back in the game

[bds71]

well, my new parts finally came in. it took a bit of fiddling to get everything working - and i haven't done any OCing yet, but everything is up and running. unfortunately, my gtx690 has to be RMA'd - broken component visibly present. it currently runs at low operating speeds, but cracks under full loads (lock-ups, red screen of ugliness, etc). here's the sucky part: newegg will only replace (with same make/model) or refund.....since this part is NEVER in stock (it took me almost 6 weeks of checking the sight to get one - regardless of brand/vender) they are going to refund my money - which means i get to go back to looking /sigh. hopefully, i will get another one relatively soon - already got a water block waiting for it.

anyway - back on topic. i started folding again with the new 7.1 client, and i noticed something: i get higher points running the CPU by itself then i do running the CPU and the GPU. i went to each PC and turned off the GPU folding and my points went up nearly 50%!! the GPU shouldn't take more than about 10% of the CPU - so what figures? has anyone used the CPU and GPU clients together successfully?? if so, how was it set up? i know CPU cores can be assigned, and that is probably what i need to dp. but, while i know how to assign a set number of cores to run the CPU, how do i assign the GPU to only use those unassigned CPU cores?? also - i totally could NOT get the 690 to fold at all. i put the GPUs.txt in the right folder, and the client see's the GPU - but (even though it shows as running in processes and appears in all respects to be running) the WU never shows progress...never completes. that was when i turned off the GPU slot and discovered that my CPU PPD doubles when i disable the GPU slot. what experiences have you guys had with GPUs in general, or the 690 specifically?? how have you gotten your GPU to fold without cutting CPU performance in half?? input welcome....

[mele]

Are running the 690 now?

Stanford does not have their code optimized for the 690 yet and this may be your problem.

Mel

[p2501]

Problem is that both the SMP processes and the worker thread for the GPU sort of fight for one of your "cores". What you should do is sort your threads. WinAFC64 is the tool you need. You should sort the smp threads to "cores" 0-10 and have 1 "core" for your GPU worker. That way both can produce at max and the hit from using one less core for smp is smaller than getting both smp+gpu mixed up.

Also, you can sort all other processes you might have to that last "core" which would help your smp output.

Edit: For that to work you also have to adjust the number of threads to use in FAH, set it from auto to 11.

[bds71]

Are running the 690 now?

no - i packed it up today to ship it back to newegg. but, while it was in the system, i never could get it to fold - at all. perhaps by the time i get another one things will be better worked out to accomodate it

Problem is that both the SMP processes and the worker thread for the GPU sort of fight for one of your "cores". What you should do is sort your threads. WinAFC64 is the tool you need. You should sort the smp threads to "cores" 0-10 and have 1 "core" for your GPU worker. That way both can produce at max and the hit from using one less core for smp is smaller than getting both smp+gpu mixed up.

yea, i knew what the problem was - or rather i sorta guessed what the problem was once i realized there was a problem hehe. i did not know about the solution. i will try to find that software and see what happens on my other machines. thanks for the input!!

[p2501]

It's on sourceforge.jp I think

[bds71]

well, my sig rig is finally fully operational - the last thing i want to do is put some IX on the CPU. i'm a little nervous about it since it will be my first time using it, but i hope it will help - even if only a little. i've been folding with the 3930 for about a month now with the GPU idling (not folding). i haven't tried the WinAFC64 yet because i wanted to wait till the system was 100%, but i think i might DL it today when i get home and give it a go - see how it works out for the numbers. i actually hit 60k yesterday (note: not with just the one CPU, but also an i5 750, a laptop, and 2 PS3's) - kinda suprised me, but it seems very dependable on what core is DL'ed - some are just worth a LOT more than others. of course, it was the first time since install that it was folding for 24 hrs straight without me using the PC for some other purpose while folding (i can actually play Diablo III and let the CPU keep folding without issue, but it probably hurts my numbers significantly)...anyway - i hope to see soon how well the new 690 folds!!

[bds71]

well, i went to try the AFC64 yesterday (yeesh, overcomplicated much??) but other than not being able to figure out that software, i couldn't get the 690 to actually fold. at first FAH v7 wasn't even recognizing the GPU - at all. then, i remembered about the text file you have to add to the data folder so i placed that in the data directory and restarted. after that, it was recognized properly (i think), but was stuck at 0% - for over 4 hours. i searched for a solution until it was time for bed, then gave up and removed the GPU slots again - so no GPU folding at this time, still....

[Sparky]

hm bummer.

[bds71]

is it just me, or does something seem screwy? my daily points seem to jump anywhere from 20k to 60k. this seems like a pretty radical change - or is this normal? granted, sometimes i use the PC for a few hours to do some gaming, but usually, i can still fold while i game. i know it will hurt performance a little, but i don't think it's the cause of the fluctuation. is anyone else experiencing this? also - has anyone noticed if their PS3 is actually contributing to their points? i have 2 of them folding pretty much 24/7 (unless i stop one to watch a movie) since i got diablo III (not console gaming, but i occasionally take a break to watch a movie) but haven't noticed any change in points.

according to v7 i get the following PPD:
laptop: 1500-2000 (running CPU only)
media server (regular win 7 PC): 3000-4500 (i5-750 - dual core/HT (not the i7 750) - running CPU only)
gaming PC (sig): 27k+ (CPU only - have not OCed yet, and may wait till i get back from trip)
PS3's: they each do about 3 units/day give or take, but i have no idea how many points i get for those...if any

[Swiftdeathz]

It's probably a combination of things like cpu usage dropping while doing other cpu intensive things on them + randomness of the points from the different WU's.

My rig @ 4.4ghz generally gets around 15-20k per WU, but then sometimes I get a massive one that heats up my CPU more than normal and nets 45-50k. Then you sometimes get the really bad WU's that get like 10k.

[bds71]

OK, so you do get a pretty wild variance as well. i just thought something was weird - guess not

[Swiftdeathz]

Yeah, right now I'm folding a p7018 which gets my 3570k @ 4.2ghz to 75C (hot day, ambients were around 30C) and it's getting 46k ppd.

[Snow Crash]

bds71 ... if you want to put that 690 to use while Stanford gets things figured out the XS team for GPUGrid could use a little help

[bds71]

i'll consider it, but truthfully i don't want to take the hit on folding. when my GPUs were working i was actually getting less credit for folding (due to the extra CPU usage in controlling the GPUs). basically, i get more credit running the CPU by itself than i did with CPU+GPU. granted, my pair of GTX285's were no 690, but then the 600 series isn't exactly know for its GPU compute functions either if you know what i mean.

let me do some research on GPUGrid (see what it's all about). if i can get it to run without hurting CPU performance too badly i will run it. note: by next month i'll be taking a trip so i'll be turning off all the PCs anyway. since i'll be gone for "more than a little while" i probably won't. but in case i do - what's the information? (team number, or anything else i might need to start helping out)

[Snow Crash]

The 600 series on GPUGrid uses 1 CPU thread per GPU on GPUGrid. With a 670 OCd to 1260 I get about 375K per day. Feel free to post up in the GPUGrid sub forum here on XS and we can answer any questions you have. I am not trying to poach or convince you away from you chosen project, just a temp switch until they things working right for you at Stanford