X38 and Dedicated GPU Folding Box

[capreppy]

So a quick question for you.

The X38 MoBo has 3 PCIE slots (2 @ 16x and 1 @ 4x). Could you in theory (using multi GPU support from the new core) build a dedicated GPU/CPU folding box?

Stick a Q6600 to supply all three GPUs and then run an SMP (possibly 2?)

I know the biggest issue would be heat, but assuming you could keep them cool, would it work?

 

[lelliott731]

Yes, supposidly it should work. The only question is, would the PCIe x4 slot slow down folding. You'll have to let us know what you find, because I saw a Gigabyte P45 board that had two PCIe x16 slots, that will operate at x8 when you plug in two cards, and then two PCIe x4 slots with the plastic cut out so you can fit in any size card, which means you could fit 4 cards in that board if the PCIe eletrical width didn't matter.

 

[lelliott731]

I was also looking at the Asus x48 Workstation board that has 2 PCIe 2.0 x16 slots, and two PCIe x16 slots with x4 electrical on them. That would be a pretty sweet setup if anyone could tell us whether it's a serious drop in performance to use anything but a PCIe x16 slot.

 

[capreppy]

I'm not sure I can build anything like this soon, but was curious if it was even possible. I am looking to build some dedicated folding rigs when the funds become available. I would like to get the best bang for the buck. With the advent of the GPU client, this has caused me to give some thought as to how I want to configure the boxen I want to build and how MUCH I want to spend. A dedicated CPU (Q6600)folder can be had for $500 (or less). A dedicated CPU/GPU folder will run $800-$900 (increase in PSU plus the card itself)

Adding 2 or more?
Depending on the number of cards used, a couple of things would have to be considered.
- PSU size would have to be bumped up to power all of the GPUs as well as the CPU
- Will the case used provide enough air cooling (definitely not going to WC a dedicated folding box)
- Would the use of 3rd Party cooling for GPUs help? How much would it increase the cost of the boxen?
- The cost of going from P35 to X38 to get a second dedicated 16x PCIE slot is about $100 to $150. I've not thought about this, but would going to a SLI board be cheaper? Given the stability (or lack there of) of SLI boards, would that introduce some headaches not worth the savings.

 

[ND40oz]

I'd probably go with the MSI 790FX board, throw one of the new 65w 9150 phenoms in it and load it with 4 gpus.

 

[Tigerbiten]

Thats what I was thinking.

The MSI K9A2 Platinium has two PCIe x16 slots and two PCIe x8 slots, all double width.
Drop in a Phemon 9150 or a Phemon 9750.
Four 9800's or 8800's.
It would probably pull around 500-600 watts out of the wall.
And run at +20,000 PpD ...........

But you'd need to run open case to keep the vid cards cool enough.

Luck ............

 

[capreppy]

Thats what I was thinking.

The MSI K9A2 Platinium has two PCIe x16 slots and two PCIe x8 slots, all double width.
Drop in a Phemon 9150 or a Phemon 9750.
Four 9800's or 8800's.
It would probably pull around 500-600 watts out of the wall.
And run at +20,000 PpD ...........

But you'd need to run open case to keep the vid cards cool enough.

Luck ............

DAMN!!!!!

Holy PpD Batman. What size PSU would you need to run 4 cards? I'm not at all familiar with AMD products so I'll start taking a look at costing this set up.

Would the 3rd & 4th GPU's be hindered a lot by the x8 slots?

 

[Zefram0911]

plus with CUDA... you'd need 4 monitors too to start them... you can remove them once the video cards are recognized.

 

[Tigerbiten]

DAMN!!!!!

Holy PpD Batman. What size PSU would you need to run 4 cards? I'm not at all familiar with AMD products so I'll start taking a look at costing this set up.

Would the 3rd & 4th GPU's be hindered a lot by the x8 slots?

No idea how badly a x8 slot would slow slow the card down.

I alway plan on getting a PSU double the wattage of the power draw, as most PSU's run best at ~50% max load so ............ .
If it pulls around 500-600 watts, I'd look at a 1,000-1,200watt one.
My big Xigmatex PSU has 4x double 8-6 pin vid card connectors so it could run 4x cards quite happily.

If your going to be mad with it, Load Vista as the OS, the 4x cards will probably load it to ~25-40%.
Then run a SMP client on the spare cycles.

I price a full system like that for around £1,000 here.

Luck .............

 

[capreppy]

plus with CUDA... you'd need 4 monitors too to start them... you can remove them once the video cards are recognized.

Is that a monitor for the startup every time you startup? Or just the initialization? Having to hook up 4 monitors (assuming I actually had that many) would be a pain in the arse!!!

 

[[H]ugh_Freak]

Most of the benches I've seen comparing P35 (1x16 & 1x4) boards with X38 only show the P35 losing about 10-15% on most games. I wouldn't even be concerned with using only x8 slots. For now most things don't even come close to using that much bandwidth. I'll find out soon enough next week when my other 8800GT gets here as the board I'll be putting it in has 2 x16 slots but will only run both cards at x8. I'm gonna assume maybe a 5% drop, but everyone knows what happens when you assume.

 

[Crazy Larry]

You would need an enclosure cooler to keep that thing within operating temperature....or an air conditioner

 

[ND40oz]

You would need an enclosure cooler to keep that thing within operating temperature....or an air conditioner

Nah, it'll be fine, I have two HD2900XTs in with two X5355s, biggest problem is getting airflow over the FB-Dimms. With that system, you only have to worry about the single processor and every card runs cooler then a 2900.

 

[Tigerbiten]

This is what your hopeing to build.
All the part specs are in that doc.

Ps. Does the client x2 cards yet ??
If it does then 4x x2 cards but you'd need 8 monitors just to start it.

Luck ............