GTX 260 Experts?

Ok, first off, Howdy everyone... long time no see :wave

It's been a real busy summer for me, but I think life is finally settling down for me a bit again.

Now to the business, A friend of mine is giving me this GTX 260 later this week, possibly early next week. I know it comes underclocked out of the box, but thats ok, it apparently has alot of OC headroom.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125391


I'll say right now I've never set up a GPU for folding, But I figure this free gtx 260 is a good place to start lol.

So here I am asking the almighty folding gods who burnt out their gtx 260's years ago if they could kindly give me a few pointers and share their wisdom to help me get this card burning through WU's. :-D


Any specific drivers, or overclocking tips, even setup information for the GPU client would all be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all

 

Hey Nico, really, underclocked?:confused Anyways, push the CPU and memory cores by %5 and push the shader to % as high as you can. I found this to be the best simple OC as compared to changing voltages etc. through Rivatuner which I know nothing about. I like MSI's Afterburner for this.

BTW, I don't OC GPU's anymore since I burnt a pair of 9800GT's after a couple of years. I can't remember what PPD I got with the 260 but remember that it will reduce your CPU folding PPD like any other card. I still don't fold with my GPU's yet as it's still warm enough outside and I will not pay for the extra electricity until it gets too cool on my room. You'll have to check your production over a few days using the HFM monitoring tool to see if it's worth it. Have fun! Nice friend.:cool

 

and howdy back at you...

First off I do not over clock GPU video cards as when used to fold cause heat,a lot I might add.

With that stated I use and suggest using a program called MSI Afterburner as this piticular program does what I need, other folders may use a different program, your mileage may vary. (please refer to this post)

As to the drivers to install/use, that would be your preference. (I use version 280.26 at this posting also called 6.14.128026.ForceWare 280.26)

nvidia drivers download page

as to your setup I never install on C: drive just in case I should crash and burn that leaves my Folding@home intact.

There is a new version 7 client that auto magically installs,but I prefer the tried and true version 6.34 console (command prompt "dos box") client,with certain flags set to get the most bang (points/production).

Your looking at 7,000 point/production minimum running 24/7 setting your GPU client to run/accept "big" changing advanced options to "yes",thereafter changing the default setting of idle to the slightly higher setting of low depending on which version client you decide to use.

also this forum is an excellent source of information on folding.

Just to let everyone know I am willing to setup or assist in any way I can to setup any Folding@home client on your computer if you so desire.

My PMs are open to all.

May the fold be with you.

 

Yep, from what I can gather a stock reference Nvidia GTX 260 is clocked at 576MHz on the core. This one is 518MHz. And the shaders have been lowered too. From what I can find online, Gigabyte underclocked the cards and sold them at a cheap price, but they can easily reach, and surpass reference speeds like a normal GTX 260. (Something I'll have to see for myself)

 

Thank you for the links to the drivers NoProb, I'm sure they will be most helpfull.

I've tried both v6 and V7 clients on the CPU. I've stuck with the v6 because I find it has less problems sending the WU's once completed. I had a problem with WU's backing up after completion on the v7 client.

 

Hmm, mine is at 625MHz stock as is the Palit I found at ncix. I guess you have an older one then. Anyways, I hope an expert does come in as I'm sure not one.:-D

 

* Jay
* 10/7/2011 8:57:22 PM
* Tech Level: High5/5
* Ownership: 1 week to 1 month3/5
* Verified Owner


4 out of 5 eggsRating: 4/5Works fine

Pros: -Very powerful for the price.
-Does overclock decently.

Cons: Being clocked below reference is a low blow, especially since those seeing a GTX 260 for 100 bucks is gonna jump at it before realizing, the 518 core clock vs the 576 core clock and the much lower shader clocks.

Other Thoughts: If Gigabye wanted to have a steal of a deal they totally should've left the card at reference and asked for 10-15 bucks more. Thanks for the card, but shame.

referenced page/site

*Edit

I do not over clock GPU video cards,but in this case I would to the reference values

 

I have 2 of THESE
These are the overclocked models rather than underclocked.
Shaders only were OC to 1620 and fan run at 65% using Precision.
Temps stayed reasonable - in the 60C - 70C range IIRC. They will chew up some electricity though. If you have high electric rates be aware of the situation.
Folded both for a good part of a year and they are still running but not folding as I am smp folding only now under ubuntu.

 

Thanks guys,

Yes, thats what I was kind of planning on doing to the card Noprob (thats also where I realised the card was underclocked), was to raise the core speed to that of the stock or factory overclocked models, along with the ram speed and shaders. Of course I would have to bump them up slowly and stress the heck out of the card to make sure it can handle those speeds.

The card uses two 6-pin power connectors with a 550W minimum Rating, and I have the Corsair 650W PSU to match now, so that area should be covered. Hydro costs are also included in my rent so no worries there lb :-D

 

I've been busy lately more so then the norm and decided to post my experience concerning the subject of SMP and GPU folding simultaneously on the same computer system.

Keep in mind that your hardware (motherboard,ram and cpu) including a sufficient power source is needed to allow smooth operation for proper execution of this endeavor.

I use a AMD 64 x2 4200+ socket 939 with two older 8800 series GPU video cards,this allows my production points to be in the neighborhood of 7,800 to 8,700 approx. (24/7)

I also have a AMD 64 x2 5200+ socket am2 doing both SMP/GPU folding with production of 9,000+ points (24/7) depending on which WU's are given.

Just a heads up that the older hardware posted here (at this posting) is still capable to produce useful science.

