PS3Grid GPU?

[Bender10]

I found this posted on PS3Grid a few days ago. The project admin was kinda weak on the answer...


I saw "GPU Grid - PS3 Grid" in BOINC project list.
I thought PS3 Grid is only crunching on PS3. Does it support GPU now??
If so, which GPU(s) are currently supported?

We will support NVIDIA GPUs, but we cannot say more now.
g


g is the project admin...(as in gdf)

It looks like they are exploring gpu crunching. I wonder why they have the link posted on BOINC, if they are not ready to support the gpu yet...unless they are doing closed testing...hmmmm...

[mitchellds]

interesting.

The thrill of the ps3 has kinda died down now after all of the initial great folding@home ps3 returns. I doesn't seem like other projects are doing anything new on the ps3 front other than the couple that already have efforts out there. I was hoping that by now boinc would run native under the sony OS without having to do the linux thing. I think that scares alot of people off. Running boinc directly under the sony OS would definitely bring more projects on board. It seems like that idea has died on the vine unfort. :(

[Bender10]

I just "cranked up" my first GPU cruncher on PS3Grid. I picked up a $70 Nvidia (8800GS), and bolted it onto my AMD 9550 cruncher with some duct tape and paper clips. It seems to be werking so far, after a few dayz of cursing at Linux and trying to load drivers and apps, Holy Crud!!.

It should (might?) complete a wu by the time I get home this afternoon (fingers crossed!!).

[mitchellds]

Yo Bender,

Just curious; so you are running that droid under linux then? Did the card MFG have linux drivers available, or did you have to go with a third party driver to get it to work with the ps3grid project?

[liuqyn]

whats with this NVIDIA only crap? I just nicely installed my HD4850, first off its output on folding sucks compared to NVIDIA (for now at least), now I can't even try it here either.

ps. my best NVIDIA card is an old 7600GT.

[Bender10]

Yes.

PS3Grid (or GPUgrid) only supports Linux64 right now. And I am running Ubuntu 8.04 (64bit). Some are using Fedora. And there is a custom Boinc client (6.3.8) that you get from the ps3grid site.

And Nvidia has the necessary drivers for Linux 64.

The project runs a wu in ~18 hours with my card (8800GS, 96 stream processors). The more expensive cards (9600 or newer) run the wu's faster (sometimes). Some faster are around 12 hours per wu.

They request you run a card with a minimum of 100 stream procs. An 8600 (32 stream proc i think) takes around 50 hours.

There are still some gremlins in the werks. It is in BETA test still....

[mitchellds]

I see, thanks for the info.

[Bender10]

They just released the (alpha) app for XP as of 8/11. The PS3Grid people are keeping the release quiet, So I missed that. There were hints about this....

http://www.ps3grid.net/apps.php

I happened to be in the forum and someone was complaining about XP not getting wu's....But it is now. So crank up those Nvidia 8800's and get to werk!

:icon_mrgreen:


EDIT: Not a special PS3Grid client. But it provides GPU support. Just the latest from BOINC (6.3.8) download site. No ATI support yet...

[Bender10]

My Linux GPU cruncher is still wading through wu's. It seems to work fine if I leave it alone, and let it do it's thing. I may have to update the Nvidia drivers to the current release soon.

It should complete it's second wu in a few hours. Most of the problems seem to occur on startup of a follow on wu..

I guess since it's BETA, they are awarding fixed points per wu. It's around 1,900 pts. No points for corrupt wu's...

[mitchellds]

Bender,
Any chance of running the GPU boinc for the video and also the standard linux boinc for the cpus at the same time? Want to give that a whirl if possible and they do not cancel themselves out in real world operation to see how they affect each other? Has anyone posted on this idea yet?

[Bender10]

I am running Linux64 on my AMD 9550. 1 cpu is on the GPU. And 3 cpu's are running Milkyway...everything on 1 install of Boinc 6.3.8.

Seems to be working, is that your question? I have been doing manual wu updates for ps3grid wu's. I will let it run on it's own and see what happens.

[Bender10]

With my 8800GS and the 9550, I finish a wu in ~17.5 hours (63,000 seconds in project terms...)

[mitchellds]

are you able to run 4 cpu +1 GPU ? or does that overly stress the pc to the point where it doesn't function? I guess I want to know if the GPU boinc process still takes a part of your regular cpu resources away from use, and you can only really run 3 cpu and 1 gpu under boinc.

