Maximum PC

Guys, in the next few months I'm going to build a new rig, and want to get all the folding out of it I can...All I know for sure is it's going to be a Core i7 920. I'm leaning toward the ASUS P6T Deluxe MB with 6GB of Corsair ram. What would be the best nVidia card to put in it to maximize points?

On a side note, can an nVidia GeForce 8300GS fold at all? This one is in my mom's Dell, and if it can I will put it to work as well...

atrdriver

it depends on your budget.....

if you don't care about $$$ and want mazimum points... then get two gtx295's which get the most points per day than any single card out... about 15k ppd on average.... if you have a budget then two gtx260 core 216's are reasonably priced right now and get a little over 7k ppd on average....

15 k ppd is re-fricken-diculus. I get about 300-400

lol yes it's very nice to get that many wu's done on one card... it's amazing at gaming as well.... i did the game benchmark that's included with Far Cry 2 and on one of my gtx285's with all settings on ultra high and 4xAA it reached an average of 39 fps..... with the gtx295 with the same settings it hit a little over 60 fps....

Datz Right!!! Dem Pirates iz TOAST in me scope!!

"Arrrrrrrggh!" ---------> "OUCH!!!"

Well, I was thinking about a 285. I guess I could go to a 295, but will that fold as just 1 card, or do you have to do something special to it to separate the 2 GPUs? If a 285 was decided on, any particular one to look at? I'm thinking EVGA.

Also, anyone know about the 8300GS?

From this site it looks like ~400PPD.

i have 4 of the evga gtx285's and they're amazing as well... they get 7900 ppd on crappy wu's and over 9k ppd on good ones....

for the gtx295 it's a bit more challenging to get it going but not that difficult at all.... use this guide go down near the bottom and follow the multi gpu installation guide... there are a few more steps involved with the nvidia panel and evga precision but not that hard once you get involved with it.... it's much more difficult however if you're using vista... with xp i had no issues whatsoever... with vista you need to hook up two monitors to it or use a dummy plug.... i use only xp for my multiple gpu rigs and it's worked perfectly every time.... if you do decide to go with the gtx295 just post here and i can walk you through it easily... without knowing what i was really doing i got it running in 20 min...

or you could use the analog plug to the secondary input on the same monitor, using the adapter that came with the card if it doesnt have two digital inputs.

another way might be to use a kvm switch. just use the video part.

The further out your purchase the cheaper/faster things will be. I'd ask for suggestions more about the time you plan on doing a purchase with a price range. But that's just me ;^)

things will always be cheaper/faster 3 - 6 months down the road... with that mindset no one would buy anything.... there comes a time when you need to make a decision if 1. you want to buy the best out no matter what the cost... or 2. you buy the best for the $$ you are willing to spend at the time..... if you wait 3 months then you just keep asking yourself the same thing then..... "well what if something comes out cheaper and faster in a few more months" well of course it will but do you wait for 5 more years to see????

Try to run Crysis???

OP: I would say either a GTX295 or 9800 GX2. Both cards put out huge ppd but the 9800GX2 is a lot easier on the wallet.

I was going more with that he said and I took that to mean he wasn't doing it right now. So suggestions are good, but in a few months when he does build, it could be something entirely different.

I don't believe the 8300GS is supported on the list of elegible cards for the GPU2 client. I do have a couple 8600GTs I run when in a bind and they barely putt putt along in ppd. But they do run.

I'd choose a 280-285 if it were me. EVGA brand is great! Good luck!

Hey Juice,

for a 1900x1200 monitor would you suggest a pair of 260s in SLI or one 285? If I end up with a pair of 260s can I leave them in SLI to fold, or do I need to run them separately?

I'm not Juice, but I can answer the 2nd question since it's not asking an opinion.

If you want the benefit of both cards, you will need to turn off SLI and run two clients. If running Vista you'll need two monitors or a dummy plug.

You can fold on one client in SLI, but won't get any benefits from it (and I've read that it might even slow it down a bit).

My understanding is that for Nvidia, everything 8xxx series and newer can run folding. So the 8300GS should work. Actual speed is whole other question...

The GTX295's are X2 type boards with 2 processors, correct?

So that 15kPPD is really 7.5KPPD per processor?

And having 2 GTX295's, with all 4 processors cranking away = around 30k PPD?

That's a dummy plug, right? I average 10K PPD with an i7 920 @ 3.66 and a GTX 295 w/out a dummy plug, or am I under-producing?