Message boards : Graphics cards (GPUs) : Smallest CPU to keep GPu busy?
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what is the smallest cpu / mb/ ram combo that can be put together and keep a gtx 260 busy .? the reason I ask as I have (4) older dell 2.2 celerons (they use agp graphics but have pci slots and ALL they do is crunch using windows xp pro AND 512 RAM 400 MHZ any ideas? | |
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You can't ramm a PCIe card into a PCI slot. | |
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 K1atOdessaSend message Joined: 25 Feb 08 Posts: 249 Credit: 370,320,941 RAC: 0 Level  Scientific publications      | |
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As Desti says, are you referring to a PCI slot or a PCIe (PCI Express) slot? A GTX 260 is PCIe -- those 2.2 Celerons you say have AGP. Do they have AGP and PCIe? | |
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[BOINC@Poland]AiDec Send message Joined: 2 Sep 08 Posts: 53 Credit: 9,213,937 RAC: 0 Level  Scientific publications  | |
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And remember that you`ll need strong enough PSU (for full load 260GTX ofc) with correct connections. | |
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ExtraTerrestrial Apes Volunteer moderator Volunteer tester  Send message Joined: 17 Aug 08 Posts: 2705 Credit: 1,311,122,549 RAC: 0 Level  Scientific publications | |
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Performance and power consumption of 2.2 GHz Celerons is horrible, but they should be fine for running GPU-Grid. It's the platform you'd have to worry about. | |
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hey folks ! been gone for a little vacation , you are right I did not look at the spec's close and the systems are PCI no e , on systems with a PCIe slot what is the best combo of GPU / CPU with either a 9600 or a 2600 card and are there any brands of gpu that work well and some are duds? also I prefer Intel processors | |
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Paul D. Buck Send message Joined: 9 Jun 08 Posts: 1050 Credit: 37,321,185 RAC: 0 Level  Scientific publications  | |
hey folks ! been gone for a little vacation , you are right I did not look at the spec's close and the systems are PCI no e , on systems with a PCIe slot what is the best combo of GPU / CPU with either a 9600 or a 2600 card and are there any brands of gpu that work well and some are duds? also I prefer Intel processors Well, I like my i7 (Intel) 940 which is in an Asus MB I can get the model number if you are going to build a system out of parts, 10K RPM Raptor drive with 160G (My work machine is my Mac Pro with 2.x G RAID 5 array internal) I put 3 sticks of 2G RAM in to satisfy the tri-channel memory system which with XP Pro gives me a "visible" 2.9 G RAM (With Vista I might see the whole 6 G, but have no interest in Vista's problems, thank you very much) ... I am running two GPUs, a 9800 GT which is PNY and the GTX 280 which is EVGA both seem to work well within the limits of their capabilities ... of course I have only been running them a couple weeks and that means that it is early days ... but, I do run 24/7 and so far so good ... THe 9800 takes about 90 ms a step, the 280 about 30 ms ... Not sure if that is what you wanted ... but it is what I got ... :) I tend not to buy pre-built systems as I find I am tearing out things like the GPU / video card for other reasons and buying a better / different one later on making the default one a waste of money ... | |
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MarkJ  Volunteer moderator Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 24 Dec 08 Posts: 738 Credit: 200,909,904 RAC: 0 Level  Scientific publications | |
Well, I like my i7 (Intel) 940 which is in an Asus MB I can get the model number if you are going to build a system out of parts, 10K RPM Raptor drive with 160G (My work machine is my Mac Pro with 2.x G RAID 5 array internal) I put 3 sticks of 2G RAM in to satisfy the tri-channel memory system which with XP Pro gives me a "visible" 2.9 G RAM (With Vista I might see the whole 6 G, but have no interest in Vista's problems, thank you very much) ... Out of interest does XP see all 8 cores? I thought it was only meant to show 4. Re: The memory, if you want to go above 4Gb (well at least to be able to see/use it) you'd need a 64 bit operating system ie XP64 or Vista x64. | |
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MarkJ wrote:
If you activate HyperThreading in the BIOS the OS recognizes 8 cores; deactivate it and you have only 4... | |
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Paul D. Buck Send message Joined: 9 Jun 08 Posts: 1050 Credit: 37,321,185 RAC: 0 Level Scientific publications | |
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It shows 8 ... | |
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how hard in % does running both GPUs tax the CPU? | |
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Paul D. Buck Send message Joined: 9 Jun 08 Posts: 1050 Credit: 37,321,185 RAC: 0 Level Scientific publications | |
how hard in % does running both GPUs tax the CPU? When I had two GPUs in my i7 and runing 6.55, there were 10 tasks tagged as running, but the 8th CPU task got no CPU ... one of the reasons why I moved the card to the other box. Because the scheduler code does not really handle GPUs properly and it does not look the the proposed fixes will address these issues, well, discression seemed the better part of valor ... | |
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hey folks ! been gone for a little vacation , you are right I did not look at the spec's close and the systems are PCI no e , on systems with a PCIe slot what is the best combo of GPU / CPU with either a 9600 or a 2600 card and are there any brands of gpu that work well and some are duds? also I prefer Intel processors Lets see what we can come up with: A. I'm not an Intel user, but even a Celeron would feed a GPU ok. B. Choosing a MB for a dedicated GPU cruncher. Decide if you will run 1 or 2 GPU's. Or if you may want to add a 2nd GPU later. This will require..2 pcie slots. You should be able to build a single slot, GPU cruncher for ~$300 or less (without GPU) on a uATX MB. With a dual core (or single if you re-use one you already own) cpu, and a couple gig of ram. Sidenote: The further up the ladder you go in GPU's, the more 'airflow' you will need in the case... I have an 8800GT in a uATX case, works fine 24/7... C. Power supply. Bigger is not always better. Look at the current specs for the card you are buying. Some power supplies are listed as high watt output, but the current rating may not be enough for your GPU(s). D. Try out Linux64 (free). This is in response to your question about the % of CPU usage to feed a GPU. So far Linux boxes are only showing 1-2% of CPU usage to feed -EACH- GPU. Windows is much worse (15-35% for -EACH- GPU). E. Choosing a GPU is the hard part (and matching it to a p/s). An 8800GT is the lowest I would go. The 8800GT is a solid, proven performer (also works good on other projects). The 9800 GT/GTX series is looking better now as the prices go down. A GTX260 (with 216 stream processors) is the highest I would go (~$250). General opinion is the GTX280 (~$400) may not be worth the price (yeti..). F.Don't buy a G80 series GPU (8800 Ultra, 8800 GTX (768 ram), or 8800 GTS (320/640 ram)) no matter what the price. G. Specific GPU brands are a 'feel good' choice. I have had good luck with eVGA and XFX others may not have...you may buy the GPU that went by the Quality Control station when the inspector was on break...who knows...lol H. I hope this helps a little. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the GPUgrid project, or any of the volunteer members that have already posted.... ____________  Consciousness: That annoying time between naps...... Experience is a wonderful thing: it enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it. | |
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ExtraTerrestrial Apes Volunteer moderator Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 17 Aug 08 Posts: 2705 Credit: 1,311,122,549 RAC: 0 Level Scientific publications | |
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I agree with almost everything Bender said, maybe except the "try linux" ;) Let me just try to work out the important points some more. You ahve to be clear about certain points before it makes any sense to choose components: | |
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Message boards : Graphics cards (GPUs) : Smallest CPU to keep GPu busy?
