Video Card Recommendations

[CADavis]

be careful with a "cheap and dirty" psu, it may cost more over time due to inefficiency and possibly premature failure

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...68#post4352468
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...89#post4352789

[mdettweiler]

I have a friend who's looking at a possible near-future purchase of a GPU for crunching. It would need to be capable of dual-precision CUDA operation (like that used by the MacLucasFFTW LL-testing application), and while he'd like it to be reasonably fast, it doesn't have to be absolutely top-of-the-line, and would preferably cost less than $250.

From what I've gathered from this thread, as of a couple months ago a GTX260 was a good choice in this area for about $200. Is that still the way to go, or has something new supplanted it as the ideal "bang for the buck" crunching GPU?

Thanks,
Max

[frmky]

I suspect that in terms of nVidia bang/buck, the GTX 465 probably comes out on top. But it's a bit above $250 right now. Not all CUDA projects support it yet, but that's changing quickly. If you want sub-$250 with DP support, then the GTX 260 is the only one still being produced.

[mdettweiler]

Originally Posted by frmky

I suspect that in terms of nVidia bang/buck, the GTX 465 probably comes out on top. But it's a bit above $250 right now. Not all CUDA projects support it yet, but that's changing quickly. If you want sub-$250 with DP support, then the GTX 260 is the only one still being produced.

Cool, thanks. Does the MacLucasFFTW/CUDA LL testing application support the GTX 465 by chance?

[frmky]

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

Cool, thanks. Does the MacLucasFFTW/CUDA LL testing application support the GTX 465 by chance?

Yes. The FFT library even contains specific speedups that take advantage of the new capabilities of the GTX 4xx series. (Actually these speedups are in CUDA 3.1, which hasn't actually been released yet but will be soon. I could send you the beta version in the meantime if you're using Linux.)

[TimSorbet]

Originally Posted by mdettweiler

I have a friend who's looking at a possible near-future purchase of a GPU for crunching. It would need to be capable of dual-precision CUDA operation (like that used by the MacLucasFFTW LL-testing application), and while he'd like it to be reasonably fast, it doesn't have to be absolutely top-of-the-line, and would preferably cost less than $250.

From what I've gathered from this thread, as of a couple months ago a GTX260 was a good choice in this area for about $200. Is that still the way to go, or has something new supplanted it as the ideal "bang for the buck" crunching GPU?

Thanks,
Max

Originally Posted by frmky

I suspect that in terms of nVidia bang/buck, the GTX 465 probably comes out on top. But it's a bit above $250 right now. Not all CUDA projects support it yet, but that's changing quickly. If you want sub-$250 with DP support, then the GTX 260 is the only one still being produced.

I'm considering getting a crunching graphics card soon. frmky recommended a GTX 465 (then above $250, now cheapest just under $200) and Gary eventually bought a GTX 460 (about $160-$170 now before rebates). Are these still the best graphics cards in their price range for this sort of thing now and in the near future? If it matters, it'd be running on 32-bit Windows for the currently-foreseeable future.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

I'm considering getting a crunching graphics card soon. frmky recommended a GTX 465 (then above $250, now cheapest just under $200) and Gary eventually bought a GTX 460 (about $160-$170 now before rebates). Are these still the best graphics cards in their price range for this sort of thing now and in the near future? If it matters, it'd be running on 32-bit Windows for the currently-foreseeable future.

I bought a 768MB GTX460 in the summer. At the time it was better price/performance than the 1GB version, despite being lower performance. The earlier 480 and 470 were far too power hungry.

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything other than compute-capability 2.x, aka Fermi, cards. That limits choice rather.

Paul

[ET_]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

I'm considering getting a crunching graphics card soon. frmky recommended a GTX 465 (then above $250, now cheapest just under $200) and Gary eventually bought a GTX 460 (about $160-$170 now before rebates). Are these still the best graphics cards in their price range for this sort of thing now and in the near future? If it matters, it'd be running on 32-bit Windows for the currently-foreseeable future.

From what I read on the Internet, the GTX460 with 1 GB onboard has better performance capabilities than GTX 465, and is less power hungry.

Should I exchange my GTX275, I'd buy the GTX 460-1GB

Luigi

[Ken_g6]

Actually, a GTX 465 would be better for LLR, because it has more double-precision floating-point units. Except that nVIDIA crippled them somehow! So go ahead and get that 460.