Best Bang For The Buck Folding Machines

[PiratesRule]

Originally Posted by Bonz™

I thought folding was for the benefit of helping cancer/disease research and protein folding/misfolding, not for points...

And points don't measure exactly how much folding gets done.

You get more points for doing more intensive WU anyways. Win-Win.

[arekieh]

question,
i have a Pentium D 940, 2 gigs of 667mhz ram, onboard graphics, crappy case, P5LD2-VM mobo, 350W psu,
the question is.... should i sell it, or should i fold on it?
NOTE: im gonna start folding on my main computer(sig), and i might start up my brothers(e8400), they wont be 24/7 though, itll be more like 16/7

[Bal3Wolf]

My pd 945@4.25ghz in ubuntu 64bit does them in 17mins its a heater but it pushes them out.

[arekieh]

Originally Posted by Bal3Wolf

My pd 945@4.25ghz in ubuntu 64bit does them in 17mins its a heater but it pushes them out.

is that good? 17min? lol im total noob

[Bal3Wolf]

Well for a pd it is my c2d does them in under 10mins thol.

[Taeric]

For computer folding, it's quad or nothing. With the price of quads, it's not buying the other components to run dual or single core CPUs. Linux off a flash drive is a must; low cost, low power consumption. Quad on a Blood Iron or other sub-$100 mobo. For RAM 1 GB is enough; would have to check to see if 1x1 GB or 2x1 GB split over two systems is more cost effective. Moderate to large PSUs can be split to support multiple systems; I believe CD has a FAQ on the subject.

When considering GPU vs. PS3 vs. CPU, remember that while GPUs are the fastest at crunching number, they types of calculations they can perform are very limited. CPUs are the slowest in terms of raw production, but they can handle the widest range of WUs.

[CL3P20]

I quit using my x1950pro to fold with...sure it will pump out 2-3 300point WU's per day..but it eats the cpu alive doing so...its hard to do anything else other than fold when a gpu client is going.

Running SMP, I can game or do whatever I like..and it produces more points by far.

Q- would a e8400 @ 4+ghz be an alternative for a Q4? ..speed vs raw power etc.

[robevans89]

Originally Posted by whe3ls

with a q6600 or with a 3210 price with 3210 is 408.42
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=XEO...37792844af1205

os to put on the flash drive

save $13 and use a cardboard box :P

Originally Posted by pbpenguins412

Crossfired X1950XT's on a Crossfire compatible motherboard with a Q6600.

Crossfire slows down GPU folding, the CPU needs to poll the cards constantly, and using crossfire means the 16 lanes of the first slot must be used to poll both, compared to a non-crossfire setup providing 16 lanes each (at least that's how i think it works :P).

[Ecchi-BANZAII!!!]

Nvidia Tesla^^ yummie for Folding if it support it...

[Lude]

Its the PS3.


PS3s crank out ~900 PPD right? First of all, it is going to take over $400 to build a PC to get that many PPD. While PS3s only produce ~900 PPD, they do a lot more work than a PC producing ~900 PPD. When PS3s started folding, their PPD were quite a bit higher, but Stanford lowered the points for the PS3.


I think PS3s are the best bet. Rumor has it theres going to be another price cut somewhat soon.