Advanced search

Message boards : Graphics cards (GPUs) : Using two different GPUs.

Author Message
Dylan
Send message
Joined: 16 Jul 12
Posts: 98
Credit: 386,043,752
RAC: 0
Level
Asp
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26613 - Posted: 15 Aug 2012 | 23:31:56 UTC

Hello. Currently I use a GTX 670, but I was wondering if it was possible to add another card other than the 670 for the sole purpose of crunching.

For example, if I were to buy a GTX 295, and add it to the motherboard, would Boinc be able to give another GPUGRID task to it, even though I can't use the 295 for SLI mode?

Sorry for the poor wording, but I was wondering how this works. If possible, I would also like to hear some experiences and stories with this.

Thanks in advance.

Mark Henderson
Send message
Joined: 21 Dec 08
Posts: 51
Credit: 26,320,167
RAC: 0
Level
Val
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26614 - Posted: 15 Aug 2012 | 23:50:51 UTC

I have a 680 and 570 running in mine with no problems. Probably as long as the driver you use lists both cards as supported, I would think it would work.

Profile skgiven
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 23 Apr 09
Posts: 3968
Credit: 1,995,359,260
RAC: 0
Level
His
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26620 - Posted: 16 Aug 2012 | 10:00:14 UTC - in response to Message 26614.
Last modified: 16 Aug 2012 | 10:03:43 UTC

I would suggest avoiding the GTX 295. These can be troublesome on their own, and are several generations behind a GTX 670 (170W TDP). A bit of a challenge to Boinc, the drivers, the project, the system and the user. I would suggest a GTX470 or something more recent. As more GeForce 600 cards are due to be released in a week, wait for the release. At the very least GeForce 500 prices will fall.
Even the sweetest performing GTX295 comes with high running costs (289W TDP).
____________
FAQ's

HOW TO:
- Opt out of Beta Tests
- Ask for Help

Snow Crash
Send message
Joined: 4 Apr 09
Posts: 450
Credit: 539,316,349
RAC: 0
Level
Lys
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26627 - Posted: 16 Aug 2012 | 22:39:31 UTC
Last modified: 16 Aug 2012 | 22:40:01 UTC

I agree with everything above but can say that it does definately work as I just took my GTX295 off a rig where I was running it alongside a GTX480 with the with the 301.42 driver. I did not have any problems getting work or completing work (was overclocking and could return long WUs in less than 24 hours). If you still have interest in a GTX295 drop me a PM and we'll see how cheap you can get it from me :-)
____________
Thanks - Steve

ExtraTerrestrial Apes
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 17 Aug 08
Posts: 2705
Credit: 1,311,122,549
RAC: 0
Level
Met
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26692 - Posted: 25 Aug 2012 | 11:04:51 UTC

Currently the GTX660Ti looks like a sweet deal for GPU-Grid: should be about as fast as GTX670, but is significantly cheaper.

MrS
____________
Scanning for our furry friends since Jan 2002

voss749
Send message
Joined: 27 Mar 11
Posts: 26
Credit: 307,452,808
RAC: 0
Level
Asp
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26848 - Posted: 10 Sep 2012 | 1:26:40 UTC

If youre going to buy an older card, why not go with a 460. Its a fermi card, and they have been showing up on ebay for $75-85. The 460 is a better choice than the 470 as it is more efficient on a power to performance scale. A 560 would also be a good choice since they are going for about $100-$130 on ebay now.

Profile Retvari Zoltan
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 20 Jan 09
Posts: 2343
Credit: 16,201,255,749
RAC: 7,520
Level
Trp
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26851 - Posted: 10 Sep 2012 | 7:51:12 UTC - in response to Message 26848.

If youre going to buy an older card, why not go with a 460.

The GPUGrid client can use only the 2/3rd of the shaders of any CC2.1 card.

The 460 is a better choice than the 470 as it is more efficient on a power to performance scale.

While it's true for gaming, it's false for GPUGrid.

A 560 would also be a good choice since they are going for about $100-$130 on ebay now.

A GTX 570 or 580 would be even better. But it's highly not recommended to buy older GPUs for crunching. At the moment the best choice considering the price/performance and running cost/performance ratio is the GTX660Ti.

