Personal computing discussed

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TriumphRider
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ATI vs nVidia Performance

Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:38 pm

I've been looking at the new GPU clients so I can try to boost my PPD :D!

I don't have much to spend, but it seems the GPU clients are doing very well and would perform better than the SMP client or running two instances of the console client. So my questions are:

1. Which GPU would perform better, the ATI 3450 or nVidia 8400gs?

2. Does memory size on the video card have a major impact on performance.

3. Can I continue to run the graphical client on the CPU and run the GPU client or should I change to the console client for the CPU?

The machine I'm going to use for this has an Athlon 64 X2 running at 2.2 GHz with 2GB of RAM running XP SP3. Currently, I can get a really good deal on the 3450.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102724
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102731

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
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Meadows
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:44 pm

Radeon.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:35 pm

The seemingly ginormous ppd was obtained using the top end cards. I'm not sure if those low end ones can perform as good. If they do less than 800ppd for AMD X2's or 1000ppd for Intel C2D's then the SMP client is better.

Anyone got numbers for the low end GPUs?
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JPinTO
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:29 pm

I don't know how "low end" this is, but for $200, I'm getting 4700 PPD from a 8800GTS 512. :o :o
 
flip-mode
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:41 pm

If Meadows says the Radeon wins then I'd venture it is a pretty safe bet that the Radeon wins.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:04 pm

JPinTO wrote:
I don't know how "low end" this is, but for $200, I'm getting 4700 PPD from a 8800GTS 512. :o :o

The 8800GTS 512 is definitely not low end yet. Compared to the OP's inquiry of 8400GS, they are quite different. The 8800 GTS 512 contains 128 shader processors running at a higher clock, while the 8400GS only has 16 SPs running at a lower clock. The much lower end card should be at least some orders of magnitude lower in ppd numbers.

Edit: apparently a 8400GS can do ~450ppd.
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shortstuff_mt
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:57 pm

My HD2600XT at 860/755 gets ~1000ppd. I don't know if that helps or not.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:07 am

Welcome to the forums. :)

shortstuff_mt wrote:
My HD2600XT at 860/755 gets ~1000ppd. I don't know if that helps or not.

Wow, 1000ppd that means those single core Sempr0ns and Celerons can now be useful.
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petcherd
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:56 pm

Wait a minute, there...

Does this mean I can buy an AGP video card that will turn my silly little Celeron 300 running Windows 2k into a reasonably good folding platform? Are there any PCI (not PCIe) video cards that can fold?
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TheEmrys
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:58 pm

No PCI cards can fold. But, FWIW, my 9600GT pulls 3500 ppd. The way prices are going, you'll be able to find them for $100.
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shortstuff_mt
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:36 pm

You still need a reasonably fast processor to feed the GPU with data. My E6420 @3.2Ghz runs at between 40 and 60% load feeding my HD 2600XT for the GPU2 client. I don't know if a Celeron could keep the GPU fed, but it would still be better than folding on the CPU.

P.S. My HD 2600Xt is PCIe - sorry for the confusion.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:03 pm

shortstuff_mt wrote:
You still need a reasonably fast processor to feed the GPU with data. My E6420 @3.2Ghz runs at between 40 and 60% load feeding my HD 2600XT for the GPU2 client. I don't know if a Celeron could keep the GPU fed, but it would still be better than folding on the CPU.

Is this "40 - 60%" per core data, or it is just the "2 cores together" percentage listed by Task Manager?
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shortstuff_mt
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:14 pm

I can't remember the exact numbers off the top of my head. When I get home I'll post better info. The load is split between the cores. I just remember it being high enough to bump up my Zalman 9500 cooler to a pretty high speed. I was surprised at how high the CPU load was. I was hoping to just run the GPU client without much CPU load.
 
TriumphRider
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:15 pm

shortstuff_mt wrote:
My HD2600XT at 860/755 gets ~1000ppd. I don't know if that helps or not.


Thanks, at least that gives me some idea.
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shortstuff_mt
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:45 am

I guess I should have looked closer at my CPU usage. Since the GPU client is single threaded, it is maxing out 1 core of my E6420 @3.2GHz feeding my HD 2600XT with data. If I set the affinity on the process, it maxes that core to 100%. It works out just about right though because my GPU runs at about 97 - 98% while running the GPU2 client.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:26 am

Noob question: how can you tell GPU % usage, both Nvidia and DAAMIT? :oops:
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liquidsquid
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:51 am

Use the new nVidia monitor software. One of the video card monitor functions will display GPU%. However I have found this application is incredibly crappy and buggy on an nForce4 board.

-LS
 
shortstuff_mt
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Re: ATI vs nVidia Performance

Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:25 am

I use the Catalyst Control Center (CCC) for my ATI card. In the ATI Overdrive section it lists the GPU load and temp.

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