I just calculated and realize that it costs me about $20.00 a day to support my crunching habit.

Anywhere between 500.00 and 800.00...a month.
Not per quarter...per month, kiddos.

Just pure electricity bills. And this is in the USA, where I am sure mine are not the highest in the world.

Just a side note for anybody wondering what it truly costs.
And I am running legacy hardware.......a lot of 580s, which do a wonderful job of crunching, but also chew through amps like ants through sugar.

A few years ago, I ran a 50amp 240v subfeed box and line to my living room to feed the crunchers. I was in danger of frying the existing house wiring just to feed my crunching habit. Luckily, I am an electrician, and both reckognized the problem and was able to deal with it in accordance.
Now my rigs have many amps of juice to run..........but I still have to pay for the mains supply......

Meowsigh.

It's really kind of you to make such a big investment.

You might get a lot more mileage and a lower cost by stopping work for a few months and upgrading your cards to some Maxwells with the money you're saving.

May I ask, how many graphics cards do you have in operation?

I just calculated and realize that it costs me about $20.00 a day to support my crunching habit.

Anywhere between 500.00 and 800.00...a month.
Not per quarter...per month, kiddos.

Just pure electricity bills. And this is in the USA, where I am sure mine are not the highest in the world.

Just a side note for anybody wondering what it truly costs.
And I am running legacy hardware.......a lot of 580s, which do a wonderful job of crunching, but also chew through amps like ants through sugar.

That's why I went to Maxwells (all 750Ti). Total power bill (Minnesota) is running an average of $325/month for an all electric house. Of course half the year (or more) they're heating the house (almost totally). I'd consider selling some of those energy eaters and invest in some Maxwells.

I just calculated and realize that it costs me about $20.00 a day to support my crunching habit.

Anywhere between 500.00 and 800.00...a month.
Not per quarter...per month, kiddos.

Just pure electricity bills. And this is in the USA, where I am sure mine are not the highest in the world.

Just a side note for anybody wondering what it truly costs.
And I am running legacy hardware.......a lot of 580s, which do a wonderful job of crunching, but also chew through amps like ants through sugar.

A few years ago, I ran a 50amp 240v subfeed box and line to my living room to feed the crunchers. I was in danger of frying the existing house wiring just to feed my crunching habit. Luckily, I am an electrician, and both reckognized the problem and was able to deal with it in accordance.
Now my rigs have many amps of juice to run..........but I still have to pay for the mains supply......

Meowsigh.

How much does Electricity cost you per KWh?

If you updated your GPU's to Maxwell's; GTX750Ti 2GB or any of the 900 series you could do as much GPU work and save a lot on power.
Take a GTX580 for example. At GPUGrid it will use around 185W whereas a GTX970 will use 145W and a GTX750Ti will use 60W.
The GTX750Ti gets ~86% the credits of a GTX580 but uses 1/3rd the power. It's performance per Watt is ~2.5 times that of a GTX580.
The GTX970 gets 70% more credits than a GTX580 but uses ~40W less. It's ~2.28 times as power efficient.

The 900series efficiency over the 600 series is a bit less, but still significant.
If you replaced your GTX680's with GTX970's you could do both more work and save on electricity costs.
A GTX970's performance per Watt 68% more efficient than a GTX680; the 970 can do 25% more work for 33% less GPU power usage, approx.

So I suggest you start by upgrading your GTX500series cards and then the 600series.
Assuming you have 11 GTX680’s, 6 GTX580’s and 5 GTX560’s (not 448cores), you could replace those 22 GPU’s with 14 GTX 970’s and do the same amount of work. The power usage would be 2.03KW rather than 3.8KW. That would also allow you to do away with 2 systems, if you went for a 2GPU/system setup or 5 systems if you went for a 3GPU/system setup.
Alternatively 12 GTX980's would do around the same amount of work and allow you to drop down to 4 systems. They cost a bit more but running costs would drop to 1.98KW for the GPU's and you would have one less system.

That's not your only problem though, your other hardware is older. Take your i7 CPU 965 for example. While its only 6years old and is still a reasonably potent CPU it has a TDP of 130W. Its basically a heat monster.
For comparison, the i7-4xxx Haswell's have TDP's of between 35 and 88W.

That hopefully highlights a large part of your power usage problem, but beneath your CPUs are older motherboards and PSUs (presumably) which may also be somewhat power hungry.

For GPUGrid GPU crunching, a potent CPU is not necessary. It only becomes so when you start adding 3 or 4 extreme end cards and then its only worth spending a little extra on a CPU.

