GPU supported?

[lkiller123]

Hey guys, long time no see.

Just read the mass email from fugger.

Saw GPU support in HCC, I have 3 GTX 260 and one 9800GTX+ in my disposal right now. Also a mobility Radeon on my i7 laptop.
Definitely setting up my machines tonight.

[Movieman]

Hey guys, long time no see.

Just read the mass email from fugger.

Saw GPU support in HCC, I have 3 GTX 260 and one 9800GTX+ in my disposal right now. Also a mobility Radeon on my i7 laptop.
Definitely setting up my machines tonight.

The 3-260GTX's will work, don't think the 9800 will, not sure on the laptop one.
Thanks for helping!

[lkiller123]

Ahh..

I've been out for way too long, it was a hot summer. About time to get everything up and going again!

Is there anything that I need to watch out for when running the GPU WUs?

[Otis11]

Ahh..

I've been out for way too long, it was a hot summer. About time to get everything up and going again!

Is there anything that I need to watch out for when running the GPU WUs?

Ah, not really - although we should set up a coherent guide for all those people comming in for SCing week. Basically - how to set up GPU (simple I know, but can help) and how to get the most out of each card including what ppd cards should be getting and how many WUs they should run. Also, include the file for running multiple WUs per card for both Nvidia and AMD so that people can just copy paste. The only thing they should have to change is the number of how many WUs to run.

Someone wanna get on this? If not I'll start on it tomorrow afternoon (assuming lots of help from the community on this one cuz I don't actually know any of it)

[D_A]

Make sure to clean them out with a can of compressed air or something. You want to give them a fighting chance. Other than that there's several GPU threads here and they put a whole sub-forum on it over at WCG.
https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.or...eads?forum=560

This list of EXCLUDED graphics cards might also help: https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.or...rtName=GPU#610

[werdwerdus]

Just keep in mind that you will need to dedicate 1 core (physical preferred but at least 1 virtual core) per GPU task. BOINC should do that automatically though so don't freak out when the GPU tasks take up 1 CPU thread/core!

[bearcatrp]

Has it been proven that shutting off hyperthreading helps? Have read a few posts about this but would like confirmation that this really helps.

[kjeldoran]

Has it been proven that shutting off hyperthreading helps? Have read a few posts about this but would like confirmation that this really helps.

OldChap did some testing in the big GPU thread we have on page 11. His testing shows some improvement, but whether or not it is worth it is dependent on your setup. If you are running only 1 GPU thread, it is definitely not worth disabling HT. Maybe if you are running 4 GPU threads you will have better gains depending on the card you are using . Obviously, if you are running 8 gpu threads you probably want to keep HT on.

[Surfin]

Strange list of not suported GPU... HD3450 is not on the list, but the 4800 series is
Again, the 4800 is "too slow" but the Geforce 430 is enough?
Will try both and if the 4800 work (worked once), we will see which is faster

[Surfin]

I used to run it on a HD3450 AGP, now it refuse to run on my HD4830

I know it's not a 'top spec' anymore, but 736 GFlops (reported by Boinc manager) should be enough. At least it's certainly faster than my Phenom X4

[D_A]

There seems to be a lot of weirdness amongst GPUs with regard to crunching. Weird variations that make the science apps to weird things for no apparent reason. Lots of fun and games.

[Moo]

The problem with the 4800 series cards is they are compute capablity 1.1 and 1.2 or higher is needed to run the gpu tasks. They may have even bumped it to 1.3 after the beta.

[Surfin]

That explain...

Will try the HD3450 again just to see what happen :P

There is a way to use GPU only? because the 430GT is on a Q6600 with stock cooler, and we have 30-32ºc ambient temps here, not healthly :P

[Movieman]

That explain...

Will try the HD3450 again just to see what happen :P

There is a way to use GPU only? because the 430GT is on a Q6600 with stock cooler, and we have 30-32ºc ambient temps here, not healthly :P

I saw that and said WOW, in late October then realised that your into summer in Brazil..I'm not sure if you can just runh GPU but others here \know more than I do on that subject.
Thanks for helping!

[pirogue]

That explain...

Will try the HD3450 again just to see what happen :P

There is a way to use GPU only? because the 430GT is on a Q6600 with stock cooler, and we have 30-32ºc ambient temps here, not healthly :P

Based upon the list of cards known NOT to work, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.or...rtName=GPU#610

The 430 isn't listed, but the 420 and 510 are.

