Cheap F@H GPU options?

[Uppsala9496]

I posted my question in the following thread (http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=230098) but thought I might get a quicker response in a dedicated thread.

Right now both of my X4 machines don't have video cards. Funds are tight right now, so I would like to keep the total purchase to under $100. I know, that is asking a lot.
One of the X4's is my HTPC. Running the 785G integrated graphics which leaves a bit to be desired on mkv playback.

Both boxes are running Ubuntu 11.10. I know getting drivers to play nice is a pain in the butt. I attempted to dual boot Ubuntu on my Win7x64 system with a GTS450 in it and getting the video drivers to play nice was a nightmare. Never could get the dual monitor system to function so I stuck with Win7x64 for the correlizer project.


Finally the question - which one do I get or do I get something else:
GT 520 (fermi) for $32 after rebate ($47 before).
GT 430 (fermi) for $37 after rebate ($57 before).

At $57 before, I am slightly above the $100 up front that I can spend, but enough to get away with it before the wife kills me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814134121


I'm trying to get the best bang for the buck F@H gpu while keeping the cost as low as possible. I love the performance to cost with my GTS450, but that sets me back $100 per card and I just can't swing that at this time.

Any other cards I should consider? I'm looking at Nvidia cards because I think they play nicer in Ubuntu (had an AMD 4670 that was a nightmare to get to function correctly in Ubuntu) and for F@H.


EDIT: Well after a lot of reading this morning, it looks like the GT 520 is not so great. Only 48 Stream Processors compared to the 96 with the GT 430.

 

[VirtualLarry]

PNY GT240 GDDR5 512MB card for $40 at Newegg, has 96SPs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133391

Darn, now OOS. Was available yesterday, I almost bought four of them.

 

[brownstone]

...

 

[Desslok]

The GTX260 still a folding monster, just not as efficent as the newer cards are.

 

[Ken g6]

A 430 is half a 450, overclocked. A 450 is half a 460, overclocked. A 520 is half a 430, overclocked.

A 240 is decent, too, for $20AR! ($50 before rebate.)

Edit: Now I see this thread is two weeks old. :$ Uppsala, what did you wind up with?

 

[Uppsala9496]

I went with a 440 for $40 after rebate and then a 450 for $60 after rebate.

Then I made a trip over to Best Buy after seeing a thread in HD. Found a GTX 460 for $111 (oh and it qualified for a $30 rebate).
So, $181 out of pocket instead of the $100. The GTX 460 was an impulse buy at $111.
Just seemed like way too good a deal to pass up, especially with the $30 rebate. It's the 768mb version, but I have it running nice and stable at 830mhz for the core. Just picked that arbitrary number and it is working fine. Haven't tried to bump it any higher.

Didn't stick with original $100 budget at all.

 

[ZipSpeed]

Picked up a GTX 550 Ti for $100 after MIR. Included Batman Arkham City which was a nice perk.

Currently running at the stock 950/1900 to make sure things are nice and stable before I start overclocking. Hoping to get it to 1050/2100.

 

[geecee]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but there's this GTS250 over in the hot deals forum for $30AR.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2208120

Could be useful for the folding race.

 

[GoStumpy]

Sorry for the n00b question, but can I (and is it worth it) to install a GT430 in my second PCI-E slot and have it fold, without being externally hooked up?

 

[VirtualLarry]

You could, functionally, do that. Whether you want to is up to you. If the above description is correct (430 is half of 450, 450 is half of 460), then I figure you should get 2000-2500 PPD for that card.

I get 10,000-11,000 PPD for my GTX460 1GB OC card, at 840Mhz.

Edit: For comparison, my 9600GSO cards got around 3500-4000 PPD on the v6.x GPU2 NV client.

 

[GoStumpy]

Cool beans I have a GT430 new in box, and a GT220. Those were sub $20 newegg deals I couldn't pass up, lol. GT240 and HD6850 currently folding

 

[Uppsala9496]

Shouldn't be an issue at all.
I was folding with my gtx460 and my gt440 at the same time, however, the usage kept spiking and it was killing my ppd for the gtx460.
Please note the F@H procedure for running two gpu3 clients at the same time. pretty detailed instructions on their website:
http://folding.stanford.edu/English/WinGPUGuide
towards the bottom of the page.

Right now I'm looking at grabbing another mobo/cpu to run the gt440. Microcenter has some great in store only AMD combo's. $139 gets you an X6 1055t or X4 970 BE with a mobo.
Only problem is I already picked one of these up a few weeks ago, and there is a limit of one per address (would flag my cc number when placing the order).

Tempted to get the X4 840 for $60 and grab a cheap mobo to pair with it (~$105 after tax).
Seems better than pulling out an old X2 4200+ I have sitting in the closet.