In the days I ran folding with a GPU on my ATI card plus boinc on the same client, I still had to reserve regular cpu for the GPU client. It didnt exclusively run the folding client on only the GPU, it still needed cpu. Kinda similar in idea, even though I know I'm talking about the folding + boinc client running in tandem on the same pc for this argument.

I would like to really know if I could buy the necessary GPU cards for all of my linux pc's and continue to run my stand 4 cpu boinc threads as well as a gpu process for ps3grid, or would I only be able to do what your describing, the 3 cpu + 1 gpu approach.

thanks.

[Bender10]

I guess I want to know if the GPU boinc process still takes a part of your regular cpu resources away from use, and you can only really run 3 cpu and 1 gpu under boinc.

Yes. From what I understand, the GPU needs 1 cpu (core) to process wu's.

But, I am able to run the other 3 cores on other Boinc projects using the same client (6.3.8).

[Bender10]

Well, I kept my 'cotton pickers' away from the GPU cruncher for a whole 24+ hours. It seems to be werking fine without me :-(.

Which is a good thing. It seemed like every time I tried to adjust things (GPU memory or core clock speed), the GPU would burp, and corrupt the wu's.

That being said. Some of the initial GPU problems were due to factory induced GPU memory and core 'overclocking'. So, buy the card you like (or can afford) as long as it is an Nvidia 8800 or better (with 96+ stream processors). And check the web. You should be able to find out if it has been 'factory overclocked'. Setting the timings back to 'normal' (sometimes only ~10% reduction) SHOULD eliminate 'corrupt' wu's.

To view the 'Never ending Story...'

http://www.gpugrid.net/

And check out the Forum. :icon_mrgreen:

This is my setup. Does 1 wu in 17.5 hours.

Evga 8800GS
AMD 9550
Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H mb, with 4 gig ram
Ubuntu 8.04
Boinc 6.3.5
Nvidia 173.14 drivers

[Brucifer]

Is there some "killer" GPU that this is all supposed to be for out the the nvida line? Who is doing the coding for this? Is the coding for this at the same complexity level as for the ps3?

[Bender10]

The PS3Grid site is the place to look.

Still BETA now. They are still werking out glicthes in the Nvidia drivers.

They (ps3grid) are working with Nvidia on the drivers for the GPU. Nvidia seems to be rewriting their drivers to to aid in controlling the GPU's for ps3grid 'crunching'.

The folks at ps3grid want everyone to buy the meanest and fastest GPU's to aid in running the biggest wu possible in less than 24 hours (I think they are trying to limit the 'crunch window' to just under 24 hours). Their atitude is: "And please don't use anything with less than 100 stream processors..:sad5:...(even though slower cards will still 'crunch'...)."

There is plenty of discussion like: 'Whats wrong with slower cards (GPU's)?' And how 'Excluding slower cards (GPU's) will keep owners with existing cards from participating...', And 'Why do the wu's have to be so big?' Which is another issue covering slower GPU's.

The card I have is most likely the bottom end of the usable cards (96 stream processors and will complete a wu <24 hours).


Hey, I don't own the project, But I think it's good science. If people don't like the rulez...:icon_rolleyes:...I just play within my own boundries. I guess what this means is, I 'll run this project until it gets...too weird, expensive or whatever. :)

[Brucifer]

I went to the ps3grid site and didn't see anything regarding specific cards which is why I was asking. I'm rather ignorant regarding gpu's. To me the whole thing here is that if ps3grid is working on a client, then it should be realistic to expect that other projects should be following suit at some point, whether for boinc or non-boinc efforts.

And that gets into the issues regarding power consumption and cooling... Like if they are requiring a cpu for feeding the gpu and general housecleaning functions, then at what point do you just go after a small VIA cpu, and stuff in a huge gpu for crunching. Seems like it's a it of overkill to be using one of the latest AMD/Intel CPU's to run a GPU.

And if some of the older nvida cards can still crunch, and the code writing toolkit is available, it would seem that there are multiple projects that could benefit. Of course then are the nvida cards single or double precision?

[Bender10]

There are only a few people providing their GPU output information in the forum (me too). I think someone asked 'What should I use?' And I didn't see any replies.

