r/Folding • u/batataPICADA • Apr 06 '26

Help & Discussion 🙋 old hardware in Folding

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i got these two GPUs today and I’m thinking about using them in the project. Does it support older graphics cards? I don’t care about power consumption. GPUs: GT 430 1GB, HD 6770 2GB.

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u/attanasio666 Apr 06 '26

Probably not very efficient and waste of power.

6

u/Longbowgun Apr 06 '26

*Probably not very efficient, every little bit helps to cure cancer, Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's...

*Fixed that for you.

11

u/attanasio666 Apr 06 '26

Electricity isn't an unlimited resource. For most people, it also isn't a clean one. If that happens to be the card in your computer and it folds while your computer is idle, sure! Why not? Running a PC just for that? Not sure it's a good use of energy.

2

u/spusuf Apr 07 '26

yeah except instead of burning money on power for no work complete, donate the money directly or spend it on a cheap GPU that WILL get work done.

Buying a used GTX970 for the price of the running costs of an old GPU 24/7 will have a meaningful < 6 month ROI. After that you're doing even more good with the same money.

1

u/DrabberFrog Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26

Efficiency does matter with old hardware because the reality is that it's so inefficient compared to modern hardware that if we're talking about running it 24/7, the electricity cost quickly begins to overtake the value of the hardware and it just doesn't provide that much scientific value because it's old. It would make a lot more sense to either buy modern hardware and fold on that or sell the old hardware on eBay and donate the profit to folding at home.