Minimum recommended hardware for FAH.

[moddingnewbie]

Hi,

I'd like to build a Folding@Home rig but to be honest really do not know where to start. Think the research into cures for cancer and Alzheimer's is a really worthy cause and I'd love to be able to contribute towards such research.

Can anyone on here make any recommendations on minimum hardware requirements please?

Am of the understanding that the choice of GPU is most important where building a FAH rig is concerned (don't know that for certain though).

I've thought about buying an off the shelf server and fitting a GPU / GPUs as required but think that I'd prefer to build my own rig but having said that don't know what is and what is not cost effective.

I'm not really into 'gaming' therefore don't know what GPUs are great value for money and which one's aren't. Likewise I'm not sure what GPUs are best for FAH rigs.

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[ozaudio]

I the purpose of the system is folding then find a second hand motherboard cpu bundle that has 2 / 3 gpus slots. a decent PUS is needed for sure but wattage depends on what cards and how many you want to run. gpus - depends if you want used or new? a gtx 970 is best value for money and power costs.

 

[moddingnewbie]

I the purpose of the system is folding then find a second hand motherboard cpu bundle that has 2 / 3 gpus slots. a decent PUS is needed for sure but wattage depends on what cards and how many you want to run. gpus - depends if you want used or new? a gtx 970 is best value for money and power costs.

Hello, Thank you for your reply. What spec' Mobo+CPU bundle would you recommend please? Agree that a half-decent PSU is an important part to factor into the build. Thanks for the recommendation on a GPU. Think the concensus is to opt for a GTX 970 but to be honest I'd hoped something like a GTX 750Ti would suffice to get started on FAH as the latter are more affordably priced so to speak. Appreciate the comments. Thanks again.

 

[Biffa]

Just so you can roughly compare ppd/£

750Ti will give you up to 60K @ £95
950 will give you up to 120K @ £120
960 will give you up to 170K @ £160

All stock clocks, overclocking may increase your PPD at the risk of stability.

 

[andy_taximan]

Its all down to £, buy the fastest you can afford, tho the latest cards will save money in the long run as they cost less in leccy to run 24/7.
Most start off buying slow/old 2nd hand and soon get the bug and have to spend more upgrading tho plenty get the leccy bill in and soon stop lol
Good luck and happy folding

 

[moddingnewbie]

Just so you can roughly compare ppd/£

750Ti will give you up to 60K @ £95
950 will give you up to 120K @ £120
960 will give you up to 170K @ £160

All stock clocks, overclocking may increase your PPD at the risk of stability.

Hi, Thank you for your reply and recommendations. I've already bought an R9 380 that I'd wanted to use on a Gaming Rig but wish I'd thought about putting together a FAH rig prior to buying. Is it correct that AMD Radeon GPUs are not considered suitable for FAH rigs or am I barking up the wrong tree? Should an R9 380 be considered a reasonably spec'd GPU to get started with though by all means I'll use the GPU. Thank you again.

 

[moddingnewbie]

Its all down to £, buy the fastest you can afford, tho the latest cards will save money in the long run as they cost less in leccy to run 24/7.
Most start off buying slow/old 2nd hand and soon get the bug and have to spend more upgrading tho plenty get the leccy bill in and soon stop lol
Good luck and happy folding

Thank you for your comments. They're much appreciated. Want to try and keep leccy bills down as much as possible as no doubt most people would want to do with their FAH machines too.

 

[Jumper118]

Amd cards get great ppd, but then tend to use a lot of power, so they are great for gaming but not so good for folding.

 

[Biffa]

380 = 285 = 280 = 7970 Ghz

So around 140-150K maybe?

 

[Jumper118]

380 = 285 = 280 = 7970 Ghz

So around 140-150K maybe?

Yeah pretty much

 

[Trunkey]

I'm chugging away here on a Mac so basically just an intel i5 crunching the units, I have to confess to folding on my main rig for another team with an i7 4790k @4.4ghz and AMD R9 290x and that gets some serious points per day when I leave it running 24/7.
To be honest I've not noticed the leccy bill what with the kids PS4 and X-box etc!
I ought to move other rig here but then I wouldn't get my name in a glossy mag each month! oh the vanity of it all
I'd fold on my phone if I could as having a father with dementia I kind of see the leccy bill as the same as donating to other medical research so I really do hope that my contribution does genuinely help.
So fold with whatever you have as the saying goes "every little helps"

 

[colinmcr]

OP - Whatever you can afford, every little helps and of course make sure you are folding for Team 10 !