[chuckerants]

Now that I have all the parts almost in one place, I'm getting ready to put my i7 rig together.

My questions though is that I was going to use my GTX260 in my i7 and leave the 9600GSO in a Borged rig, but now I decided to use the 9600 and the 260 together.

I've read something about Win 7 needing a dummy plug? What's that about?

I have 2 monitors running side by side now. Can I just plug in a monitor in each GPU or do I have to do something special to Fold on both GPUs?

TIA

Here's all the parts for my new rig:

CPU: i7 920 D0
MoBo: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.0)
HSF: Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler Rev B
Fans: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120x25mm push/pull
RAM: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
CASE: Antec 902

[Bluefalcon13]

I have been folding with 2 GPUs in windows 7 x64 since early January. You either need 2 monitors, or a monitor with 2 inputs (workaround), or a dummy plug. You MUST set the desktop to extend to the second display (real or fake) otherwise it will fail units.

Personally, I have a monitor with 2 inputs, one SVGA, and one DVI. I have the primary plugged up to the DVI monitor, and my 8800GTS plugged into the VGA port. Even though I only have one monitor, Windows 'thinks' I have 2 hooked up, and I have it setup to extend the desktop over the 'two' monitors (the same steps are required for dummy plugs, the difference is that the dummy plug doesnt actually plug into anything but the GPU.

Essentially, the dummy-plug is a few resistors jammed into a dvi-to-svga adapter, causing a return signal on the graphics card, 'tricking' the GPU to think its really connected to a monitor, and used. AFAIK, windows 7 thinks a GPU without anything plugged into it, and not running in SLI mode, is just a Phys-X processor (my guess is something with the nVidia drivers for Vista/7) and disables all other functions, such as 3d, 2d, and CUDA. If you want to ensure you are setup properly on the windows side, download GPU-Z, and check both cards to ensure CUDA is enabled.

[chuckerants]

It sounds like I can plug my main monitor into the 260 and then the 2nd monitor into one of the ports in the 9600 and that should allow me to Fold on both. Did I read that right?

This way, I can also have the same 2 monitor set-up I have now where I always see HFM on the 2nd monitor and whatever I'm doing on the primary monitor.

If I ever get a MoBo with 3 or more PCIe, THEN I would need some type of dummy plug? (or more monitors lol)

[Bluefalcon13]

Originally Posted by chuckerants

It sounds like I can plug my main monitor into the 260 and then the 2nd monitor into one of the ports in the 9600 and that should allow me to Fold on both. Did I read that right?

This way, I can also have the same 2 monitor set-up I have now where I always see HFM on the 2nd monitor and whatever I'm doing on the primary monitor.

If I ever get a MoBo with 3 or more PCIe, THEN I would need some type of dummy plug? (or more monitors lol)

yup, thats right. as far as the 3 slots, you could use a work around like I did (2 inputs, one monitor) for 2 of the cards, or just a dummy plug. The downside of hooking up your 2 monitors, is that if for some reason, you didnt want to extend, but wanted to duplicate the screens on the monitors, you could not while using 2 cards to power 2 monitors.

[chuckerants]

Cool.

Thanks for the help.

Now I get to drive to SoCal to pick up my i7 and by Sunday nite I'll be hard at work assembling them parts.

Then I put my signature rig back to OEM and donate it someone worthy. (Anyone have an OEM HSF?)

[Bluefalcon13]

Originally Posted by chuckerants

Cool.

Thanks for the help.

Now I get to drive to SoCal to pick up my i7 and by Sunday nite I'll be hard at work assembling them parts.

Then I put my signature rig back to OEM and donate it someone worthy. (Anyone have an OEM HSF?)

Since I did help you out with information, just remember when you get it all setup and are starting the F@H configs, username is JLF12345 . All other entries will cause your folding clients to fail with the following error:

Code:

OMGWTF111111111

So please ensure you properly configure that i7 and those GPUs.








But seriously, no problem, and glad I could help... a few more of these i7s and we might might make it back to 3rd