New Machine Cheap?

[Ricorocks]

Any ideas where to find a cheap machine, strictly for FAH, need min 400W psu, for GTX1060, machine? I have 5 machines folding, & four slow-pokes. Machine + GTX1060 < $500 possible?

Thanks Guys
Rick

[bruce]

Maybe.

Some warehouse type electronic stores will build a custom machine out of in-house parts for a pretty small fee but the <$500 is going to be a real challenge since the GPU is half of that.

Also, check out refurbished full-height systems which have the required PS and PCIe slot but with an iGPU. You may need to add extra fans.

[foldy]

Try to get a machine which can take 2 GPUs so you can add another gpu in future.

I tried to virtually compose a good rig using newegg but it came to 640 dollar for machine+gtx1060 but with the option for a second gpu.

Maybe ask this guy what he got.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Folding/commen ... ding_farm/

[davidcoton]

Low cost
Power efficiency
Folding performance

Choose any two.

I should add, my last build was meant to be a high-spec dual GPU folding rig. I got some bits wrong, and the whole thing was an expensive disaster, not helped when I tried an alternative (older) GPU which blew the MB and PSU. At present I just haven't got time to sort it all out. So what do I know?

[Ricorocks]

Adding a 2nd gpu, fried my mb, that was expensive.

[foldy]

For 2 GPUs you need to check the power supply has enough watt on 12V, e.g. 12V*33A = 396watt.
So you could feed 2 GPUs at 150watt = 300watt without hitting the max of 396watt.

But if you go for a single GPU system only then there should be many used PCs for 100 to 200 dollar where users bought a new PC and have their old machine left.

For nvidia GPU you need one CPU core to feed it so even an old single core CPU should work and 4GB RAM and min Windows Vista or linux.
And as bruce said it needs a pcie x16 slot with enough room to fit your new GPU.
I guess the power supply of old PCs could not have enough power or the 6pin plug for GPU. So you could replace it with a new one for 50 dollar.
But don't get those Dell refurbished PCs because they have a special power supply which you cannot replace with a normal one.

[Ricorocks]

Hi Guys,

I was recently given an old PC "Gateway", I've put in old sata hdd, reformatted, installed Win7 32 home premium, updated drivers & BIOS. It has a 300W PSU, I was thinking about, putting in a more CFM rear fan, & installing a front fan, prep for a GTX750 Ti:

The mb ASUS P7H55-M LX this is pcie 2.0, (this machine will never have a monitor hooked up to it), short GTX750Ti, does not need external power (slot only power), but is "pcie3.0."

Will a pcie 3.0 card work in pcie 2.0 slot & can FAH take full advantage?
_____________

The new (old machine) is not folding yet, when it does regardless of video card, will I need to make a log file for tweaking FAH????
_____________

It's now folding, using Beta client, & using my passkey, now 6 machines folding, do I now need to post a log?

[bruce]

A PCIe 3.0 GPU will work at PCIe 2.0 speeds.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. A GTX750 Ti will not run FAH noticeably slower.

Fah requires almost no tweaking. If you temporarily connect a monitor, that can be accomplished quite quickly.

Otherwise, if you have another PC on the same LAN, you can run one copy of FAHControl (aka. Advanced Control) to manage both machines but you'll need instructions to set it up.

[Ricorocks]

Hi Bruce, Thanks!

Glad to hear pcie 2.0 & 3.0 is small change. I sure do need better fan + front fan 17 degree CPU jump from non FAH to FAH full blast.

I monitor all six via VNC (wireless KVM switch), should I post a log? Would changes be to just one or all six?

[bruce]

You can run FAHControl on each machine by way of VNC or you can configure one copy to monitor/tweak all 6. Your choice.

When you install FAH, it will ask you for your folding name, your team number (if any), and your passkey (strongly recommended)).

By default, FAH configures itself, connects to the internet, and starts folding. A config file and the log file create themselves. If you're not happy with the result, post the log file from that machine.

[MARSTG]

Even a no name 300w psu should be OK for a 750ti especially if it is just a bus powered one. Good for 60k PPD. It will need one cpu core for assistance from cpu, as mentioned previously, so the system must be at least dual core. The AMD GPUs do not need CPU assistance this is why you would see a mining system using 6 AMD cards powered by a lousy Pentium.

[foldy]

It will need one cpu core for assistance from cpu, as mentioned previously, so the system must be at least dual core.

If it needs 1 cpu core why system must have 2 cpu cores?

[7im]

Even a no name 300w psu should be OK for a 750ti especially if it is just a bus powered one. Good for 60k PPD. It will need one cpu core for assistance from cpu, as mentioned previously, so the system must be at least dual core. The AMD GPUs do not need CPU assistance this is why you would see a mining system using 6 AMD cards powered by a lousy Pentium.

Mining is not the same as folding. One HT thread per GPU is sufficient for folding.