Profile skgiven
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 23 Apr 09
Posts: 3968
Credit: 1,995,359,260
RAC: 0
Level
His
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26855 - Posted: 10 Sep 2012 | 16:39:46 UTC - in response to Message 26851.
Last modified: 10 Sep 2012 | 22:44:36 UTC

The 'GeForce GTX 660' is supposedly due out soon. Expected specs are GK106, 960Cuda Cores, 980MHz, 1033MHz, 192-bit, GDDR5, 3000 MHz, 140 watts (specs to be taken in mildly saline solution).
If speculated specs are accurate-ish, expect the performance to be around 75% of a GTX660Ti, which would make it an excellent bang for buck mid-range card for GPUGrid.
Of course the release date and specs are not actually known. Ditto for performance, but I would expect it to work straight out of the box, as was the case with the GTX660Ti and GT640 (Kepler).

You can read about the GTX 660 OEM (GK104) at AnandTech
____________
FAQ's

HOW TO:
- Opt out of Beta Tests
- Ask for Help

ExtraTerrestrial Apes
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 17 Aug 08
Posts: 2705
Credit: 1,311,122,549
RAC: 0
Level
Met
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26858 - Posted: 10 Sep 2012 | 20:05:04 UTC - in response to Message 26855.

The rumored GTX660 (non-OEM) has to be significantly cheaper than GTX660Ti, though, as the performance difference is rather large.

MrS
____________
Scanning for our furry friends since Jan 2002

Profile The King's Own
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 25 Apr 12
Posts: 32
Credit: 945,543,997
RAC: 0
Level
Glu
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26860 - Posted: 10 Sep 2012 | 21:26:54 UTC
Last modified: 10 Sep 2012 | 21:27:39 UTC

I am running a GTX580 with a GTX660Ti on the same PC without issue. Both use Driver 306.02.

Now that I have them settled in I am generating over 400k points per day.
____________

Profile skgiven
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 23 Apr 09
Posts: 3968
Credit: 1,995,359,260
RAC: 0
Level
His
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26864 - Posted: 10 Sep 2012 | 22:43:56 UTC - in response to Message 26860.
Last modified: 10 Sep 2012 | 22:53:07 UTC

Rumor has the GTX 660 from around $229/£145/185 Euros; 75% of a GTX660Ti. So it's fairly sweet, and these will be the only mid range GeForce 600 cards to date (one 6-pin power connector).

There is inevitably going to be a wide variety of these cards to chose from, so some will not be half as fast as a super-clocked GTX660Ti (which out-performs some GTX670's), while others will be within 20% of a reference GTX660Ti. Prices will obviously increase from the reference model, but WRT GPUGrid, performance will rise almost linearly from the GTX 660, through the GTX 660Ti and GTX670.

Any of these cards should sit well besides a Fermi.
____________
FAQ's

HOW TO:
- Opt out of Beta Tests
- Ask for Help

Alexey Kotenev
Send message
Joined: 19 Sep 12
Posts: 14
Credit: 272,804,881
RAC: 0
Level
Asn
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26984 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 15:48:25 UTC

Now I have a Zotac Geforce GTX 680 2Gb. I am tempted to buy another one, exactly the same and connect them with a SLI bridge. I am just thinking how much more productive the rig will become? Will it crunch 2 WU at the same time or 1 but twice as fast?
Is having a double SLI-ed GPU justified performance-wise??
Thank you.

Profile Carlesa25
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 13 Nov 10
Posts: 328
Credit: 72,619,453
RAC: 251
Level
Thr
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26985 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 15:56:06 UTC - in response to Message 26984.
Last modified: 24 Sep 2012 | 15:58:29 UTC

Now I have a Zotac Geforce GTX 680 2Gb. I am tempted to buy another one, exactly the same and connect them with a SLI bridge. I am just thinking how much more productive the rig will become? Will it crunch 2 WU at the same time or 1 but twice as fast?
Is having a double SLI-ed GPU justified performance-wise??
Thank you.



Hello: Hello: First do not connect the SLI bridge.

Install the second card and nothing else, otherwise the two cards will not work.

Perform two tasks simultaneously.

According to the Windows driver that uses BOINC may not recognize the second card, you must modify the configuration file of Boinc, cc_config.xml, adding "<use_all_gpus> 1 </ use_all_gpus>".

In Linux (Ubuntu) no problem and recognizes the two cards directly. Greetings.

Alexey Kotenev
Send message
Joined: 19 Sep 12
Posts: 14
Credit: 272,804,881
RAC: 0
Level
Asn
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26986 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 16:13:43 UTC - in response to Message 26985.
Last modified: 24 Sep 2012 | 16:16:27 UTC

I have Windows7-64.
So if I connect two cards with SLI, it will not give me any growth in performance? One WU will be working same as before??
Only if the 2 cards are independent, then they will crunch 2 WUs simultaneously, correct??
If so that's a pity, because I was hoping to use the advantage of 2 SLI-ed cards in games... But that's minor.
I could not find cc_config.xml, I'll have to create it in Notepad? Is there an example of how it should look like?

