Are you ready?!

[jcw122]

Awesome, can't wait to get my 9800XT workin!

I think this GPU advancement will give dedicated-folding units a real nice boost in power if they use cheap ATI cards, very cool.

 

[muddocktor]

AFAIK, the only gpu's that will be supported for now will be the X1xxx series of gpu's. The older ATI gpu's and all Nvidia's gpu's won't be able to fold (at least for now, who knows in the future).

I also wish that the older ATI gpu's could fold too; I would at least try it out on my 9800 AIW and X800XT-PE.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

So what's the absolute dirt-cheapest card I can get for gpu folding? Many months ago I was hoping to fold on my 7600gt but since that's not going to happen, this is a great excuse for an upgrade. But if I can find some cards for cheap enough, I'll just farm the hell out of 'em

Something like this.

 

[Sorin]

Whole ATI (AMD?) only thing still sounds fishy to me.

The first link at the bottom of that article, called "high performance FAQ" tells why. It has something to do with the unique design of GPUs on video cards. GPUs are very specialized. The other article says now that there are GPUs that support full 32-bit floating-point operations, worthwhile GPU folding is now possible. Currently, it seems, only high end ATI GPUs do that.

It appears to be just a simple hardware compatibility issue. I doubt they would intentionally shut out Nvidia. The goal for F@H is not financial gain, but to learn about, understand, and help cure cancer and disease. So I'm sure that if it were realistically feasible to also use Nvidia cards, I think they would have.

But hey, hopefully this is a cue for Nvidia! Add in this full 32-bit floating point ability into the next batch of GPUs, so that way, everyone can happily fold away.

One thing that boggles me though is the performance of GPUs. 375 GFLOPS, with a sustainable performance of 100 GFLOPS? Compared to a modern CPU which is what, a handful of GFLOPS? Good god. That floored me. But I guess that's what happens with highly specialized devices.

Something like this.

Hmmm. That's not a bad price, considering what I was looking at earlier. Too bad I'd have to 86 my beloved 7800 GT, as I don't think you can have an Nvidia card and ATI card in one system

 

[sno.lcn]

Something like this.

That's not too bad, at least it's not the $500 I was thinking I'd have to spend

Now, can anyone predict how the points will be on the gpu's? Like if I bought that card OR two of the 805 combos from fry's, which would give the higher ppd?

 

[jcw122]

Wait, are we kidding or do you need newer-generation ATI cards to fold w/ the GPU?

 

[sno.lcn]

AFAIK, the only gpu's that will be supported for now will be the X1xxx series of gpu's. The older ATI gpu's and all Nvidia's gpu's won't be able to fold (at least for now, who knows in the future).

I also wish that the older ATI gpu's could fold too; I would at least try it out on my 9800 AIW and X800XT-PE.

So would the x1300 work? b/c I'll gladly buy a pile of those

Or since I need an upgrade anyway, what'll outperform my 7600gt and fold? I know nothing of ati cards

 

[LandShark]

currently, only 19xx grade ATi GPU will be able to fold.

 

[sno.lcn]

So I guess the minimum I can get is what hrsey posted then. It'll kick the crap out of my 7600gt(for games and such) right?

 

[LandShark]

So I guess the minimum I can get is what hrsey posted then. It'll kick the crap out of my 7600gt(for games and such) right?

yup. that X1900XT 256mb will be about the same gaming-wise as the 7900GT! (I'm a nVidia fan here since the old TNT day, and I've learn/read a LOT of the 19xx card the past couple days!) I was thinking to get the new 7950GT for my new rig, but now, I've decided to go for the X1900XT 256mb then

 

[sno.lcn]

Sweet, I guess I'll do the same!

 

[Sorin]

Nvidia - The way it's meant to be played.

ATI - The way it's meant to be folded?

 

[Silver]

Something like this.

Went ahead and ordered one after doing some looking around. This is against my better judgement however I would expect that if these produce as we expect then alot of the 1900's will be purchased and knowing Neweggs' practises they will be no cheaper than they are today for some time. One only, to see how things go with these.

edit: looked at the gt as well and found while searching that Monarch is showing the gt with 48 shaders. This appears to be incorrect after checking the manufacturers site. Take care when purchasing the 1900 series as what is being advertised may not be what you get.

 

[Macaholic]

Went ahead and ordered one after doing some looking around. This is against my better judgement however I would expect that if these produce as we expect then alot of the 1900's will be purchased and knowing Neweggs' practises they will be no cheaper than they are today for some time. One only, to see how things go with these.