 

Theres nothing wrong with making good use of older "outdated" equipment that alot of people wouldnt think of using. Thats being smart, and its great that you achieve such a good PPD with that tactic.

Sorry for the delaay in my response, I moved apartments this week and have just settled back in. Theres been a slight change to my folding plan as well, I ended up trading the GTX 260 and $10 to another friend for an Asus GTX 550 ti (910 core clock) that didnt fit in his small case.

So now my first GPU WU is due in about an hour on the new card, and it seems to be performing extremely well.

cores are OC'd to 960Mhz, shaders at 1920, and memory at 4500. temps are solid at only 35 degrees celcius which I think is due to excellent airflow and the copper cooling pipes on the GPU. Either way, its surpassing my expectations thus far, we'll see how it fares PPD wise in a few days

 

Wow man, that's a real steal!!!:eek Ya, 5xx series use less power and therefore produces less heat. 35C really surprises me though!

Now that -bigadv WU's are history unless you have a server class machine with 16 cores, GPU folding has come back in favour, especially since it's cool again.

I'm surprised that the 260 fits somehow, that's the longest card that I have and both are dual slot.:confused

 

Yep, 35 degrees surprised the heck out of me too. but as you can see in the pic I'm attaching, she's dead-solid at 35 degrees at full-bore folding.

The 260 was about .5 inches longer, but this Asus card has 2 heat-pipes that stick out a bit from the side of the card, and prevented his side panel from properly closing all the way.

 

Wow, lucky you! That is a smallish case as those heatpipes don't stick out very much. At least he didn't force the side panel on. I would have been extremely prejudiced!http://bestsmileys.com/computer1/22.gif:-D

 

I noticed you opted to use afterburner.

I also noticed from your attached pic that you are using an out dated driver for your card (even older then the one I use) as version 285.58 is available and opens up your card for possible improvements and production/points concerning Folding@home WU's

here are the main improvements I noticed posted on the driver page once choosing the correct video card:

also

just a fyi

fold on

as a side note my 8800 series cards run at 76 degrees Celsius on warm days,on cool days between53/63 degrees Celsius

 

Great eyes Noprob, thats exactly the type of things I have no idea about lol.

I'll work on updating the driver today. I noticed that my windows media player has stopped playing .avi, .mpg, and .wmv files since installing the card. So I'm hoping the driver update fixes that.

 

I use VLC to view the formats you stated (video/movies),with K-Lite Full installed.

works a charm for me.


fold on

 

Many thanks Noprob,

With new drivers installed, and VLC media player I'm able to view my video's again. :cool

 

Well, right now I have it (GTX 550 ti) folding stable at 1003Mhz core, 2006mhz shaders, and 2155 x2 for the DDR5 memory. (Estimated PPD for the GPU sits at 9750 currently)

I found I had to lower the memory clock to get the OC stable at that speed. I got 2 NAN errors in a row. So I raised Vcore to the GPU core a tad, and no goose. So I tried lowering my memory clock just a bit since DDR5 is fast enough at stock clocks really, and bingo :cool


I have had one enomily however, a 124 code BSOD. Usually that means my CPU or Northbridge need more Vcore, but I'm thinking my Corsair TX650 power supply with its single 12v rail isnt cutting it, even though the rail has 53 amps and is well over the recommended wattage of 400watts for my GPU, because my CPU overclock hasnt changed in months, and I'm certain its solid.

I havent been able to reproduce the BSOD since, even running the OCCT PSUtest couldnt reproduce it. So I'm still wondering at this point. but still folding nicely as well, that BSOD did cause the V7 client to dump my WU's though :mad

 

Well, I raised Voltage a bit more to that of the factory super-clocked version of my card, and lowered memory speed a bit more, It's been folding stable for 24 hours at the moment.

I added the -advmethods flag and requested 500MB WU's for my GPU slot, the WU's increased from 13xx base value to 5xxx base value WU's, however my estimated PPD dropped from around 95xxPPD to 85xxPPD if that makes any sense at all? :confused

 

I've read within this past week a 500 watt power source is recommended for the specified GPU in question.

which I thought to be really good because I have 580 watt power supplies.

 

Just thought I'd share my experience and findings thus far with my new mobo and gpu.

Most important lesson learned- If you let your case fan wires rest on the heatpipes of your GPU knowingly or not, you run a great risk of bricking your motherboard when the fan shorts out because the plastic melted and the wires touched lol

Waiting for my new board to be shipped now and am back on the old board. Newegg have been kind enough to actually let me RMA the board, which I wasnt expecting at all, but figured it was worth a shot.

As for the folding stats, I tried a few various combinations of flags and saw some interesting changes in my projected PPD.

V7 Client

Vanilla setup:
GPU OC'd 2100 shaders- No flags- 1345 ponts per WU- projected PPD of 10,000
SMP OC'd 3.6Ghz x2- No Flags-688 points per WU- projected PPD of 2100-2800
Total Projected PPD- 12,400

Heavy Setup:
GPU OC'd 2100 shaders- -advmethods flag- 5100-5500 points per WU- projected PPD of 8500
SMP OC'd 3.6Ghz x2- big packet size flag- 1700 points per WU- projected PPD of 1700-2000
Total Projected PPD- 10,000

Speedy Setup:
GPU OC'd 2100 shaders- small packet size- 1280 points per WU- projected PPD of 10,450
SMP OC'd 3.6Ghz x2- small packet size- 88-100 points per WU- projected PPD 3500-3800
Total projected PPD- 14,000

I did multiple runs on each setup and averaged the numbers out here.


Seems to me like crunching the small ones is adding up to more PPD for me, which goes against everything I've been reading on the F@H forums.