CUDA on an FX 5200 PCI (non-Express) in mulation mode

Accelerated Computing CUDA CUDA Programming and Performance
1

Hi folks,

I’m new here and have a general question.

I want to do some GPU programming as I think I could speed up my application significantly.
But I don’t know if everything will work so I plan to first buy a cheap FX 5200, test the stuff and if it works,
later buy an GTX260.
You know, I don’t want to spend 279 Euro (~400 Us $) for a card I can’t use at the end. External Image

SO MY QUESTION:
Is it possible to program anything with CUDA on an FX 5200 PCI?

I already looked up in this forum, someone said you can do it in ‘emulation mode’.
Do you think the plan with the testing does make sense?

Thanks in advance, :)

Louis

PS: I have an old computer right here with AGP (1x) and some PCI slots, the card must be suitable
for this (I have a faster machine but it is currently under repair).

2

No, that card won’t help at all. CUDA will run natively only on G80 and later class cards.
There were some rare PCI G84 cards released… here’s one for $50USD.
[url=“SPARKLE GeForce 8400 GS Video Card 700020 - Newegg.com”]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814187041[/url]
But the more modern PCI-E version is only $30.

But not to worry! As you said yourself, you can experiment with CUDA even without a graphics card at all. The emulation mode does all the computes on the CPU, allowing you to get an idea if your program will run.

3

Ah, that helped me a lot :)

So emulation mode means it runs without nVidia card at all?
But then I cannot check out the speed gain (if any).

I’ll see if I can get a 8400 card or so for PCI.
Thanks for the link but I cannot order it as I’m here in Europe (Germany).

I’ll search the Internet and go to some shops to see if I can get this card
you showed me!

Thanks,

Louis

PS: sorry the word ‘emulation’ misses an ‘e’ in the subject, but my cheap junk-
keyboard here works a bit jumpy and I didn’t notice (although I checked the body
using a spell checker) ;)

4

If you contact Albatron, they’ll sell you one directly. They also make PCI 8600 GTs if you want something that’s more likely to beat a CPU.

5

Hi alex,

Ok I searched for ‘Albatron’ using Google and came to the Albatron homepage.
In the ‘FAQ’ section of the Albatron homepage I often found the question ‘where to buy?’.
The published answer from A. is always ‘click here: …’. The link leads to a combo box with a list
of countries. I chose ‘Germany’ (or ‘Deutschland’), but the shops I was shown
don’t have the card. Most of the listed shops (like Conrad.de) I’ve searched before but
didn’t find anything :(

But thanks nevertheless!

Please continue reading here, I finally found one card I can use:

[url=“http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=83534”]http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=83534[/url]

Regards,

Louis

6

I’ve emailed Albatron directly to ask for distributors in the US, and they said they would sell me one direct. Don’t be shy about contacting them, they’re a small company.

7

Ok thanks. If I can’t order in the shop I found (see my other forum topic), I’ll ask Albatron.

Regards,

Louis

8

Ok please tell me alex, how did you pay? Via international giro transfer? Did you use US $?

9

I actually didn’t end up buying it from them. Ask them if they use paypal?