Which GPU is Better

Message boards : Number crunching : Which GPU is Better

Author	Message
VALDIS Send message Joined: 18 Aug 99 Posts: 4 Credit: 815,790 RAC: 0	Message 1135045 - Posted: 2 Aug 2011, 3:42:11 UTC
	Presently I have a AMD PHENOM II 1090 running @3.4GHZ, water cooled. The vid card is a GTX 550, which puts out 150,000 WU per day, half the time the machine is running Windows 7 32 bit and the outher half its Windows 7 64 bit. I narrowed down my search to these two, what do you all think I should go with: ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 @ 1581 GFLOPS/sec or ASUS EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 @ 2703 GFLOPS/SEC. Which one would be better and why?
	ID: 1135045 ·

BilBg Send message Joined: 27 May 07 Posts: 2020 Credit: 3,024,561 RAC: 6,643	Message 1135060 - Posted: 2 Aug 2011, 4:25:09 UTC - in response to Message 1135045. Last modified: 2 Aug 2011, 4:56:50 UTC
	"Better" for what? If for SETI: - with nVidia - you can continue to use the standard SETI apps (which BOINC automatically downloads and updates) - with ATI/AMD GPU - there are (so far) NO standard SETI apps - you have to manually get and put the apps in place (How? - read the forums) Take a look at your Error tasks: http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/results.php?hostid=5960588&offset=0&show_names=0&state=5&appid= They consume huge time without making progress so BOINC aborted them. Sometimes restart of BOINC may "un-stuck" such tasks (or just [Suspend]/[Resume] the task). (so I don't think that by "half the time the machine is running Windows 7 32 bit and the other half its Windows 7 64 bit" you mean "2 times a day I reboot" - one task shows that you have not rebooted for at least a week) But it's known bug with the standard SETI apps and some AMD CPUs that tasks may hang at the beginning (when "Optimal function choices" is done). ____________ - ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
	ID: 1135060 ·

rob smith Volunteer moderator Send message Joined: 7 Mar 03 Posts: 5443 Credit: 20,513,117 RAC: 126,025	Message 1135109 - Posted: 2 Aug 2011, 6:58:25 UTC
	First - simply adding a GPU, of whatever strain, will not cure the problem you are having with the CPU produceing errors. When a WU is obtained from S@H it comes with an estimate of the time it will take to complete, if the WU completes within this time all is well, if the WU takes substantially more than that time (processor time, not elapsed) then it is deemed to have failed and an error report is produced. Each WU also comes with an indication of what processor is to perform that task, either the CPU or the GPU and by default a WU for the CPU will not be analysed by the GPU. As has been said there is a known issue on some AMD processors failing to initialise the standard application properly sometimes (I know, I suffered it). "The Lunatics" have addressed this in their version of the application, so its worth paying them a visit and getting their application and installing it. This is for two reasons, first it doesn't suffer this "very annoying feature" of the standard application, and second it will execute a WU in about half the time of the stock application. Their home page is http://lunatics.kwsn.net/ ____________ Bob Smith Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society) Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?
	ID: 1135109 ·

skildude Send message Joined: 4 Oct 00 Posts: 8942 Credit: 36,541,085 RAC: 58,858	Message 1135171 - Posted: 2 Aug 2011, 12:56:21 UTC - in response to Message 1135109.
	consider using the Lunatics Unified installer for you CPU. AMD CPU's have been known to hang on seti WU's which it appears yours are doing. running the seti optimized SSE3 app for AMD should eliminate your CPU errors. You'll also be able to install the GPU app as well. If you are considering running your GPU on another project then your choice is the ATI. For seti it's still the nVidia ____________ Proud member of TSWB. End terrorism by building a school
	ID: 1135171 ·

Message boards : Number crunching : Which GPU is Better