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RE: Hardware and Project Selection Part 2 - GPU Projects
Excellent post @dutch!
And now, if you allow me, I present you the best mag-for-$ GPU available on the market today:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-HD-Radeon-7970-3gb-GPU/292157192833
Yes, it's the HD7970 selling for $70 on eBay! Deprecated in the eyes of gamers and Proof-of-Work junkies, but hidden gold for Gridcoin miners, yielding up to 1.2 TFLOPS in FP64 (when properly overclocked). Point this classic GPU to Milkyway@home (a FP64 project) and you'll get to mag 150 in no time. 0.5$ per 1 mag, I dare you to show me a better deal, with any other device.
But hurry, because competition in Milkyway is getting rather strong :)
Wow, that's really indeed a buck well-spent. I'm new Gridcoin and I'm currently reading up what it is. Do you have any quick tips for beginners please? :D
Sure. Follow any of the guides on getting set up and begin with just the hardware you already have. There is no need to invest in expensive equipment off the bat. Work on getting a hang of the platform and getting the most out of your current system.
You can earn GRC with a laptop if you wanted. You wouldn't earn much, but it's definitely feasible.
Ask away if you have any questions at all! =)
Hi @dutch, cool, thanks for that! :)
I'm still getting a hang of how it works but I was able to grasp about BOINC. I have a GeForce GTX 960. If I do a straight month of mining, do you have a rough estimate of how much GRC I'm going to mine? Thanks!
We can do a rough estimate based on a GTX 960 in my cluster. I have an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (2048MB) which contributes 120,000 RAC (Recent Average Credit) of the total 775,000 RAC I have in 'Moo! Wrapper'. It is running with stock settings.
The total income I earn from this project is 38 GRC/day. That means the GTX960 is making about 6 GRC/day, or 180 GRC/month. I have only been running this card for about 2 weeks though, and RAC does not cap until about a month, so the GTX960 making 200GRC/month in Moo! Wrapper seems like a fair estimate.
You could probably make a bit more if you ran Primegrid or Amicable Numbers. You could also earn more if you set up your GPU to run OpenCL instead of CUDA jobs (CUDA is NVIDIA exclusive and less efficient in Moo! Wrapper). The latter is for advanced users though.
Ahh, I see. Thanks for that. I'm currently reading up how to set up so I can start BOINCing! :) Greatly appreciate your help. I'll keep this noted. :)
You're very welcome! Pop back and ask if you would like help with anything.
Cool, thanks for that. I'll keep that noted. :D
Hi, its me again. I'm using "grcpool.com" pool. I've completed a task but doesn't seem to transfer. Do you know what might be the problem on this please?
I already have 480.00 credits. How do I calculate potential magnitude or GRC base from this?
I'm at Asteroids@home :D
Oh, its reflecting now. :D
Hey! Tasks aren't always uploaded immediately. You can force a task to upload though by selecting 'update' on the project from your BOINC manager.
By "I have an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (2048MB) which contributes 120,000 RAC", do you mean, one machine that has one NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960?
Correct. I actually have several machines with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, but that number is for one card in one machine.
You found one for $70!? If I was in the USA, I would buy that. Petty shipping to NZ costs an arm and a leg. I can't think of any other hardware that even comes close to $0.50/mag...
Fantastic to see older hardware being put back to use instead of being sent off to the scrap heap.
I am not from the USA either, but you can find them for cheap everywhere. I stockpiled 9 of them already :)
Of course, when buying used hardware, one has to be extra careful. To obtain mag 150, BOINC will have to load it very hard - it's worth paying double, if the card was never overclocked or seldom used. If it's on its last legs, with "an artefact or two" better steer clear, cause BOINC will wreck it completely.
If it shows an artifact or two it is already broken, just hasn't realized it :D
"No, it's only when it's cold, you know, it's the power circuitry, it works best when it's warmed up or something like that. Anyways, I can play BF1 at 60fps with that puppy, it's a great card, it is... yes OK, 60 bucks then?"
You may be able to repair it by overheating it even more, the molten metal then connects the problematic pieces together again.
Yes, that is possible. I don't recommend trying it though ^^ I just know it from one type of card where the solder stuff (which flows at lower temps then the rest) could really re-flow and make cards work again.
The guy used a microwave I think.
I'm dying.
Is there another card that comes close? The HD7970s I could find used on ebay are €120+ here in Europe :(
Titan Black comes close, but they are much more expensive.
Oh hey, that's my card! I got it cheap off ebay from a former btc miner who was disappointed with his results. His loss is my gain.