[Otis11]

That explain...

Will try the HD3450 again just to see what happen :P

There is a way to use GPU only? because the 430GT is on a Q6600 with stock cooler, and we have 30-32ºc ambient temps here, not healthly :P

Kinda - You can use only the GPU and the 1 thread of the CPU required to handle that WU and not run any CPU WUs, but there is no way to simply run only on the GPU (to my knowledge)

Based upon the list of cards known NOT to work, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.or...rtName=GPU#610

The 430 isn't listed, but the 420 and 510 are.

I think the 430 does work actually... I don't have one to verify but I thought i read someone used one somewhere...

[chispy]

Hola guys , i need some help help , I have downloaded and started installing Boinc on my PCs , already got 2 PCs working Boinc , my question is how can i make use of GPUs , i dont understand how to do it , would someone make a noobie proof guide please , i got 2 HD6970 that i will like to use , in my first rig its running 3570k and a HD6970 , second rig running 3770K and another HD6970 , they are both running Boinc x64 right now i have just started to make preparations for the big week , i will have 2 more rigs by next week up and running just need a psu for one of them.Please any guidance and help will be trully appretiated , also i forgot how to make Boinc cache and download more wus to have them in there , i went thru the guide posted here but under device manage in my Grid pagecould not find a way to do it in my account ??? , the interface of boinc has change a little since the last time i ran supercomputer week , so yes im still a noobie . Thank you in advanced guys.


Kind Regards: Angelo.

[nanoprobe]

I used to run it on a HD3450 AGP, now it refuse to run on my HD4830

I know it's not a 'top spec' anymore, but 736 GFlops (reported by Boinc manager) should be enough. At least it's certainly faster than my Phenom X4

It will not run on any 3xxx or 4xxx ATI card.

[D_A]

Angelo, I'm no expert with the details of GPU crunching, but a good place to start is by making sure the cards are recognised by BOINC. If you open the BOINC manager in Advanced view, click the Advanced tab and then at the bottom of the list is Event Log, which will bring up another window with the BOINC log. Scroll through that and see if you can find an entry near the beginning that mentions your graphics card, it will be in the first twenty or so lines which also describe the OS type and version and several other machine details. If your GPU is mentioned there then you're a good part of the way, if not then you might need to install recent drivers for your card that include OpenCL (I think all the recent drivers from both AMD and nVidia do). As an aside it's worth making sure the cooler on your card is clean before you start making it work for a living. Give it a good blow out with a can of compressed air etc.
As for the exact BOINC settings there should be others along who can be more help than I, but if BOINC recognises your card then you're half way there.

[pirogue]

also i forgot how to make Boinc cache and download more wus to have them in there , i went thru the guide posted here but under device manage in my Grid pagecould not find a way to do it in my account ??? , the interface of boinc has change a little since the last time i ran supercomputer week , so yes im still a noobie . Thank you in advanced guys.

With the new BOINC clients, the cache settings are under Tools | Computing Preferences. To increase your cache, you'll want the "network usage" tab. There are boxes for Minimum work buffer and Max additional work buffer that you can adjust.

For the GPU, go to your Device manager page, select the desired profile(s), and make sure the "use graphics card" checkbox is checked.

[Movieman]

I think it's time I had a nice "short" phone call with chispy..





Definition of short: Any time frame that is less than the storage time on my cordless battery pack..

[D_A]

For reference: Dave's battery pack

Mexico-01.jpg

[chispy]

I think it's time I had a nice "short" phone call with chispy..





Definition of short: Any time frame that is less than the storage time on my cordless battery pack..

hahahhaha ... gotcha Dave ...

Guys , it says no gpu found in the Boinc manager event log im using old 12.8 drivers , should i ipdate drivers ? or is something i did wrong and its not detecting the HD6970 ? The GPUs are watercooled.

Thank you for the guidance guys appretiated , i have found how to update and load more wus with your help.

[D_A]

I'll assume you're running Windows there, so I'm out of my element, but it would be helpful if you'd clue us in on exactly what version/32 or 64bit/service pack you're running as well as which version of BOINC.

[werdwerdus]

if it's winxp then you have to use version 11 drivers to have opencl, but not sure if versions 11 drivers support 6xxx series (I think so)