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I shut down my F@H computers last week. The Obama economy has me worried, so I’m trying to build up my savings and cut back on expenses like electricity. I’ll have a better idea of my job situation next year, and I might be back on a smaller scale before then.

Here’s the link to the machine that generates most of my points:
http://www.sazan.net/dpark/gauri.shtml

I don’t have any pictures of my other box online yet, but I do have various computer pictures here:
http://s722.photobucket.com/albums/ww222/sazaneyes/

Those machines are running GPUGRID and various other distributed computing projects.

I have about 8 PCs, but I only have two computers running F@H right now. One has four 9800GX2 video cards, and one has two 8800GS cards. I don’t do any CPU folding. I used to also fold on my PS3, but the power usage wasn’t worth it.

I’m happy that the cold weather is finally here—I don’t need to turn on the heat in the winter because the PCs heat my condo.

I believe the 9600GSO is the same card as the 8800GSO, and should have the same PPD. Nvidia just renamed it so they could keep selling it along with their other 9xxx cards. I have two 8800GS cards, somewhat overclocked, and they get about 3500 PPD each. They’re really nice cards. I use the EVGA Precision software to overclock the cards and set the fan speed to 100%, but they’ll also run relatively cool at default clock and fan speeds.

I don’t do any CPU folding, but I’m guessing the SMP client running on your quad proc should be good for another 2-3K PPD. That will be a nice bump.

Congrats on the milestones. Our team also reached 100 million points this past week.

Yeah, that’s the problem with folding on ATI cards, they typically need one core of the CPU while folding. If the ATI card generates less points than the CPU core does, then you’re better off only running SMP (or upgrading to a faster video card :-).

I've only run SMP on XP. I tried and failed to set up Linux VMs to run SMP2 on Vista x64, but I never tried the normal SMP client. Hopefully the SMP2 client will be out soon for Windows. Linux already has SMP2, which is why people run VMs - SMP2 takes better advantage of the hardware, which means more points.

I'm participating in lots of other DC projects so I tend to only run GPU F@H clents and use the CPU for other stuff. The i7 is a great proc, but the stock heatsink is junk, worthless for overclocking.

That Dell system looks nice, but I read that the Dell BIOS doesn't allow overclocking. If you want to overclock and plan to upgrade the PSU, etc., you might want to look into building your own. It should be possible to build a nice i7 system for less than $1000 these days. I like to build my own so I get exactly what I want. I'm happy with my Dell XPS laptop, though.

EasySt, that’s a really nice system you’ve put together. I’ve found the i7 920 can easily hit 3.5-3.6GHz on stock voltage (with a few tweaks), but you have to watch your core temps.

Check out the SMP install guide here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1339662

It describes how to install SMP as a service on Vista. I’ve only done the console install, so I don’t know how hard the extra service steps are.

I agree that a relatively slow ATI card is more trouble than it’s worth, because it will steal CPU cycles better used for SMP folding. If you want a cheap video card for folding, look for the Nvidia 8800GS or 9600GSO (same card, different names). They should be available for about $50 and will do 3K to 4K PPD.

I just saw this post about how to lower CPU usage with ATI cards. You might want to experiment with it. More information is here. The ATI cards usually use a lot of CPU when folding, so you have to make sure if you're running F@H on the CPU as well, that the CPU is not robbing the GPU of cycles (or vice versa).

The recent GPU work units have gotten a lot bigger, and not only do they give less PPD than the older units, the PPD is more inconsistent because the units take longer to complete. For example, checking FahMon, the 511-point WUs (known to give low PPD) on my 8800GS cards only give about 2800 PPD, when I used to get over 4000 PPD. On the other hand, the new 1888-point WUs are good for around 9000 PPD on my 9800GX2, but each WU takes about 10 hours to complete. I believe the ATI cards run different WUs than the NVIDIA cards, so you can't really compare them, but they don't generate the same PPD as the NVIDIA cards. ATI keeps making improvements, so make sure you have the latest drivers.

The Core i7 chips are monsters. I've heard if you want to maximize PPD, you should set up several Linux virtual machines to run F@H, since the Linux SMP code is more optimized than the Windows code. I tried to get it working last week but kept running into problems with virtualization. You need to have a 64-bit OS. The instructions are here.

