[huntman21014]

I have in my possession a DFI 680i motherboard that is not working. I called DFI and they said for $42 they would replace the motherboard.

Now I would still need a CPU, PSU, and GPU's but is the $42 worth it for a 3 PCIE slot motherboard?

My plan will be to actually get a refurb coolermaster PSU and stick it in my rig and use the 380W PSU for the folder.

Now for the CPU I would probably grab an E1200 or Pentium D if I can find one, along with 2 8800GS's for the time being.

So it would be right around $250 for a 8500PPD folder with the possibility of adding another 8800GS, what are the folding bigwigs opinion?

 

[hitman1985]

for that ammount of ppd i would do it.

i ran with a k9a2 for below 100 because i have a 750w psu so choices were easy. but for that price id go with the rma

 

[Sickened1]

a 380W can power 2 8800's and the rest of a system?

 

[sdla4ever]

Its always worth it!! Maybe start with one higher end card like 9800 GT or GTX then slowly grab some more so at the end of the project you will be pushing 12k+ ppd.

If you dont wanna do the project i suggest you find someone who would want to pay $42 for a mobo to start their own farm and RMA it with their money then send it to them.

and on the PSU note.. 380W probably will be cutting it close... do the 8800's need a PCI-E plug if not i think i may have a 450-550W PSU laying around here..

 

[MAD_J]

I had a refurb 750w CM and it couldn't even power my computer with only 1 GPU in it. Id go with a corsair or something. But yea 42$ for a 3 slot is good, as long as it has the space to handle 3 double slot GPUs then it should be fine.

 

[huntman21014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sickened1 a 380W can power 2 8800's and the rest of a system?

Well the 8800GS's are cut down G92's so like 80W per GPU, 50 for the CPU, plus the chipset and bare minimum fans and 1 HDD.

380W will be pushing it but I think it will be fine

EDIT> The system will be going into a rocketfish so dual PSU's down the road is a big possibility, but 8800GS's can be run safely off of molex adapters, I ran one on an old S939 system with a 300W generic PSU that was more like 200W, this 380W has 2 17A rails

 

[MadCatMk2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sickened1 a 380W can power 2 8800's and the rest of a system?

I'd be worried about the amps really. I've folded on a 4850 with a 350w PSU, in a sempron system; but with two cards, you're pushing it.

 

[Buck Nasty]

You should have no problem with powering 2 8800GS/9600GSO's off of the EA380. Best part is it's an 80+ PSU. I have 3 rigs and they all have 4x 8800GS/9600GSO powered by Antec EA500D PSU. They have folded 24/7 for 9 months without issue. Best of luck assembling your system.

 

[blupupher]

I have run 2 GSO's off an EW 380 with no issues.
2 GSO's, 89w CPU, 2 gigs ram, 2 fans, 1 hdd and DVD drive pulled a max of 250w, usually ran at 230.
A 3rd GS/GSO woud be pushing it but would still be around 325-335w.

Also, for the 8500 ppd estimate, you basing that off the CPU and GPU totals, right? GS/GSO are putting out around 3500PPD actual right now (with decent OC, stock volts and cooling).

 

[EricM9104]

Quote:

Originally Posted by huntman21014 I have in my possession a DFI 680i motherboard that is not working. I called DFI and they said for $42 they would replace the motherboard. Now I would still need a CPU, PSU, and GPU's but is the $42 worth it for a 3 PCIE slot motherboard? My plan will be to actually get a refurb coolermaster PSU and stick it in my rig and use the 380W PSU for the folder. Now for the CPU I would probably grab an E1200 or Pentium D if I can find one, along with 2 8800GS's for the time being. So it would be right around $250 for a 8500PPD folder with the possibility of adding another 8800GS, what are the folding bigwigs opinion?

Do it. Every little bit helps.

 

[PGT96AJT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAD_J I had a refurb 750w CM and it couldn't even power my computer with only 1 GPU in it. Id go with a corsair or something. But yea 42$ for a 3 slot is good, as long as it has the space to handle 3 double slot GPUs then it should be fine.

CM and MSI do NOT get along. That is the problem.

When I get home tonight I'll throw my Kill-A-Watt on my rig with 2 9600GSO's and see how many watts it's pulling. Should be similar to your setup.