About the 'Using a core' to support (or feed?) a GPU, I think thats the way Folding@Home has always worked (Hey, FAH people, throw me a rope here...). I don't know for sure. I figure all the cores on my Quad are crunching wu's, and go with the flow.

The power and cooling thing are an issue with me. That's why is went with the 9550 (95 w). With 1 GPU running, and crunching other projects on the other 3 cores, It uses less power than 2 of my X2 boxes (which I have shutdown).

EDIT: If you look on the board you will see some GPU output times per wu. These are still a little flacky to me, I think because there driver is still under development. Or something like that. And I'm not sure if they are playing around with tweaking the wu's a bit also.

[Bender10]

Well, My GPU has been down for a while due to an out of date driver. I've been REAL busy at werk. Long days and very little sleep.

I just put it back to GPU 'Crunching' last night. I had to update the Nvidia drivers (to 177.13) to get it to work properly. But it is now 'Crunching ' at full speed (I had to 'under clock' it with the first drivers they had out). But it looks like they have increased the size of the wu's to make up for that.

There are Windows and Linux64 apps ready. So everyone can play now. There is better information on the site about which GPU's run the best (96 or more stream processors).

http://www.ps3grid.net/forum_thread.php?id=315

[mitchellds]

Hi Bender

I see that your amd linux box is not yet returning so great a daily credit after 43 tasks(566). Nowhere near the avg for the ps3 (3.9k). Are others fairing better on the linux front yet ? I take it linux wu's run about a day to complete?

[Bender10]

Yeah, not so great an average. But that number may include the failed wu's also (actually 8 complete out of 43)?...

My card (GPU) completes wu's in around 17 to 20 hours. The current (beta) wu's seem to take ~20 hours on my 8800GS.

[Bender10]

Looking at all the data. The card to use (best bang for the buck), is a 8800GT w/512 ram. This should do a wu in around 14 hours, using 1 core of your X2 or X4 cpu (leaving the other core(s) available for Boinc projects....

I figured this out last night, and found a post today confirming my choice. Gotta logon to newegg next...

As this is still Beta. The points are set at a flat 1,987.41 per wu.

Links for Boinc and drivers are on the PS3grid site.

Windows requirements:

BOINC 6.3.10 or better
Nvidia CUDA 177.84 or above
Windows 98SE or above
Windows 64 bit

[vaughan]

The 8800GTs do really well in Folding @ Home too. Problem is they are out of stock in the retail channel over here. You can substitute a 9800GT but they charge about $20-30 more for these cards.

I use a Zalman GPU cooler on the 8800GTs and it drops the GPU temp about 20°C

[Bender10]

I should have another GPU running this week....I'll have to look at those coolers.

[Bender10]

They have fixed the point problem. Each GPU wu now gets similar credit that a PS3 box earns (around 3,200 pts per wu).

:icon_mrgreen:

[Bender10]

I just fired up a new 8800GT on winX64. The speed is what I expected (about 16 hours). Linux seems to run better. Plus, they (ps3grid) are still playing with the wu's and the drivers. The wu should finish on Sunday.

I have to switch this GPU to a Linux box, as soon as I can convert a Win machine over...

[Bender10]

Finished my 1st WinX64 wu in 15 hours. that's about right for the card I have (see above). Linux64 should run a bit faster maybe.

[Bender10]

My new Windows GPU install seems (crossed fingers) to be running well. The setup and management is easier than Linux (noob speaking) naturally.

So, now that I have left the city for a few days, all the smoke will leak out of that confuser....:sad5:

[Nflight]

My new Windows GPU install seems (crossed fingers) to be running well. The setup and management is easier than Linux (noob speaking) naturally.

So, now that I have left the city for a few days, all the smoke will leak out of that confuser....:sad5:

What were you thinking, smoke leaving analogy interjecting here - So we are noobs here and never return to a windows platform is my direction in the future. If that were only possible. All my systems will not support an 8800 so I must upgrade once again :(

Still working on those mystery machines :blob3:

[Bender10]

BOINC has a client in the pipeline, which will allow crunching on a GPU (for PS3Grid) without using cycles from a CPU...

An X2 (with a GPU installed) will be able to crunch 3 project wu's at once soon, And a Quad could do 5, and so on...

[mitchellds]

now that would be nice to have..