I read the install guides over on the support forum, and got the impression that you should run driver 327 for max PPD, and the newer drivers resulted in a substantial performance hit. But reading some other threads, and a quick look through the reddit posts, seems to suggest there is a much bigger problem than just duff drivers. If I've got it right, then..... 1. Maxwell GPU's take a large performance hit running core17 with drivers newer than 327. 2. Maxwell GPU's either struggle to run and/or are being restricted from running Core18. 3. With no Core17 Wu's to assign, Maxwell are assigned Core15 with no QRB. 4. Core18 compatibility depends on GPU core revision. i.e GM107 for GTX750, or GM204 for GTX970. GM107 appears to run core18 successfully, although I dont know about the level of performance. Does this sound about right?
Sounds about right. Basically there is an nVidia driver bug that needs fixing (which they have known about for a year) - so, if running Windows, the GTX 970/980 will be better off with the slightly older drivers, though they will suffer from grabbing a mix of Core 15 and 17 - the former having a big effect in the PPD, c.f. 70k with 230k PPD. The alternative (which, after a lot of pain this morning!) is to run Linux, and since Core 15 was never written for Linux, you only get Core 17 - check out 'Farm2' on my sig link
Doc Along similar lines if you don't mind. I have a GTX 760 and 770 and using driver 327. They are running core 18's now. Will I get better PPD if I upgrade the driver?
I haven't seen any indication that newer drivers will give a better PPD yet. The only sure-fire way to improve PPD, at the moment, is via the Linux route - there is no Core 15 for Linux and Core 18 hasn't been ported, so it's only Core 17.
I'm tempted to put Linux on the new folding rig now. My only experience with Linux was using it for the original SMP client, and even then I only learnt the minimum I needed to get that to work. At least with Windows I know what I'm doing and how to fix it when it goes wrong.
Sounds just like me! I know the minimum to get Linux running for Folding (though I have learnt more over the years), but am much more comfortable with Win
As always, thanks for the advice. I might go down the dual boot road on my spare machine just to experiment initially but on second thoughts that has 2 AMD cards in it. Something to think about while I am away at work for the weekend. Like most people, I am very comfortable with windows and wouldn't want to upset the delicate balance on my main machine! Perhaps an excuse to get another up and running.....
Running a 9117 core 18 right now on a GTX980. 95% done w/ an estimated credit of 41K. Estimated PPD of 389K. Pretty much bang on for my core 17 results. Seems to be fixed.
Well I've had 2 GTX960's running all day today, and they're getting core_17 9201's continuously. The R9 270X is picking up core_17 13000/1 Performance so far is a little lower than I was hoping from the 960's, doing a steady 110kPPD each. I can't get the 327 driver to install, so am losing a bit there - but hopefully if i pick up any core_18's, they should run close to core_17 speeds. I've stopped all the CPU clients, as the noise/heat/power costs weren't worth the extra points.
