Is PS3 folding still worth it?

molson3530

molson3530

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 25, 2004
Messages
1,923
Hello all!

I have been away from the folding scene here for a while (from when relic, marty, and FLECOM were regulars, as well as some banned people). I really would like to start contributing again. The only problem is that my most powerful machine right now is my PS3. I have already suffered through one YLOD on this console and based on its now meager PPD I am wondering if it is worth running. I am in the process of starting my own law practice so money will be tight for a while. I hope to start up a GPU farm in the future, but who knows when that will be. I will probably start my crappers on BOINC when I have a chance but is it worth running the PS3?

 
your better off starting a processor farm running boards with onboard video to save extra power then to run a GPU farm now.. its really up to you and how much power you want to use while running the ps3 client.. but id say invest in some i7 860's or 920's instead of going the gpu route.. especially with the new gpu 3 client coming out the only useful cards will be the GTX 470 and 480 and for the amount of PPD they make a 920 could do the same thing with 1/4 of the power usage..
 
I no longer fold on my PS3 and haven't for awhile. It is the very first gen and sucks up almost 200 watts as measured with my kil-a-watt. If you own it and it's all you have to fold with, by all means, support the cause. Definitely don't buy one for the purpose of folding, though.
 
Okay, I get your point. However, I was thinking about getting an i7 system an then adding GPUs as my budget allows especially seeing my current system in my sig. But my main question is should I keep the PS3 running?
 
Wesleynator said:
I no longer fold on my PS3 and haven't for awhile. It is the very first gen and sucks up almost 200 watts as measured with my kil-a-watt. If you own it and it's all you have to fold with, by all means, support the cause. Definitely don't buy one for the purpose of folding, though.
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I am not concerned about the energy usage but it is in my bedroom. (I have a 60G Phat) I guess I have to weigh the work done against my comfort. I am guessing my question boils down to "is it worth the heat". My dorm rooms were toasty with top end processors running fah but we kicked ass in stats.
 
molson3530 said:
Okay, I get your point. However, I was thinking about getting an i7 system an then adding GPUs as my budget allows especially seeing my current system in my sig. But my main question is should I keep the PS3 running?
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If you get that new rig, it will make so many points (20K-30K) you probably won't care about the PS3's 900ppd, especially so when you consider the heat which is significant. If you run it just because you want to, then that fits right in with this group. We may be smart about maximizing the science and ppd/watt but we're also [H]ard:cool:
 
Wesleynator said:
If you get that new rig, it will make so many points (20K-30K) you probably won't care about the PS3's 900ppd, especially so when you consider the heat which is significant. If you run it just because you want to, then that fits right in with this group. We may be smart about maximizing the science and ppd/watt but we're also [H]ard:cool:
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Hey, I have a BS in Biochemistry besides my JD so I am all about the science and I always have been. I wanted to see if I could actually be helpful to the cause, but I guess that I have answered my own question. I guess everything helps until I can get a decent rig going.I'll keep the PS3 folding until it dies along with my laptop.
 
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I second the i7 rig.

I'm mostly SMP, but I run a few GPUs.

My dual 5530 rig does ~20k ppd on 220 watts with current WU. Looking for a bump when the larger WU come out for A3 SMP.
 
Kendrak said:
I second the i7 rig.
I'm mostly SMP, but I run a few GPUs.
My dual 5530 rig does ~20k ppd on 220 watts with current WU. Looking for a bump when the larger WU come out for A3 SMP.
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CPU folding seems to be where its at. I wish that I could splurge and pick up an I7 or couple xeons.
Based on my experience with my kilawatt meter, numbers pulled from the wall "Taken with a grain of salt of course."

Idle = 145 watt

C2D e8400 only = 215 watt 3500ppd. aftermarket cooler, running 46c steady at 4.1ghz

GTX 275 only = 310watt 9800ppd. I'm lucky to have a good cooling for it, its a little number crunching nuclear reactor! (75c at 80% fan, with a 120mm fan basically mounted right above it)

9600gt only = 190 watt 3200ppd. never above 50c with fan at default 35%

Combined its using 440 watt on average, and I can get 15k-16k ppd if I don't use the system.
Previous gen technology vs current gen. Over double the ppd with half the power draw.
 
Thanks for all of the information! I will definitely keep it in mind when I can upgrade.
 
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