Second hand GPUs

[Rirawen]

Hey all,

I have a quick question about using GPUs for folding.
There are a couple of decent video cards I have spotted for sale that are pretty cheap, but are sold as no video output.
The listing doesn't say if the cards are detected or not, but they are cheap enough that I could take the risk.

For folding, I'm assuming a working GPU with no video output shouldn't be an issue.
Am I correct in assuming that even though the card doesn't output any video, my server which I RDP into anyway, could still make use of it's processing power to fold?

Any info would be awesome, thanks!

[bruce]

Part of the hardware etched onto the GPU chip are essential to FAH and part are used by both FAH and generating the video. In other words, it might fold successfully and might not. You have no way to know if the GPU would or would fold without actually testing it -- unless the seller will test it for you.

[ChristianVirtual]

What mean: decent ? What GPU ? Chipset ? Watch out and check with GPUs.txt if ok to use. Also if bought used you might get earlier failure like with fans as they might already stressed. If you know/trust the seller it should be fine.

Last thought: is RDP working with GPUs and folding ? Wasn't it switching to standard VGA driver when used ?

[jimerickson]

i believe ChristianVirtual is right. i don't think RDP works with gpus, if i remember correctly. maybe try VNC. edit:spelling

[Rirawen]

I don't think I'll be risking it then. If there's a high chance the cards wont work then it's not worth the wasted cash.
I'd rather get something slightly less powerful on paper and have something to work with than an expensive paper-weight.

[Rirawen]

Just out of interest, how are these cards for folding?

PNY Quadro FX 5800 SDI (4096 MB) (VCQFX5800SDI-PCIE-PB) Graphics Card
or
PNY Quadro FX 4800(1.5 GB) (1536 MB) (FQ138UT) Graphics Card

[ChristianVirtual]

If you would have them laying around you could give it a shot; else don't invest any, even little, money.

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=27862

[foldy]

You can buy second hand GPUs but they should be fully working and have some power.

e.g. these are the buy new prices at newegg for some cheap and fast cards.
GTX 750 Ti for 115$ folds 24,9 ns/day at 60 Watt
GTX 950 _ for 150$ folds 41,6 ns/day at 90 Watt

If you buy second hand you will save some money.

[toTOW]

Just out of interest, how are these cards for folding?

PNY Quadro FX 5800 SDI (4096 MB) (VCQFX5800SDI-PCIE-PB) Graphics Card
or
PNY Quadro FX 4800(1.5 GB) (1536 MB) (FQ138UT) Graphics Card

These are pre-Fermi cards that are definitely not a wise choice for FAH (end of support for these GPUs has been announced more than a year ago). Like foldy, I think you should look for something newer (Maxwell based if possible).

[7im]

While those are Tesla based, they both lack the OpenCL level support to fold. They are blacklisted in the GPUs.txt file.

Nothing below Kepler class if used. Even at a cheaper pricing, may not be worth the power to production ration as a new 750 Ti. The 750 would pay for itself over time, and increase the production over an lesser card.

[Joe_H]

Actually, both are still whitelisted in the GPUs.txt file:

Code: Select all

0x10de:0x05fd:2:0:GT200GL [Quadro FX 5800]
0x10de:0x05fe:2:0:GT200GL [Quadro FX 4800]

are the entries in the most recent file on the server - http://fah.stanford.edu/file-releases/public/GPUs.txt.

However, as previously mentioned, potentially they can only be used to process a few remaining Core_15 projects. Those were announced as approaching end of life over a year ago, and no further projects will use Core_15 for processing.

[FldngForGrandparents]

Look for GTX 9xx cards on craigslist. I picked up a couple of GTX 980 and 980 Ti's for a few hundred less than new. With three of these cards I am doing 1.2m PPD.

[Green]

I would absolutley recommend against a used card.. They can have electrical problems that can damage your computer. Since nobody else said it, FRY ya computer. Like I wasnt totally sure until I got a card from amazon warehouse, which is second hand but verified by amazon. Where it at? Where it at? Where it at? There it goes! There it goes! There it goes! There it goes!