You could sell your old high end CPU's and buy more basic CPU's with the purpose of GPU crunching, the sale might even fully pay for the purchase. Now though, I would just stop CPU crunching on those systems, or under-volt and under-clock them.

---

FAQ's

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

It's really kind of you to make such a big investment.

You might get a lot more mileage and a lower cost by stopping work for a few months and upgrading your cards to some Maxwells with the money you're saving.

May I ask, how many graphics cards do you have in operation?

About 24, assuming none have crashed lately...
9 rigs, all have 2 cards, 2 have 3 cards, and one supports 4.
Meow.

How much does Electricity cost you per KWh?

Electric Service for 06/18/14 to 07/20/14 (32 Days) 65 Heating Degree Days 123 Cooling Degree Days
Electricity Used
Meter Number VZ347939
Actual Reading on 07/20/14 3753
Actual Reading on 06/18/14 1778
On Peak Electricity Used 1975 kWh
Actual Reading on 07/20/14 62419
Actual Reading on 06/18/14 56093
Total Electricity Used 6326 kWh
Next Scheduled Meter Reading Date 08/19/14
Current Electricity Charges
WI Res Time of Use 10-10 (RG2-A Level 2) 32 Days
Facilities (32 days x $.300000/days) $9.60
State Low-Income Assistance Fee $3.15
Energy - Off Peak (4,351 kWh x $.053030/kWh) $230.73
Energy - On Peak (1,975 kWh x $.275850/kWh) $544.80
Fuel Cost Adjustment - On Peak (1,975 kWh x $.001780-/kWh) $3.52CR
Fuel Cost Adjustment - Off Peak (4,351 kWh x $.001320-/kWh) $5.74CR
Renewable Grant CR (6,326 kWh x $.000810-/kWh) $5.12CR
Subtotal Electricity Charges $773.90
Sales Tax ($770.75 x 5.00%) $38.54
Total Electricity Charges $812.44

Now, if you look at that bill, it would be very easy for me to cut it in half. I am on 'time of use' rating...
This bill shows 230 bucks at the cheap rate and 544 bucks for crunching during the day when they whack me for the full monty.
But, what's the fun in crunching half arsed? LOL.

.

Meowsigh.

If you updated your GPU's to Maxwell's; GTX750Ti 2GB or any of the 900 series you could do as much GPU work and save a lot on power.
[/quote]
OK...you are a smart business man.....
You front me the money to upgrade and I'll pay you back with the energy savings.
Only 137.00 each today.
x24 = $3,288.00
But Tiger has a 15 card limit. So the kitties will have to set up their own account and buy the rest on their tab out of their kibble fund.
Now, suppose that cut my bill in half. Say $400.00 a month saved.
It would be a 9 month payback.
Cut me a check and I'll order them pronto...LOL.
Of course, 24 750tis ain't gonna crunch as much as what I am fronting right now, so the RAC will take a hit.

And, oopsie...only 2 rebates per kitty. So 2 x $137.00 and 22 x $157.00.....
So that brings the tab up to $3,728.00. Payback is now 10 months.
And since it is now 5 degrees below zero f here presently, and 750tis don't generate as much heat, I'll have to fill the 250 gallon fuel oil tank in the basement so I can run the furnace. 250 x 3.28/gallon = #822.50
Tab is now $4,550.50 and payback is now a year.
Except that neither electricity or fuel oil are going to be this low a year from now......and we are basing the payback on an PRESUMED savings of $400.00 a month....
Oh, wait a minute....
We are not including ANY costs for upgrading the supporting CPU infrastructure here. You wanna do the math on upgrading 9 mobos and CPUs??
LOL....I can wipe out my 401k fund and retire on the energy savings, right?

So.....Here is the math...

You can configure Boinc to not run during time frames. I do this as my 3h/day (M-F) peak is £0.28/KWh ($0.42)! Normal rate isn't great £0.15 ($0.23) and low is about £0.11 ($0.17).

Boinc Manager (advanced view),
Tools, Computing Preferences, under the Processor usage tab set the time exclusions,
Every day between the hours of 19:00 and 16:00 will mean Boinc runs between 7pm and 4pm but pause from 4pm to 7pm.
- Obviously adjust to your peak hours.

Credit per € / $

PS. Your present kit is still worth plenty, sell it to fund more efficient system, but obviously not all at once. Your i7's would give you plenty of funds to get started with. A dual core CPU with a reasonable clock is plenty to run two mid-range to high end GPU's.
The time to sell your GTX560's is now as the GTX960 will be out soon and the value of the GTX500's will drop to zip. A GTX580 can still fetch around $100. Maybe half that for a GTX560 if your lucky, but your i7's would probably fetch more...

