Fastest SETI machine ever?

[ochadd]

So with the Asus P6T7 out now with seven x PCI x16 slots... Would it be possible to do seven single slot GTX 295? The single PCB cards are on their way and with some watercooling it might be possible to get them all to fit.

Toying around on Newegg and got me thinking. That would be one wicked setup.

 

[PCTC2]

Originally posted by: ochadd
So with the Asus P6T7 out now with seven x PCI x16 slots... Would it be possible to do seven single slot GTX 295? The single PCB cards are on their way and with some watercooling it might be possible to get them all to fit.

Toying around on Newegg and got me thinking. That would be one wicked setup.

I think 4 would be the maximum. Even though they are single PCB, the watercooler would make them a little wider than single slot, unless you used a custom case with riser cards. In a standard case, I would say 4 max.

 

[Philippart]

what PSU can vun 7 x GTX 295 plus a decent quad?? you'll need the most powerful available hardware, like a 1500W...

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: Philippart
what PSU can vun 7 x GTX 295 plus a decent quad?? you'll need the most powerful available hardware, like a 1500W...

It wouldn't be too hard to run two power supplies. Although generally it is best to keep the PSUs on different circuits (ie each PSU powering different devices), and that wouldn't be possible in that situation.

 

[Denithor]

May be unique to F@H but IIRC people had significant difficulties getting the crunching programs to run properly on four cores let alone 14.

Now if you're really serious about ppd production, Tesla is what you want. Each 1U cluster of four cards connects to a single PCIe slot on the motherboard. So you could potentially have 28 cores running on one system.



Can you imagine the ppd output from such a system?

 

[Assimilator1]

Awesome! .

I wonder whose got the fastest SETI rig in TA?

I'm betting theirs quite a few rigs faster than my Q6600 @3.34 GHz .......

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Denithor
May be unique to F@H but IIRC people had significant difficulties getting the crunching programs to run properly on four cores let alone 14.

Now if you're really serious about ppd production, Tesla is what you want. Each 1U cluster of four cards connects to a single PCIe slot on the motherboard. So you could potentially have 28 cores running on one system.



Can you imagine the ppd output from such a system?

Max Power Consumption 800 W
System Interface PCIe x16 or x8

You'd have to dedicate 5600 W to that single setup! That's roughly a 50A breaker per setup. A typical home has 100-200A service for all the electronics in your house by comparison.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: Denithor
May be unique to F@H but IIRC people had significant difficulties getting the crunching programs to run properly on four cores let alone 14.

Now if you're really serious about ppd production, Tesla is what you want. Each 1U cluster of four cards connects to a single PCIe slot on the motherboard. So you could potentially have 28 cores running on one system.



Can you imagine the ppd output from such a system?

Max Power Consumption 800 W
System Interface PCIe x16 or x8

You'd have to dedicate 5600 W to that single setup! That's roughly a 50A breaker per setup. A typical home has 100-200A service for all the electronics in your house by comparison.

Definitely wouldn't need the heater anymore. Of course, if you lived down here in Texas, you would just plain be up creek without a paddle.

 

[The Borg]

I have an i7 920 CPU and 2x GTX 295 cards in an ASUS P6T delux board. I have it connected to a 1000W PSU and I think that is just enough. 7 cards would need some serious juice, and yes, I don't think you would get 7 on one MB. The 295's I have are the original reference design and I specifically got the P6T so that there would be 2 slots between the PCIe connectors to give the cards breathing room. They do get hot - about 75 deg C (auto fan).

I run AQUA and GPUGRID. I have been getting over 100k ppd on my crack rack. Recently over 80k ppd on the above machine.

 

[ochadd]

Originally posted by: The Borg
I have an i7 920 CPU and 2x GTX 295 cards in an ASUS P6T delux board. I have it connected to a 1000W PSU and I think that is just enough. 7 cards would need some serious juice, and yes, I don't think you would get 7 on one MB. The 295's I have are the original reference design and I specifically got the P6T so that there would be 2 slots between the PCIe connectors to give the cards breathing room. They do get hot - about 75 deg C (auto fan).

I run AQUA and GPUGRID. I have been getting over 100k ppd on my crack rack. Recently over 80k ppd on the above machine.

I'm approaching 100k and have been at it since November of 2002. Guess it's not that big of a milestone anymore eh

Stats link

Guess I'm in the top 3% for RAC. It will have to do. Makes me want to unleash BOINC on my network *cough* "server farm."

 

[The Borg]

Hey, we all start somewhere. I have just done 2 million in a month. It took me 15 months (!!!) to get the first 2 million. Boint Stats

I suppose the bug has bitten.

Every bit counts, so lets crunch!!!

