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What is currently the most cost effective folding rig currentl

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Junebug

Junebug

Member
​
Joined
May 22, 2006
Location
Asheville NC
Hi All,

It has been quite a while since I have posted here. My son (gulp35) and I have been folding for Team 32 for more than 10 years now. We are still on the front page but slowly slipping off. The only rig I gave folding right now is my old standby, the wooden Dual Opteron 246 (four cores). It has been folding for many years now and was churning out 50,000 to 60,000 point a month but recently it has started to fail to complete WU and may be showing its age. I know I could dive in and read the forums for a few weeks and get caught up, but I wonder if you all could give me a quick run down on what the current best rigs are. I have read a little about 4P rigs and am quite impressed. Are they the best bang for the buck, or is it the GPU route, or something else? I am looking for the best return in points per dollar, not the biggest ultimate rig. We used to farm several hundred rigs, and at one point jumpsticked data to and from machines isolated from the internet. so I am more about efficiency than bragging rights for the most ppd per single rig

I appreciate your feedback...

Junebug (a subsidiary of Gulp35, Inc.)
 
Speaking as a relative rookie, there's no doubt that it's all about GPUs at the moment. Efficiency? Maxwell architecture Nvidia - 970 or 980 or even 750 for a lower budget. Three cards on a 1000W PSU - I'm no expert on that last part - and you could enjoy 750K PPD (970s). Actually, I am personally running 3x 970 on an 860w and so far it seems OK.
 
the 970 is looking like the card to use right now, with good ppd for the watts.
here in north georgia microcenter has them for $339, I'm north of gainesville.
 
it looks like that is true only for the 0x18 work units, i see on many forums people getting good service out of some of them.
 
Too technical answer to me :) All I know is, 3x970 on Ubuntu, 750K+ PPD and churning away WUs like nobody's business: I just went ahead and bought another two 970s for a second Ubuntu rig. These cards make my 780s and 280x's look puny, while easily matching 290x's at considerable lower power consumption.
Now, they are not cheap, but I believe in the long run the lower energy consumption makes up the difference. Anyway, starting with a good PSU, an MB that does 8x plus on multiple PCIs and just one card makes sense to me.
 
not cheap????? over here in the us I see them for $339, sounds like a heck of a deal to me.
 
Thanks Mac! I see you are also running at the front of the pack. Do you lean toward GPUs or classic CPUs like your Supermicro rigs as far as best production for the money?
 
Hey RoX,

I noticed you have bought 280X/290X's from defunct miners in the past. These still seem to be available on the used market....is there a reason you now prefer the 970 to these?

Thanks,

Junebug
 
I believe in diversity - who knows what WUs tomorrow will briing - so I prefer a mix between AMD and Nvidia. I also believe in keeping the cards fairly relevant - I want to sell to a medium gamer when i move on, not throw them in the bin.

For 2013/2014, the value I saw, was getting dirt cheap used 280x's an get 130K PPD. I studied points/purchase price for all the cards that came and 280x was excellent value all the way - remember, the chips are 2011 tech :)
The 290xs i got of a desperate family man - these temps will make any wife mad - but what's not to love about ~200K plus PPD per card?

After getting the 970s - yes they are much more expensive, not available used - so I guess it's a different league - they do 275K PPD each and It feels like the next generation. I am much more attracted to lower temps/lower electricity bills going forward and it seems just a little more sane to spend more now, but getting lower bills later. It's not like the 970s draw nothing on full load, but I will pay attention to this onwards.

Summing up, shure, used Tahiti (280x/7970) are great value! And 970 represent that top-tier good value, methinks.
 
I'm running 7 x R9-280x/7970. I'm getting them used from eBay so my costs are minimal. They do use some power though.
 
Do you lean toward GPUs or classic CPUs like your Supermicro rigs as far as best production for the money?
Click to expand...
For a couple years, quad-socket Supermicro systems (4Ps) with AMD 6XXX series Opterons were the Folding@Home performance leader for nearly all metrics. Time marches on, and with it technology advances. Simply put, considering the power consumption, 4Ps are no longer a good choice for Folding@Home unless the power bill is of no great concern. If you are building a new system, the choice is clear: GPU oriented, Nvidia, 970 or better. Best performance per cost (parts & power) is Nvidia 970.
 
don256us said:
I'm running 7 x R9-280x/7970. I'm getting them used from eBay so my costs are minimal. They do use some power though.
Click to expand...

Probably can undervolt them a lot and still have a modest OC on them. That's what us miners did, and Folding is much less hard on a GPU than mining any coin so it should be very stable. That I know from experience.

Yeah 970's if you can afford them, if not my money would be in to cheap 280x's or the 79xx series.


Also, Junebug, don't forget that BIGadv unit will halt soon (if not already) for the 4P's. You need (32?) or more cores now for those :(
 
Yeah 970's if you can afford them, if not my money would be in to cheap 280x's or the 79xx series.
Also, Junebug, don't forget that BIGadv unit will halt soon (if not already) for the 4P's. You need (32?) or more cores now for those
Click to expand...
Some facts might advise the discussion:
- a typical AMD four-socket, G34 workstation requires about 625 Watts at default processor speed (more overclocked)
- the Bigadvanced project, with the generous early-return work unit bonuses, ended January 31
- the best F@H performance an overclocked 4P can attain now (810X projects) is about 250K.
- a simple PC with not even a the top of the line Nvidia card can match 250K, with half the power consumption, and lower entry price
 
Leonardo said:
Some facts might advise the discussion:
- a typical AMD four-socket, G34 workstation requires about 625 Watts at default processor speed (more overclocked)
- the Bigadvanced project, with the generous early-return work unit bonuses, ended January 31
- the best F@H performance an overclocked 4P can attain now (810X projects) is about 250K.
- a simple PC with not even a the top of the line Nvidia card can match 250K, with half the power consumption, and lower entry price
Click to expand...

That's quite a hit for those with 4P's still... :-/
 
Silver_Pharaoh said:
That's quite a hit for those with 4P's still... :-/
Click to expand...

Yep - FAH eats equipment and spits it out at a prodigious rate. I remember my first GPU became obsolete 4 months after I bought it.

Never buy more than you can afford to throw away is the moral.
 
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