Found this:
<cc_config>
<options>
<report_results_immediately> 1 </ report_results_immediately>
<use_all_gpus> 1 </ use_all_gpus>
</ options>
</ cc_config>

Is it correct?

Profile Carlesa25
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 13 Nov 10
Posts: 328
Credit: 72,619,453
RAC: 251
Level
Thr
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26988 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 18:13:02 UTC - in response to Message 26986.
Last modified: 24 Sep 2012 | 18:13:48 UTC

Hello: That is correct can not increase the performance of a task with SLI, is that BOINC does not recognize external SLI, only internal card GTX590 or GTX690 type double.

Your cc_config.xml okay.

werdwerdus
Send message
Joined: 15 Apr 10
Posts: 123
Credit: 1,004,473,861
RAC: 0
Level
Met
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26992 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 21:51:19 UTC - in response to Message 26988.
Last modified: 24 Sep 2012 | 21:53:35 UTC

From my experience with the recent drivers you can have the bridge installed and SLI enabled and still crunch on GPUGrid just fine.


Yup just tried it, the tasks run the same, one on each card, same GPU utilization %, only the system is slightly laggy on occasion. But crunching fine.
____________
XtremeSystems.org - #1 Team in GPUGrid

werdwerdus
Send message
Joined: 15 Apr 10
Posts: 123
Credit: 1,004,473,861
RAC: 0
Level
Met
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26993 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 22:03:22 UTC

Ok after a while Chrome and also Internet Explorer were VERY laggy when running 2 tasks while SLI is enabled. So you can definitely have the bridge installed but I would not recommend having SLI enabled while you are crunching. You can snooze BOINC and exit, enable SLI and play your game, and the disable SLI and then reopen BOINC if you want.
____________
XtremeSystems.org - #1 Team in GPUGrid

Alexey Kotenev
Send message
Joined: 19 Sep 12
Posts: 14
Credit: 272,804,881
RAC: 0
Level
Asn
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26995 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 23:05:22 UTC - in response to Message 26993.

Hmm, good point, I think it will be possible to disable SLI in NVidia control panel. Also, if I decide to really load the GPUs with crunching only, I can switch the video output to the CPU built-in graphics, which is quite powerful they say. Thank everyone for the advice.

Profile Retvari Zoltan
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 20 Jan 09
Posts: 2343
Credit: 16,201,255,749
RAC: 7,520
Level
Trp
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 26996 - Posted: 24 Sep 2012 | 23:15:18 UTC - in response to Message 26986.

I could not find cc_config.xml, I'll have to create it in Notepad? Is there an example of how it should look like?

Here is a little guide on how to check and create the cc_config.xml on Win7, if you've installed the BOINC manager into the default location.

Alexey Kotenev
Send message
Joined: 19 Sep 12
Posts: 14
Credit: 272,804,881
RAC: 0
Level
Asn
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 27006 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012 | 10:20:51 UTC - in response to Message 26996.
Last modified: 25 Sep 2012 | 10:25:46 UTC


Did everything by the guide. That's what Boinc reported when I clicked "Read local pref file":

Missing end tag in cc_config.xml

Error in cc_config.xml options

Unrecognized tag in cc_config.xml: <report_results_immediately>


One WU is running, the 2nd is "Ready to start".
What else can I try?

Alexey Kotenev
Send message
Joined: 19 Sep 12
Posts: 14
Credit: 272,804,881
RAC: 0
Level
Asn
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 27007 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012 | 10:28:30 UTC

Here is the log:


