Ok, this is sorta two topics in one, firstly, just out of interest really, has anyone kept any stats on their folding performance? As in like, work units per day when folding 24/7? Im interested to see how different CPUs stack up against each other. Secondly, is there any reason why I shouldnt run Folding@home to test out an overclock? What programs do you use for this?
Folding at home is a reasonable stress tester, otherwise the default stress tester is prime95 running on all cores. As for CPU performance, you could be best specifying a budget first if you are looking at building. There are many options, the i7-2600k with a 4.5+ overclock is a great processor and bang for buck, if you got plenty to spend you can step up to a SR-2 with twin hex cores But it all depends on if you want to do 24/7 folding or just a few hours a day.
I would use Prime95 first and establish a reliable OC before trying Folding. The reason is twofold : - 1. Prime 95 can be configured 3 ways for stress testing. I've found that sometimes an OC that works with small FFTs can fail with the blend test. 2. The primary object of Folding is the science. If you have an unreliable OC, WUs won't be completed in a timely fashion if at all - not good for your points tally either.
Hex cores......pfft......try two of these mutha's http://ark.intel.com/products/53580 Allbeit they wont work in that motherboard :edit: http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon7000/7500/X8QB6.cfm?SAS=N the word you are looking for is moist
Wow, I didnt realise how hardcore some people are about this Im looking to build a computer primarily for gaming, and its so hard justifying money on a i7 2600k when I know that a i5 2500k will play any game thats released in the next 10 years or more Btw, is Folding@home hyperthreaded? Im assuming it is, and I think that could sway me, but I dont know for sure.
Folding @ home really takes advantage of Hyperthreading. an I7 2600K overclocked to 4.5ghz will handle the bigadv units which give the massive points bonuses. Also get clever with VMware and you could get 16 threads out of a 4 core processor!
Yeah, there is a massive difference between the 2500 and 2600k. Tarka has just upgraded maybe he could share his numbers. But to get the big numbers you have to fold 24/7 when using bigadv.
You rang... just back from a week down south too, good timing. i5 2500k @ 4.5Ghz 24x7 running SMP got me about 22k PPD. i7 2600k @ 4.6Ghz 24x7 running SMP gets me about 30k PPD. i7 2600k @ 4.6Ghz 24x7 running bigadv gets me about 38k PPD. If you are serious about folding, and want to do some 24x7 running with it, don't bother with an i5. The i7 draws about an extra 10 watts at the plug and gives you twice the points. You can creak it up[ to 40~42K PPD if you run linux (which I will be doing shortly)
Cheers Tarka. Gee, that bigadv points restructure makes it almost not worth it. And from reading another post the 2600k at stock will do 20-24k ppd using SMP client on windows. So Chebob, you can still make quite a few points using the SMP client , which you wont lose as many points with everytime you pause, for gaming, and you can do projects in several hours rather than a couple days.
Thanks, this has helped me alot, rep all round I think ill defo get an i7. Just one more thing, you mentioned you could get more points from running linux, I was planning to use linux anyway as I simply dont have £100+ to budget for an OS, but I heard that linux users couldnt work on bigadv units? Im assuming this is now fixed, and it now runs better than on windows?
