Question,
I have always used Nvidia cards, but I’m reading about the better GPU’s on the ATI Cards for MW. Can someone recommend the fastest ATI card that only gets power off the motherboard? No separate power supply connection.

BTW, Did AMD buy ATI? (As mentioned, I have always been in the Nvidia world)
Thanks!

Yes AMD purchased ATI. As far as a card to your specs, I do not know of one that is able to calculate with the double precision required by MW. Even if there is one, I would expect it to be used. Do some research here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units and then look on ebay?

Thanks for the link. When I look at benchmarks to compare Nvidia vs. AMD cards, there seems to be a lot of disagreement on what benchmark is a good & fair comparison. When comparing the GPU’s, what number should I look for in regards to MW Projects?

Thanks for the link. When I look at benchmarks to compare Nvidia vs. AMD cards, there seems to be a lot of disagreement on what benchmark is a good & fair comparison. When comparing the GPU’s, what number should I look for in regards to MW Projects?

Double Precision is the number you want to pay attention too.

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Thanks for the link. When I look at benchmarks to compare Nvidia vs. AMD cards, there seems to be a lot of disagreement on what benchmark is a good & fair comparison. When comparing the GPU’s, what number should I look for in regards to MW Projects?

Stream processors or cuda cores, the more the merrier, BUT as arkayn said double precision is required and on some Nvidia cards the double precision rate goes down the newer the card. An Nvidia 760 has 1152 cuda cores, but is actually faster at MW then some of the newer cards that have more cuda cores, due to the double precision capabilities of the card. An AMD 7970 has 2048 stream processors, cuda cores and stream processors are NOT comparable to each other!!! They are ONLY comparable within their own brand..Nvidia has cuda cores while AMD calls theirs stream processors. Only SOME AMD cards are double precision, so again as Arkayn said pay attention to that!!

Running a GPU without external power means you have to stay below a TDP of 75W.

There's one AMD card that with decent DP performance that fits the bill, the Firepro V5900.

Sadly, it's prohibitively expensive at > $400.

Without knowing why you need a MB powered card, I can only guess that you are wanting to bump up an old/spare desktop, and don't want to shell out for a power supply. I feel you, I currently have 6 old desktops in an unused bedroom and I'm using them to heat my home. Seriously, and for the same cost as just running the heat, except science is gettin dunn! Sorry, I got excited there for a moment.

So, if you're trying to get out of a Power Supply upgrade, but you have 1-2 available 4pin Molex (old school) connectors, you can get a pig tail that lets you power a lower end 6pin graphics card using those spare molex connectors.



I have one such system, and it's running a Radeon HD4850, which has a double precision score of 200 GFLOPS, and maxes out at a reasonable 110watts I think. You can occasionally find them on ebay for about $30.

That's about your best choice due to $$$, low wattage, and GFLOPS. The 5850 is a bit more power hungry, but twice as powerful, but the prices on ebay are stupid, oops, I meant...steep.



I find this link very useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units#Radeon_R700_.28HD_4xxx.29_Series

Although many GPUs are less power-hungry than their manufacturers claim (my entire system with an R9 280X rarely draws more than 300W, though it's recommended you use it with a 600 W or more power supply) you should still make sure you have a power supply up to the task, lest it go up in smoke.

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