25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Unrecognized tag in cc_config.xml: <report_results_immediately>
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Error in cc_config.xml options
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Missing end tag in cc_config.xml
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Starting BOINC client version 7.0.28 for windows_x86_64
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Libraries: libcurl/7.25.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1 zlib/1.2.6
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Data directory: C:\ProgramData\BOINC
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Running under account Alexey
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Processor: 8 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz [Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9]
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Processor: 256.00 KB cache
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss htt tm pni ssse3 cx16 sse4_1 sse4_2 syscall nx lm vmx smx tm2 popcnt aes pbe
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | OS: Microsoft Windows 7: Home Premium x64 Edition, Service Pack 1, (06.01.7601.00)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Memory: 15.89 GB physical, 15.89 GB virtual
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Disk: 465.66 GB total, 375.03 GB free
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Local time is UTC +9 hours
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 680 (driver version 306.23, CUDA version 5.0, compute capability 3.0, 2048MB, 8382282MB available, 3252 GFLOPS peak)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | NVIDIA GPU 1 (not used): GeForce GTX 680 (driver version 306.23, CUDA version 5.0, compute capability 3.0, 2048MB, 1866MB available, 3252 GFLOPS peak)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | OpenCL: NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GTX 680 (driver version 306.23, device version OpenCL 1.1 CUDA, 2048MB, 8382282MB available)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | OpenCL: NVIDIA GPU 1 (not used): GeForce GTX 680 (driver version 306.23, device version OpenCL 1.1 CUDA, 2048MB, 1866MB available)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | GPUGRID | URL http://www.gpugrid.net/; Computer ID 134956; resource share 100
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | General prefs: from http://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/ (last modified 21-Sep-2012 01:26:51)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Computer location: home
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | General prefs: no separate prefs for home; using your defaults
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Reading preferences override file
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Preferences:
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | max memory usage when active: 8135.49MB
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | max memory usage when idle: 14643.88MB
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | max disk usage: 100.00GB
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | suspend work if non-BOINC CPU load exceeds 25 %
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | (to change preferences, visit the web site of an attached project, or select Preferences in the Manager)
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | | Not using a proxy
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | GPUGRID | Restarting task 3EKO_31_10-PAOLA_3EKO_8LIGANDS-18-100-RND7420_1 using acemdlong version 616 (cuda42) in slot 0
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | GPUGRID | Sending scheduler request: To fetch work.
25/09/2012 19:27:26 | GPUGRID | Requesting new tasks for NVIDIA
25/09/2012 19:28:05 | GPUGRID | Scheduler request completed: got 0 new tasks
25/09/2012 19:28:05 | GPUGRID | No tasks sent
25/09/2012 19:28:05 | GPUGRID | This computer has reached a limit on tasks in progress

Alexey Kotenev
Send message
Joined: 19 Sep 12
Posts: 14
Credit: 272,804,881
RAC: 0
Level
Asn
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 27008 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012 | 10:35:52 UTC
Last modified: 25 Sep 2012 | 10:40:17 UTC

:-) Solved.
Tried pasting in cc_config.xml this:

like it is shown here http://www.gpugrid.net/forum_thread.php?id=2979&nowrap=true#24915

and it worked. 2 WUs are running, and 2 started to downolad.

Thank everyone so much for your help.

ExtraTerrestrial Apes
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 17 Aug 08
Posts: 2705
Credit: 1,311,122,549
RAC: 0
Level
Met
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 27018 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012 | 20:31:44 UTC

I'm using my i7 IGP to drive desktop and light gaming (actually, all my gaming since some time) since some time. Keeps my GPU happily crunching undisturbed :D

MrS
____________
Scanning for our furry friends since Jan 2002

Dylan
Send message
Joined: 16 Jul 12
Posts: 98
Credit: 386,043,752
RAC: 0
Level
Asp
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 28722 - Posted: 24 Feb 2013 | 1:46:11 UTC

I can only imagine that when more powerful integrated graphics come out, one may be able to use that for some decently intensive gaming while their dedicated cards can crunch, as you said, undisturbed. In addition, one might be able to use integrated graphics itself for crunching, but then you wouldn't be able to play games that well.

Profile skgiven
Volunteer moderator
Volunteer tester
Avatar
Send message
Joined: 23 Apr 09
Posts: 3968
Credit: 1,995,359,260
RAC: 0
Level
His
Scientific publications
watwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwatwat
Message 28741 - Posted: 24 Feb 2013 | 11:07:00 UTC - in response to Message 28722.
Last modified: 24 Feb 2013 | 11:08:13 UTC

On APU's such as AMD's A10-5800K you can already game and crunch. You can't do this at GPUGrid of course as their GPU isn't an NVidia and NVidia don't make traditional desktop CPU's or APU's. The do of course have a Tegra lineup which is used in mobile devices, but they are not powerful enough for here.
From experience the 'apparent' drawback of these APU's is that you can't readily crunch on a discrete card and use the APU for the display (to game, work, watch video, web-browse). Maybe this has/will change? Conversely, using some of Intel's CPU's do allow you to use their sort-of APU to feed a display while you crunch on a discrete GPU. However, at present you can't crunch on their IGP's, although in theory you could (some 3rd Generation Intels are OpenCL/GL capable).
____________
FAQ's

HOW TO:
- Opt out of Beta Tests
- Ask for Help

Post to thread

Message boards : Graphics cards (GPUs) : Using two different GPUs.

//