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Top Folding Components Thread


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#1 maestro949

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Posted 10 January 2009 - 03:49 PM


I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread dedicated to links to a few of the better components for building video card based folding rigs. If you're thinking of building a new computer and want it to double as a folding rig, here is some hardware to consider:

Motherboards

MSI K9A2 Platinum - It Holds up to 4 PCI-E 16.0 GPUs and is often used in many folding farms.

Newegg - MSI K9A2 Platinum Retail $144.99

Newegg - MSI K9A2 Platinum Open Box $94.99

Video Cards / GPUs

GPUs are the way to go for maximum contribution to Stanford's folding@Home. The nVidia 9xxx series cards are popular and currently provide the best output for the money. The GTX 2xx cards are more powerful versions but much more expensive to purchase and power:

8800/9800 GT nVidia GeForce - Best Points Per Day / Watt other than the $500 GTX295. The 9800 will crank out 3000-5500 PPD depending on work units and overclocking. It's very easy to power with most mid-range PSUs, easy to overclock and not that difficult to keep cool.

Tiger Direct - Galaxy GeForce 9800 - $84.99 after Rebate, Limit 2 for Rebate (Ends April 1, 2009)

9600 GSO nVidia GeForce- A good and affordable folder. Very easy to keep cool and much easier and cheaper to power.

Frys.com - EVGA 9600 GSO 512 - 49.99 after $40 Rebate


RAM

For a folding rig, you do not need a lot of memory as folding is only CPU/GPU intensive. The below will work in the above motherboard:

1GB DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Memory $15.49

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 - $23.99 after rebate

CPU

Unless you intend to fold on the CPU as well as the GPU, you do not need to spend much on a GPU. Depending on how many video cards you are looking to fold. The CPUs below are compatible with the MSI K9A2 Platinum above and low wattage thus will save on your electric bill.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200 Brisbane 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor 59.99


Power Supply (PSU)

If you're going to splurge, I recommend doing it here. After cooling, powering the video cards can be the biggest challenge and the newest video card beasts suck juice from outlets like there is no tomorrow. A high quality PSU will protect your investment and save on your electric bill as the higher quality models tend to be more efficient. If you're building rigs for the long haul you'll also want to continuously reuse components for later rig upgrades so buying the best PSU you can afford will take some of the sting out of the cost of rapidly depreciating hardware.

New models are constantly coming onto the market so if you're new to building machines, do your homework here and ensure you have enough amperage to feed the cards in your system and that you have enough PCI-E cables for the cards you are powering. Instead of specific PSUs, here are price ranges that I look to spend for a few card selections:

4 x 9600 GSO Rig ($100-200 PSU Cost)

http://www.newegg.co...amp;srchInDesc=

4 x 9800 GT Rig ($200-300 PSU Cost)

http://www.newegg.co...amp;srchInDesc=

4 x GTX 295 Rig ($300-400 PSU Cost)

http://www.newegg.co...amp;srchInDesc=


Cases

Airflow is key for folding rigs and a good case will go a long way here.

Antec 900 $99 - Very nice airflow for a 9600/9800 folding rig. Make sure you purchase an additional 120mm case fan. Snap this into the side panel and it'll cool your cards down by a few degrees so they last longer.

Thermaltake ArmorPlus(Armor+) VH6000BWS $179 after $30 rebate - Expensive but rock solid. One of the few cases that will hold a double-wide GPU in the 4th slot comfortably. Has a giant fan on the side that will help keep your cards cool.

Edited by maestro949, 28 February 2009 - 08:46 AM.


#2 sentinel

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Posted 12 January 2009 - 09:26 AM

I think it's a good idea Maestro as our forum lacks the technical detail or level of instruction that other groups have. It's useful for the advanced users who can help eachother keep abreast of new developments eg new graphics cards, CPUs and how they relate to the evolving trechnology of FaH itself ie New versions of the CPU and GPU clients which approach the protein folding in different ways, or encompass larger or more complex folding scenarios such as the new 57xx Work Units.

But it's particularly useful to the many newer users who just don't know how to get going or step up their level of contribution or just want to get the best bang for their buck.

#3 kismet

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Posted 12 January 2009 - 03:59 PM

Any interest, yay, nay?

Yay, so I can educate myself and have an easier way of helping members with their folding choices. I don't know how much I can contribute, though, my knowledge about good performance/$ systems is quite limited. I know the really fast stuff, though.  ;)

#4 maestro949

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Posted 25 February 2009 - 11:55 PM

Added recent purchases and some deals I found while shopping around a bit...

#5 maestro949

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Posted 28 February 2009 - 08:38 AM

Good deal on the GeForce 9600 - $49.99 after rebate. The 9600 produces about 3000 PPD. Easy to cool, easy to overclock, easy to power.

PNY 9600GSO 768MB PCI-Express Video Card

Edited by maestro949, 28 February 2009 - 08:43 AM.


#6 dnamechanic

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Posted 15 May 2009 - 02:03 AM

GPUs are the way to go for maximum contribution to Stanford's folding@Home...

8800/9800 GT nVidia GeForce - Best Points Per Day / Watt other than the $500 GTX295. The 9800 will crank out 3000-5500 PPD depending on work units and overclocking. It's very easy to power with most mid-range PSUs, easy to overclock and not that difficult to keep cool.

Some info about folding and the 8800GT 256MB versions.

First, the 8800GT is essentially the same graphics card as the 9800GT.

The 8800GT is the only one that was made available with 256MB GDDR3 RAM, the 9800GTs have 512MB GDDR3 or more.

GDDR3 RAM consumes power, considerably more power/MB than regular computer RAM (DDR-2 or DDR-3), so the 8800GT 256MB version requires less power to run. For folding, current work units require considerably less than 256MB for maximum PPD, so there is no PPD penalty for using lower amounts of RAM.

For PPD purposes, essentially five classes of work units have been observed to be available.

Ranked in points value, these are:

- 353
- 420 & 1680
- 384 & 768
- 511
- 1888

The PPD and power consumption (additional above systems with internal graphics) of three graphics cards (with lowered GPU Vcore Voltage) were measured on two computer systems. One system was a regular computer with MSI motherboard, the other was a Shuttle XPC. Results were similar in both systems, the numbers shown are averages.

8800GT_ppd.gif

Currently in folding, system efficiency numbers greater than 50 PpD/Watt can be achieved but usually with multiple graphics cards (of the GTX295 variety) in one system. The 8800GT 256MB, with lowered Vcore, is a moderately low-cost and efficient-for-folding graphics card.

Edited by dnamechanic, 15 May 2009 - 02:49 AM.





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