My electric bill has gone up about $60-100 per month since I started folding. It’s hard to get exact numbers because I also added a couple computers. I always left my PCs on 24/7 anyway, so this is just the extra cost of running them at 100% load. My bill will go up this summer (rate increases from 7.77 to 8.92 cents/kWh), whereas my computers helped heat my condo in the winter (seriously).

My primary folding box, with four 9800GX2 graphics cards and a quad-core AMD proc, pulls about 1000W from the wall at 100% load. This accounts for most of my extra electrical cost - using the formula above, about $56 to $64/month depending on the electric rate. The average computer doesn’t use anywhere near that much power.

From an environmental/conservation standpoint, I think it’s more valuable to have my computers doing something useful rather than sitting idle (wasting electricity) while waiting for me to access them. Distributed computing is also a good way to raise the profile of various research projects among computer users. Plus, man-caused global warming and “peak oil” are hoaxes, so I’ll use as much electricity as I want. ;-)

BTW, I’m currently participating in an annual folding contest with another team, but I’ll be back on team 36120 in a few days.

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.

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.

Thanks for joining on Facebook. Extra exposure of the team will help.

I currently have three boxes folding, all using only NVIDIA GPUs to fold. The CPUs are usually working on other distributed computing projects. One box has four 9800GX2 cards (built specifically for F@H), one has two 8800GS cards, and one has a GTX 285 card. Most of the big points generated by single users are all from GPUs, although the SMP client also generates nice points if you have a dual-core or quad-core processor. I built the dedicated system because I'm impatient, and because it was a good excuse to buy another computer.

BTW, the latest F@H thread is here.

I just reached 2 million points today. The team has been doing a good job of maintaining our overall rank, but we’re going to need some extra help in the next few months.

I have nothing but respect for long-time folders that got their points the hard way. From what I’ve read, the reason GPUs are capable of such a high Points-Per-Day is not only that modern GPUs are quite powerful, but also because the GPU work units are different. The GPU work is considered more valuable by Stanford, so they bumped up the points to encourage people to do GPU folding. The same is true of the Playstation 3 work, but I believe they actually lowered the points for that work (they arbitrarily chose 1000 PPD) because otherwise the casual PS3 folders would crush everyone else. Even now I think most of the FLOPS come from PS3 users.

By the way, if anyone has a Facebook account, there’s an application that lets you track your points on your profile. I just joined and I’m the only team member right now:
http://apps.facebook.com/proteam/showteam.php?team_id=36120

Right now I only have two PCs (with 10 GPUs) folding for the team. I stopped using one PC and the PS3 to try to save a little money on electricity, but my points per day have actually gone up thanks to the new work units.

I’d be glad to help others start GPU folding and offer some tips. For example, if you want to run F@H on your graphics card 24/7, then you probably want to adjust your card’s fan speed to make sure it stays cool. The most popular program to do this is RivaTuner:
http://majorgeeks.com/download737.html

BTW, I finally reached #20 on the team today in total points. I might be able to make #10 by the end of the month.

If you don’t want to install Belarc and are using Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), try this:

1. Open the Start menu and right-click on the My Computer (or just Computer) item in the right column of the menu. (If you have a My Computer on your desktop, you can also right-click on that.)

2. In the pop-up menu, click on Manage.

3. When the Computer Management program opens, click on Device Manager.

4. You should see a tree view of all the parts in your computer. Look for the Display Adapters entry and expand it.

5. Let us know what it says your display adapter is called. For example, my desktop has “NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS” listed.

If it says NVIDIA 8xxx or 9xxx or GTX 2xx, or ATI 2xxx or 3xxx or 4xxx, then you can probably use your GPU to fold.

If you want to just try installing the software to see if it works, it’s available here:
http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadWinOther

The GPU2 program has a standard Windows installer. You just download the install program, run it, click OK a few times, and everything is set up for you (just like the CPU version). If you want a detailed walkthrough to the install/setup process, look here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1339662

That page also explains how to run Folding@home on multiple graphics cards if you happen have more than one in your computer.

Right now I have two NVidia 8800 GS cards (overclocked) folding for FR. For the other team I’m using four 9800 GX2s, one 8800 GTS, and a PlayStation 3. It’s actually a pretty small setup. Most of the points come from the quad 9800 GX2 box, which was built specifically for F@H.

If anyone has a relatively modern graphics card (NVidia 8000 series or better, or recent ATI card), definitely install the GPU F@H client for it. It can do a ton of work.