KWSN Orbiting Fortress

stooper101 · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:33 pm Post subject: GPUs for shrubbing

I'm considering a new build and one of the questions in my mind is the GPU. I've recently been going with purely ATI and am familiar with them and like them, but I have often wanted to get on board with Cuda. The new build will replace the current all-around family shrubber and the others will be cascaded down. So I won't be getting rid of my ATIs all-together.

Question is: what is the the current price/shrubs nvidia card out there? I don't need uber power for gaming. Just a good average card that can do most stuff and still shrub a good shrub. I'm considering the 660ti.

What are your thoughts? Or should I forget about it and stick with ATI?

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Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:25 am Post subject:

I was just looking for a new Nvidia card last knight. I'm looking at New Egg and it looks like if I was to be buying it would be in the $350-400 range.

But I have learned not to buy less than 1st or 2nd tier cards....
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Putting_things_on_top · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:40 pm Post subject:

As an Nvidia "fanboy", I can recommend the 660ti for two reasons:

1) Generally, Nvidia seems to have more powerful 'cores' (Radeon-speak = stream processors).
On a one-for-one (core-for-core) basis, the Nvidia card will mop the floor with ATI.
ATI just adds more 'cores' and memory to compensate.
ATI seems to be much better (smoother/stable) for gaming applications (and some video trans-coding apps?), but in hard-core GPU computing, Nvidia seems to pull ahead quite easily.

2) Depending on the project you intend to shrub, ATI might have an advantage, though.
Quite often, the scientific programming design is optimized & refined on one architecture (either ATI or Nvidia), and then modified & retro-fitted to the other.
Retro-fitted apps are rarely as efficient as the original.
I think that Nvidia is providing better support/tools for DC/HPC developers.
So watch the projects to see which card is first-out-of-the-gate!

I have 3 GTX-560ti cards myself (purchased last spring - couldn't resist the plummeting price) - and I love them.
The 660ti should be faster & less power-hungry than the 560ti.

One observation. Although F@H started-out with ATI, once Nvidia came aboard, the greenies are starting to leave the reddies in the dust.
There has been some unsubstantiated rumor & wild speculation that F@H may drop new development for ATI cards - for whatever THAT is worth.

If possible (and you decide to go with the Nvidia card), choose a solid brand-name - like EVGA, ASUS, or MSI.
Also, try to avoid the SOC or FTW versions - they WILL burn-out faster.
Also, I highly recommend purchasing it from MicroCenter (if there's one where you live).
MicroCenter is VERY competitive with NewEgg - and they will generally give you a free or low-cost 2-year replacement warranty.

If MicroCenter is not a viable option, I would recommend the EVGA brand, bypass the NewEgg replacement plan, and sign-up directly with EVGA for their 'premium' warranty/replacement plan.
Too many gripes on NewEgg about RMAs and warranties.
Dealing directly with the manufacturer (and choosing their 'better' or 'best' warranty plan) will often get problems resolved more quickly.

PS - SOC & FTW versions are great for gaming, though - if you're only gaming for a few hours a day.
But the rigors of DC/HPC will really stress-out the temp thresholds of any GPU.
If you plan to do a lot of shrubbing, stick with something that is not factory-clocked more than 10-15% over the reference model.
(unless you plan on full-water-block cooling your card, then FTW is the way to go).
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Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:52 pm Post subject:

On one of the comparison boards somebody said that the Nvidia 660ti will NOT do open CL. I don't know if that is true but you really should check it out. I was a breath away from buying one today for $299 at new egg, till I read that. Now I'm just gonna wait...
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a.k.a. Licentious of Borg.........Resistance Really is Futile.......
and a Really Hoopy Frood who always knows where his Towel is...

Putting_things_on_top · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:07 pm Post subject:

stooper101 · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:26 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info so far guys. The 660ti stood out for me because it was at my price point (if I stretch it a little and am able to convince the wife) while still having some good numbers. Not having a huge power hog will allow me to perhaps add another card in the future.

It's been a while since I tried two cards in one box. Before, I had to rig up a dummy plug and work some voodoo. Is this still the case? Will I still lose the cursor to the right of the screen if I veer to far off course?

And Papa, the $299 crowd is exactly where I was looking as well. As far as stores, I have nothing within 50 minutes of home and no Microcenters anywhere close. I'll probably be going with the Egg for most of the components.
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Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:34 pm Post subject:

Pooh Bear 27 · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:42 pm Post subject:

Looking to replace a video card in a system I have. It currently runs a NVidia GTX 640. but want to kick it up some. Issue is I have a small PS, so I need to stay within that constraint. The PS is 460W. I'd prefer to stay with NVidia, but might be persuaded if there is enough evidence to it, to move to AMD.

Thoughts?

branjo · Prince Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 746 Location: Slovakia

PS is really small. Replace it. What other to recommend?
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Yankton · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:40 pm Post subject:

Without changing your power supply, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487028

GTX 750 TI FTW

Uses only 5 more watts but is significantly more powerful.

Check out:

http://www.hwcompare.com/17304/geforce-gt-640-ddr3-vs-geforce-gtx-750-ti/
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Pooh Bear 27 · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:03 am Post subject:

Ordered the GTX 750 TI. Let's see how well she works.
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Yankton · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:22 am Post subject:

Make sure you get the FTW edition. It has MUCH better cooling and since you will likely be stress testing the card...

#ni-1

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Pooh Bear 27 · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:19 am Post subject:

So, for some dumb reason I got the 780 TI SC. Instead of playing around with returns and maybe restocking charges I do not want, I'll utilize the card. Actually it has been running for over 1.5 days. I am trying a GFN WR at factory set speeds (I expect it to fail, but we will see). It's on track for 12.5 days, which I am not super impressed, as my 645 does them in 18 days. I have not had much experience in playing with clock speeds, nor do I know what the default speeds of a 780 TI are. So a little help in this area would be nice. I do have the NVidia Experience software installed, and it does look like it may have some type of ability for adjusting.

Anyone else with experience out there on this board, and if the SuperClock part has caused them issues or not?

Thanks.

Yankton · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:46 pm Post subject:

GFN WRs don't like overclocked cards. at all. You wander around the primegrid forum a lot, I'm sure you've seen the plethora of posts on the matter. It probably dropped both those cards into DP mode which is not a good indicator of that card's performance (and that is a sweet card!). Run some sieves and you should see the difference! How much more of a power supply did you have to swap to?
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Pooh Bear 27 · Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 7:07 pm Post subject:

So I was the first one to finish the WR while OC'd. I move the card to MW and that is doing them in about 450 seconds and validating. WOW! It's taking longer to download and upload than to do the work. I usually hate keeping any cache, but I might have to. My problem it changes it on all projects so I would cache work on project I do not want to cache.

I may move it to something else. Maybe Einstein for now.

This weekend the cards are being moved around. The 780 TI is going into a box with a new 750W PS, then I will install the 640 back into the box with the 420W, and my older ATI will move to another box that will crunch only part time on video.

It's nice owning a more powerful video card for a change.
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Watch the movie about me The 4-1-4s: The Original Teenage Hackers (It is only about 12 minutes long.)
My lucky numbers are 121*2^4553899-1 and 3756801695685*2^666669±1