 

[Assimilator1]

Originally posted by: The Borg
I have an i7 920 CPU and 2x GTX 295 cards in an ASUS P6T delux board. I have it connected to a 1000W PSU and I think that is just enough. 7 cards would need some serious juice, and yes, I don't think you would get 7 on one MB. The 295's I have are the original reference design and I specifically got the P6T so that there would be 2 slots between the PCIe connectors to give the cards breathing room. They do get hot - about 75 deg C (auto fan).

I run AQUA and GPUGRID. I have been getting over 100k ppd on my crack rack. Recently over 80k ppd on the above machine.

Meh, that's not that hot , my X1950XT was hitting ~95C before I altered the fan speeds!:Q.
Btw how do you know your rig is near your PSUs limit?

 

[The Borg]

Well, I had a single 295 running off a 650 W PSU and according to the specs, it was close. When I upgraded to the i7 and the second 295, I was sure I would need the 1000W. Based on the current needed by the cards, and OC'ing the CPU, I think I am close. But - not measured.

 

[Assimilator1]

Ah ok, I had a quick look at an AT review of the 295 yesterday hoping to find some power consumption figures for it, but in that review they didn't test it . Maybe in another of their reviews it'll show it, or someone elses, either way I haven't looked yet . However I think you might not be as close as you think, we'll soon find out .

 

[imported_Brutus1234]

I was having some issues when I added my 2nd GTX 260 so to rule out insufficient power I did the following.

- took an extra 500 watt power supply and bridged the 3V to ground on the M/B connector to force it on.
- used the extra power supply to power the 2, 6-pin power inputs on the 2nd GTX 260
- I plugged the 2nd power supplier into a KilloWatt meter so I could see power draw

The power supply draws 10 watts on it's own to idle, so the numbers I list include that.
37 watts - Computer idle
100-110 watts - Far Cry 2 ( SLI ) 1920x1200 w/8x anti alias - both cards get to a toasty 76 C with an open case.
140-178 watts - Running SETI

During SETI the power draws jump around signficantly 30-40 watts. It's erratic. In everything else it's reasonably stable.
I was running on 2 GPUs and CPU so keeping the card at peak load might have been a challenge.
What is unknown is how much (if any ) power was being used from the PCI-e connector on the motherboard.

Since the current GTX295s are 2 GTX280s sandwiched together, I'd say you can assume you would be drawing over 300 watts at full load w/ Seti

So to put things in perspective
7 of them at 300 watts a piece, 24hrs a day, with electricity at $0.145 /kwatt hour = $7.30 /day or $226 /month

 

[Assimilator1]

Funny thing, I did the exact same thing as you to diagnose a problem with my 2nd rig today!

Upgraded my 2nd rig with an Asus P43 mbrd, C2D E6420 (for now) & an X1950XT 256MB, with it's cheapo '550w' PSU it would instant or near instantly reboot on running the fury cube in ATITool. 2 PSUs fixed that, the PSU running the 1950 was drawing ~100w from the wall running ATITool, same as your 260 running FC2! :Q lol.
Machine was drawing ~165w running ATItool, so the '550w' wasn't able to handle a little less than ~265w!:roll:.
I too don't know how much power the grx card was drawing from the slot.

 

[imported_Brutus1234]

You can pick one of these up for 10 bucks. Then your power switch will turn both power supplies on.
I've got an ancient server case about the size of a small car collecting dust in the basement that I modified years ago to fit an ATX motherboard. I can rig it up to hold up to 4 power supplies if needed. I'll have to move the current gaming m/b into it.

http://www.performance-pcs.com..._186&products_id=21193

Too bad you can't find some decent cases that will let you mount 2 or more powersupplies.
1 decent 750 watt & 1 old 500 watt power supplies cost a lot less than a 1200 watt unit and do the job just fine..

 

[Denithor]

bit-tech power consumption comparison

Look at their results under peak load (i7 @ 3.7GHz for reference).

System + single GTX 260 = 326W
System + dual GTX 260 = 498W

Basic math tells us:

GTX 260: 498W - 326W = 172W
System: 326W - 172W = 154W
and
GTX 295: 460W - 154W = 306W each

So if you could somehow manage to cram seven GTX 295s onto one motherboard & into one case you would need at least 2300W from PSUs to power the whole mess.

Makes me glad I decided not to go above the 2x GTX 260s I've got folding. Powered by a Corsair 750TX with zero problems.

 

[Assimilator1]

Useful info, thanks
A lot of power for 1 card! :Q.

Brutus
I just replaced the PSU, having 2 PSUs is inefficient & takes up extra space.
Btw power draw with the new PSU in & CPU & GPU loaded is ~230w.
Thanks for the link anyway .