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DC on an ITX system?

M

Mr Flibble

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
325
I have an mini itx case that I want to build a dc rig in but it only has a 250w PS. I am trying to decide the best way to get the most point output. Should I go with a dual core setup and a low power GPU or can I get a AMD APU that will crunch on its built-in GPU?
 
I'm going to take a guess here and say an lower TDP i5 prolly is the best choice.

That said.... the PSU is prolly junk and I wouldn't want to pull for than 150 through it.

Sell it to the HTPC/NAS crowd and use the money to upgrade current rig?
 
I wanted to go with an ITX setup mainly because I happen to have the case already. I bought it on a whim last year but never did anything with it. I'm running 3 DC rigs now but they're nothing special. Maybe upgrading their GPU's would net me a better return. I wonder if I could get anything for these HD 4850's.
 
If you have a PCI-e slot and can wedge a full-size nVidia video card in the case, you could go that route - something lower power like a 650/650ti/660. I would worry some about the PSU as kendrak mentioned, but a single low-end GPU shouldn't be that bad for power draw. Nothing on the board itself will be worth folding with, so other that running a second GPU, I wouldn't bother.

4 generations on the 4850s - that has to hurt quite a bit for any value. Maybe $25 - $30 each (looking at ebay.)
 
Not sure how SMP compares at that power draw. You can run an overclocked 3770k and stay under that power limit. Dunno how PPD would compare to the graphics cards Musky mentioned.

Also not sure if you have a barebones or just the case, not clear in your posts. If you have a barebones that obviously may limit your CPU choices.
 
Quisarious said:
Not sure how SMP compares at that power draw. You can run an overclocked 3770k and stay under that power limit. Dunno how PPD would compare to the graphics cards Musky mentioned.

Also not sure if you have a barebones or just the case, not clear in your posts. If you have a barebones that obviously may limit your CPU choices.
Click to expand...

FWIW: My 3770K usually gets 30-35K ppd on most projects, my 560Ti (comparable to 660) gets 25-28K currently with -betateam flag.
 
i fold on an itx board in a sugo05 with a 450w sfx psu on a c2d and gtx 650 (384 cuda cores)
 
Most my gear is as old as the 4850's :eek: but everything works. Nothing I do requires much CPU power so I don't see the need to upgrade yet. WCG is the only project I'm running on a CPU and I'm not Folding right now.

Comp #1
Athlon II x4 635
650TI
running WCG CPU and GPU

Comp #2
PII 550
4850
GTX 260
Running Prime and GPUGrid
no CPU work

Comp #3
PII 810
7850
650Ti
running Poem on both GPU's
no CPU work
2 free Pci-e slots

I have another 4850 and a 9800gt that I can swap round in the PII 550 box depending on what project I'm working.

If I upgraded the PS in the 810 rig I could squeeze 2 more GPU's in there.

The more I look at it, if I'm just building a new rig to run GPU projects, going ITX doesn't make much since.
 
Well if you are working with WCG, then make sure whatever GPU you put on it is on the compatible list. Also, they upped HCC work availability to around 6 months. AMD cards perform best there, but if by chance HCC actually does finish, you would find more projects for nVidia and FAH likes nVidia better as well. As far as your question about APU, it would work really well at WCG. I would focus more on the number of cores with an APU within your budget. You can always upgrade your video later if desired. Long term cost, i7's still rule that equation as far as CPU goes.
 
And when talking strictly points, GPU's will give you more bang for your buck over CPU's by a long shot at BOINC projects that support them. That is why I mentioned the APU's above. On an ITX board, you don't get a lot of PCIe slots to begin with, so you would need either a heavy hitter video card or a really nice APU capable CPU.

Also, keep an eye on newest BOINC client releases. 7.0.40 introduced the beginnings of identifying IB as a GPU. None of the projects support it yet, but it is becoming a closer reality.
 
Mr Flibble said:
Comp #2
PII 550
4850
GTX 260
Running Prime and GPUGrid
no CPU work
Click to expand...

at first i read this as "Pentium 2 550mhz with a 4850 and gtx 260" and i was like "how the heck did he get those 2 graphics cards to work on a PENTIUM 2???"

then i figured it out, still made me laugh at myself
 
I was the same...

Eidt: I guess you could mod one of these and do it... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...kwCjCV1-CjCE&gclid=CJXtl9iY2bQCFcU-MgodaS4AiA
All you would have to do is what I do on boards with x1 and x8 slots and that is cut down the slot so an x16 card could seat in it. All the extra connectors are data lanes, so you could risk performance loss for the ability to use the card.

Here is a cheaper one on eBay that doesn't need modded. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-E-Expre...546?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c3093eba
 
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I went a completely different way. I wanted to use the ITX case so I bought myself a mini-ITX board with an AMD C-60. It runs NCI projects 24/7 hooked up to my living room TV. It runs Diablo II nice and smooth too. Now I have the cash to replace the GTX260, just have to decide between a 2nd 7850 or a GTX660.
 
What GPU projects would you run on the new video card? That is the big question. GPUGrid is nVidia only while OpenCL based projects will award an AMD card much higher points due to better OpenCL driver support.
 
I plan on racking up points in all the GPU projects at some point, I have some points in each of them all already. I ended up putting a 7850, 2x 650TI's and the GTX 260 all in my AMDx4 810 rig. I would love to go with a 660TI but I'm reluctant to spend the money on something that will just sit in the corner and crunch.

7850 $180, GTX 660 $230, 660TI $290.

The 7850 has the best price but that would leave me with just the 650TI's to run nividia only projects.
 
Well, if you want the ability to crunch all projects, then nVidia is your choice regardless. Like I said...GPUGrid currently only uses the nVidia cards. If you are making that project the exception, then you need to decide what projects have PRIORITY over the rest. Then you would tailor your purchase on that decision. I also recommend not mixing brands of cards in a single computer. So, maybe moving the 7850 to the single cruncher and then putting the new nVidia in with the other 3. Unless it draws too much power for the rig of course.
 
Mr Flibble said:
I plan on racking up points in all the GPU projects at some point, I have some points in each of them all already. I ended up putting a 7850, 2x 650TI's and the GTX 260 all in my AMDx4 810 rig. I would love to go with a 660TI but I'm reluctant to spend the money on something that will just sit in the corner and crunch.

7850 $180, GTX 660 $230, 660TI $290.

The 7850 has the best price but that would leave me with just the 650TI's to run nividia only projects.
Click to expand...

Keep an eye out for deals. I just purchased a used 660Ti on the FS/FT subforum for $205 shipped.
 
PrimeGrid only has 1 of 3 GPU apps that support AMD GPU's and I believe nVidia scores better but don't hold me to it.
GPUGrid only supports nVidia

Last I checked, WCG, POEM (this may have changed because I haven't hung out in their forums for quite a while), Collatz, Moo!, and Milkyway all favor AMD cards.

I don't know about DistRT, SETI/BETA, Einstein, Albert, and Donate as far as which scores better. Last I knew nVidia ruled SETI and Einstein but it has been a while since I looked into it.

And of course if you decide to do work for FAH, nVidia outperforms AMD by a long shot there as well.
 
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