power whatever you want, as long as it’s a quality brand. Make sure to check the number of 6/8-pin PCIE power connectors; you want four. Really, depending on the # of video cards, you probably don’t need that much power, but it’s also nice to have some overhead so that you’re in the midrange of the PSU’s capacity when folding. I think 750W is plenty for a two-card system.
Cases are a personal preference, but the best cheap case in my opinion is the Antec Three Hundred. It has a nicely spaced vent right over the graphics cards, as well as good overall airflow. Heat isn’t as big a problem with the new cards, though. My quad 9800GX2 box heats my condo (literally), but my GTX 285 is so cool that I didn’t even change the default fan speed. Your 8800GT cards are probably reasonably cool, but monitor the temps anyway. I have dual 8800GS cards that run pretty cool but I set the fans to 100%. I stopped folding on my old 8800GTS (90nm chip) because it ran so much hotter. For long-term folding, heat and electricity use are the biggest concerns.