---

FAQ's

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

Total power bill (Minnesota) is running an average of $325/month for an all electric house. Of course half the year (or more) they're heating the house (almost totally).

Do you know how many BTU's you're DC systems provide? For example: a cord of white birth is 20million BTU. One split 16-18in x 4in x 6in log is roughly ~13K BTU's. A 40Ib bag of wood pellets provide 345K BTU's.
Price for [1] cord of non-seasoned wood is about 225-330$ during New England Winter. Not as harsh as (Northern) Minnesota but close. (I buy and cut my wood in Spring when a cord is 150-175$ and let it season) During the Winter for [3] wood [1] pellet stove(s): I burn about 5/6 cords and 1/4 Ton of pellets. (British Thermal Unit or BTU - is defined as the amount of thermal energy it takes to raise one pound of water one degree F.)

You can configure Boinc to not run during time frames. I do this as my 3h/day (M-F) peak is £0.28/KWh ($0.42)! Normal rate isn't great £0.15 ($0.23) and low is about £0.11 ($0.17).

Boinc Manager (advanced view),
Tools, Computing Preferences, under the Processor usage tab set the time exclusions,
Every day between the hours of 19:00 and 16:00 will mean Boinc runs between 7pm and 4pm but pause from 4pm to 7pm.
- Obviously adjust to your peak hours.

Credit per € / $

Yes, I am aware of the possibilities, my friend.
But, the kitties would not be happy with me if I restricted their crunching hours.
Might start to nibble on my toes at night....LOL.
If cost effectiveness were my goal, I could reduce my costs significantly, for sure. But that is not my end game.
The rigs are presently crunching up a storm on Seti. Their servers are on a roll for a change, and AP work is flowing to the rigs nicely. Nobody else on the PLANET does Seti the way I do, and that is something I am very proud of.

No worries, GPUGRID is locked and loaded on all rigs as the backup project, and I'll be here from time to time. Just me and my kwhs....

The power usage would be 2.03KW rather than 3.8KW.

2.03KW= 6926 BTU per Hour
3.8KW= 1.297e+4 BTU per Hr.
120W= 409 BTU per Hr.
-[1] GTX 970 @ 145W= 494 BTU per Hr.
-[1] GTX 780ti @ 250W= 853 BTU per Hr.
-[1] GTX 750ti @ 60W= 204 BTU per Hr.(Beyond's 16 GTX750ti provide 3264 BTU's per Hr.)
-[1] System with Total Power @ 750W= 2259 BTU per Hr.
-[1] System with Total Power @ 1KW= 3412 BTU per Hr.
-[1] 1e+5 BTU oil burner= 1.055e+8 W

Try this one....
I have a 240v 50amp subfeed box supplying the crunchers.
I have it about 90% utilized.
That would be 45amps @240v.
Meaning I am using about 10.8kw from the mains.
Which converts to...
10.8 Kwh = 36851.129604 Btu
No wonder the crunching den is staying reasonably warm even with outside temps hovering around zero f.

Okay, here's my prescription:

If you're dead set on running at maximum capacity without taking any breaks, you can probably STILL afford to upgrade everything.

Take out a personal loan from your bank.
If they have any reservations, well, you've already done the math that their loan can be paid back in about year's time.

Order fifteen cards, to be sent to your home.
Use a secondary credit card, or a debit card, and order the rest to be sent to either your place of work or a trusted friend's house. You can offer some tech support for their trouble.

You'll start saving by month #1 or #2, and can switch out the inefficient parts later when they go on sale.

PS. Zone heating is much more efficient than full house heating. That's another upgrade you could make that would pay for itself within a few months. If you're really set on whole house heating, possibly the furnace could do with an upgrade, or at least an inspection for further advice.

LOL...
The furnace is the original Bard oil burner in this 50yo house.
Yes, it does need an upgrade. I do check the heat exchanger and exhaust stack every year for leaks. And have a couple of CO monitors online at all times. As the saying goes, they just don't build them like that anymore.

As to loans.... I am tapped out. I am still working off of debts I acquired in my early crunching days when I was a younger pup and spent thousands on computer bits. I had a great job selling industrial electronics, but the owner sold out and I was left on the street looking for several years with all that debt still demanding to be paid. Rough times.

I am finally working those debts down. I get paid pretty well these days building fire trucks for a living, and things are getting fairly under control again.

