Folding to Cure on the Edge with GPUs - Folding on the Edge, continued
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Go to the "Hardware" panel and select "Overclocking Settings." Choose there under "Overclocking method" the "low level." Make your "2D profile" set the clock speeds on settings you desire (it should be set on low speeds). Don't forget to set your fan speed; include this option in your 2D profile (tick the box for every option to include it into the specific profile) and save. Set the voltages too; keep in mind that you don't need maximum volts running on 2D, but that doesn't mean that you need to under-volt the card; experiment a little bit and see what works the best. Like I said, this step is not crucial at all; chances are you won't even use the profile you're currently making.
Check out the screen shots below. They are going to shed light on the aforementioned actions. I've added additional markings with red for emphasis.
Test your 2D profile for a while. If everything is all right move on.
Now let's make your "3D profile." First of all, in this profile we need to adjust higher voltages for 3D operations, otherwise you might experience lockups and/or artifacts. Here's a little table with voltages, use it strictly for informational purposes:
X1800 -> 1.425V/2.089V
X1900 -> 1.400V/2.089V
X1950 -> 1.400V/2.089V
Don't forget to adjust fan speeds. Save again to your new "3D Profile." Set your clock speeds now, and be aware that you're going to set the 3D clock speeds that are used for intensive 3D based calculations (in our case it's folding). Below I've attached a table that you can use it as a guideline—it contains stock (not overclocked!) 3D clock speeds (core / mem).
X1600PRO -> 500MHz/390MHz
X1600XT -> 590MHz/690MHz¹
X1800XL -> 500MHz/500MHz
X1800XT ->625MHz/750MHz
X1800GTO -> 500MHz/500MHz
X1800 CF Master Card -> 625MHz/750MHz
X1900XT 512MB -> 625MHz/725MHz
X1900XT CF Master Card -> 625MHz/725MHz
X1900XTX -> 650MHz/775MHz
X1950XT-X -> 650MHz/1000MHz
¹ -Crucial X1600XT's have an effective 800MHz of RAMDAC clock speed.
Save again to your 3D Profile. You might have noticed already that over the "Overdrive" menu panel there's a check-box called either "Apply the settings at startup" or at the "Profiles" menu the "Load selected profile at startup" check-box. Do not select that until you are 100% positive that it works great.
Anyway, test your new profile. Benchmark with Futuremark Series (3DMark) or run your favorite game for a while. Run for a couple of hours, but be very cautious—check your temperatures frequently and look for artifacts (if they happen). If everything works just as expected you can select that check-box to apply your 3D scheme at startup and make it default (screenshot above). Therefore with this step you've made the profile you just selected the "default" – meaning that your clock speeds, fan speeds and voltages won't change automatically. You're the absolute owner of your card and it runs the way you desire. You are responsible for the way your card works.
Now it's quite clear that by using the above procedure you can overclock as well. Increasing clock speeds (core and mem) and increasing volts (if needed) will result in an overclocked GPU. As a side note, benchmark a lot if you decide to overclock because folding on GPUs is very sensitive. Also, frequently check your "fahlog.txt" and if you notice any EUEs (Early_Unit_End) then recheck your settings and troubleshoot. EUEs are mostly caused by an unstable overclock.
Final Words
We've come to the end of this article. I'm sure that you've gained a lot of knowledge by now and are ready to move on and experiment on your system. Also, I'd like to take a moment and invite you to join our folding team. It's called "DevFolding" and our team number is 12912.
Take that edge, maximize your PPD, contribute to the research to cure diseases and have fun. We must agree on this—folding is indeed fun! You don't waste your free cycles when you're folding, which can be considered a form of charity.
Whatever further problems you might encounter don't hesitate to visit us over at the "DevHardware Forums" or, of course, visit Stanford's "Folding-Community Forums."
Fold to Cure!
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
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