Wise decision. Come Monday, I'm sure ATI will be selling a few more cards.

 

[TollhouseFrank]

if ATI is the only one supported by next august when i build my new rig.... then i'll make one hell of a crossfire solution.

 

[dicecca112]

the decisions F@H has made over the past couple months has me really scratching my head. There gonna start alienating a lot of people, same sorta backlash they had with QMDs. A lot of other DC projects are gaining strength. If they wanted more people to fold they wouldn't limit the GPU to for one ATI and for two there top end models, something a small fraction of the computing population own. That's stupid. Sounds to me like they took the easy route and decided that it was easier to program for ATI, or they were offered a "bonus" for doing so. With some tweaking I'm sure Nvidia cards would work just as well as ATI cards.

 

[LandShark]

the decisions F@H has made over the past couple months has me really scratching my head. There gonna start alienating a lot of people, same sorta backlash they had with QMDs. A lot of other DC projects are gaining strength. If they wanted more people to fold they wouldn't limit the GPU to for one ATI and for two there top end models, something a small fraction of the computing population own. That's stupid. Sounds to me like they took the easy route and decided that it was easier to program for ATI, or they were offered a "bonus" for doing so. With some tweaking I'm sure Nvidia cards would work just as well as ATI cards.

the decision of only supporting the top end ATI card, for right now, is mainly due to the fact that the GPU's general/scienific programablility (sp?), and the performance gain it will be offering. I'm deeply believe that the GPU client will be supported with many more next gen video card. nVidia did make a statment saying that they are fully looking forward for a long term relationship w/ F@H too.

also, a little friendly reminder for GPU folding minded member! I would take 2 X1900XT 256mb cards over a single X1950XTX card whether it's for F@H or gaming in mind!! remember one thing people, in pretty much most situtation in F@H, number of client count always out weight super fast machine!!

 

[Silver]

also, a little friendly reminder for GPU folding minded member! I would take 2 X1900XT 256mb cards over a single X1950XTX card whether it's for F@H or gaming in mind!! remember one thing people, in pretty much most situtation in F@H, number of client count always out weight super fast machine!!

Thus I seriously considered the gt over the xt. I am under the belief that the 36 vs 48 shaders make a substantial difference. 33% more shaders for 25% more cost. Not to mention speed as well. Seems to place the xt in the peak price vs performance arena.

 

[pscout]

is the 1900xtx just an oc'ed xt?
If so then subect to obtaining reliable OC, then XT would be a better choice?

1950xtx in addition to somewhat faster memory, is 20W less power draw according to anandtech article - nice but doubt the $ delta is worth it except in a primary working and cased rig?

It will be interesting to see what kind of benchmarks we see once the beta starts.

 

[LandShark]

Thus I seriously considered the gt over the xt. I am under the belief that the 36 vs 48 shaders make a substantial difference. 33% more shaders for 25% more cost. Not to mention speed as well. Seems to place the xt in the peak price vs performance arena.

actually, I'm not quite sure about the 1900GT tho.... afaik, one of the main reason for the Stanford to embrace ATI 19xx series card for now is the higher number of the shader count than the Nvidia's approcach at the current gen card. of course, I would love to know if the GT offer good enough performance for even much better $$ saving!! the GT would be the best choice for pure folder IF it's performance isn't too far behind the XT....

is the 1900xtx just an oc'ed xt?
If so then subect to obtaining reliable OC, then XT would be a better choice?

1950xtx in addition to somewhat faster memory, is 20W less power draw according to anandtech article - nice but doubt the $ delta is worth it except in a primary working and cased rig?

It will be interesting to see what kind of benchmarks we see once the beta starts.

afaik, the difference between the top 19xx card is

X1900XT 256mb/512mb, ONLY difference is 256mb less! exactly same clock & memory speed!! and in gaming, usually <5% difference!!

X1900XTX 512mb, JUST 25mhz faster core speed which could be easily compensate for o/c'ing a XT card!! but a bit more faster on memory speed!!

X1950XTX 512mb, core speed is the same as 1900XTX (I think, or max another 25mhz more!), but with a lot faster memory (GDDR4 @ 1+ghz).

so, it's really depends on the GPU client favorite on higher core speed or memory speed. but IF the CPU client is a indication, then I would say higher core speed will be better than higher memory speed.....

well, I'm sure we'll see some numbers on monday night!! (right Mac, Nik?? )