My monthly expenditures for cruncher juice are my biggest outgo now.
And ATT is just wanking away at me increasing my internet access bills.
The bastards seem to be charging me by the freaking minute.
You might possibly understand how having 9 rigs crunching Seti 24/7 can eat up a lot of bandwidth, kids. It is another factor.
And there is just no way I can go forward until some bills go away.
I AM getting there, my friend. And your advice is not in error.
It is just the fact of the matter that I am moored where I am just now, and it is not going to change anytime soon.

And ATT is just wanking away at me increasing my internet access bills.
The bastards seem to be charging me by the freaking minute.

I feel your pain. I dumped American Thieves and Thugs a few years ago because they wouldn't grandfather in my 3GS iPhone after I'd been using it with no data plan for a year. They said a data plan was mandatory on an iPhone on their network. I told them to stick their data plan where the sun don't shine and took my business to T-mobile. They lost a $5k a year customer(phones,internet and U-verse)over a $30 data plan. Morons.

Total power bill (Minnesota) is running an average of $325/month for an all electric house. Of course half the year (or more) they're heating the house (almost totally).

Do you know how many BTU's you're DC systems provide? For example: a cord of white birth is 20million BTU. One split 16-18in x 4in x 6in log is roughly ~13K BTU's. A 40Ib bag of wood pellets provide 345K BTU's.
Price for [1] cord of non-seasoned wood is about 225-330$ during New England Winter. Not as harsh as (Northern) Minnesota but close. (I buy and cut my wood in Spring when a cord is 150-175$ and let it season) During the Winter for [3] wood [1] pellet stove(s): I burn about 5/6 cords and 1/4 Ton of pellets. (British Thermal Unit or BTU - is defined as the amount of thermal energy it takes to raise one pound of water one degree F.)

I don't know the BTU output of my systems. I have a rather large but super energy efficient house though. It's built for energy efficiency (in 1977 no less). The side with the major windowed areas point straight south and have sun porches that are opened on sunny days and closed the rest of the time. Much of the rest of the house also has buffer areas. All interior walls and floors are insulated. The exterior walls are 6". All my heat is supplied either by the computers or wood that I cut from the land around the house. I had 9 big oaks go down in a huge windstorm a couple years ago. Don't know how I'm going to use all that wood since it's only during extended cold spells that I use any at all.. I could get by a lot cheaper if I either used all wood or the electric furnace which uses off peak at a much lower rate. I like crunching DC though. It makes me feel like I'm doing something to help science and mankind. My problem is the summer. Unless I shut down the computers, AC is silly. There's usually a couple days a year I do just that though for the sake of poor Cocoa (my dog). Sadly he died on Dec 27th at the age of 16.3. He's missed.

And ATT is just wanking away at me increasing my internet access bills.
The bastards seem to be charging me by the freaking minute.

I feel your pain. I dumped American Thieves and Thugs a few years ago because they wouldn't grandfather in my 3GS iPhone after I'd been using it with no data plan for a year. They said a data plan was mandatory on an iPhone on their network. I told them to stick their data plan where the sun don't shine and took my business to T-mobile. They lost a $5k a year customer(phones,internet and U-verse)over a $30 data plan. Morons.

I am kinda stuck with them. I cannot complain about the cell phone contract I have...I was grandfathered in from Cingular when ATT bought them out, and they have tried to get me to switch plans, but I am still on the most basic one they have...and they don't offer it to new customers anymore.
The 'net service they have wanked me on a bit at a time, a buck or two at a time, until it is now pretty expensive. But I have only 2 other options. Time/Warner cable....and I don't have a television. Or satellite, which as I have heard is not real cheap and the service gets pretty sketchy at times. I'll stick with the land line...........
When, and I say WHEN Time/Warner buys out Comcast, things are gonna get even uglier for many people.

Rest in peace, beloved Cocoa....
I lost my eldest kitty at the age of 18y, 8mo about a year ago, and I still shed a tear or two for her from time to time.
Her dear sister left me at the young age of 5-1/2yo from genetic kidney failure after a 9 month fight involving subq fluids every single day to shore her up.

I still have her 3 stepsisters...aged 14 years and counting.

God bless our companion animals....

Meow.

I leave the project for loong time because of the GPU core is loaded is barely 60-65
% With my gtx 980 it averaged 60-73 and 25-40 core memory. It depends on the type of unit. gerard is completely tragic.
This is a lack of! It's a waste of resources if I have several computers from the NVIDIA, and each is only 60-80% power to GPUGrid.

I know that this project will have a problem when counting taks without errors.
problem is more complicated, because why not gpu grid to run on 95% load
unfortunately it is a big waste of resources.
and the new Top-average performers (last week long runs) im dont like too..how some peple get to top 10 i dont understod ..
But if you have 3 gtx980 at 60% load ... is a big waste of resources petebe -)