The Scottish Boinc Team

To run multiple cards in boinc......

Go to c:/program data /boinc in windows explorer.
look for a file called cc_config.xml
if it's there open it with notepad. If it's not then create one with notepad.

the contents of the file should be this ( make sure the syntax is exact )

<cc_config>
<options>
<use_all_gpus>1</use_all_gpus>
</options>
</cc_config>

save this ( note save ,not save as ) the file must be called cc_config.xml but it's not a true .xml file. don't use explorer or double click to open.
After that restart boinc. You should now have 2 or more! gpu's crunching away like eager beavers. They should also both be reported in the boinc event log.

To control multiple cards doing different projects on boinc you need to increase the cc_config file somewhat.
Below is my config that allows me to control 4 gpu's on the one computer on multiple projects. It looks complicated but will be explained after.


<cc_config>
<options>

<use_all_gpus>1</use_all_gpus>
<ignore_cuda_dev>3</ignore_cuda_dev>
<max_file_xfers>24</max_file_xfers>
<max_file_xfers_per_project>8</max_file_xfers_per_project>
<no_priority_change>15</no_priority_change>
<report_results_immediately>1</report_results_immediately>

<!-- ================ SET UP GTX660 ti (7970 ) (Igpu ) device0 ========-->
<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>ATI</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.bitcoinutopia.com/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>ATI</type>
<type>intel_gpu</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.freerainbowtables.com/distrrtgen/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>NVIDIA</type>
<type>intel_gpu</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.thesonntags.com/collatz/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>intel_gpu</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>ATI</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://albert.phys.uwm.edu/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>ATI</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/</url>
<device_num>3</device_num>
<type>NVIDIA</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.gpugrid.net/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>ATI</type>
<type>intel_gpu</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.primegrid.com/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>intel_gpu</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.fzk.de/poem/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>NVIDIA</type>
<type>intel_gpu</type>
</exclude_gpu>

<!-- ================ SET UP GT610 device1 ===============-->

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.fzk.de/poem/</url>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/</url>
<device_num>3</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://albert.phys.uwm.edu/</url>
<device_num>3</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.gpugrid.net/</url>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.freerainbowtables.com/distrrtgen/</url>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/</url>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/</url>
<device_num>3</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.thesonntags.com/collatz/</url>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://www.primegrid.com/</url>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>

</options>
</cc_config>



The first thing to note is that boinc defines the first gpu as gpu0. However it defines the next gpu as 1 if it is the same type ie nVidia or gpu0 if a different type. I have 3 gpu0's ( nVidia, ATI, intel_gpu ).

Each app is defined by the project URL
Each device is defined by its number
nVidia cards are called NVIDIA
AMD cards are called ATI
the internal Igpu on intel chips is called intel_gpu
so setting

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>

</exclude_gpu>

would mean that seti would not run on any of my gpu's with device number 0
setting

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>
<type>ATI</type>

</exclude_gpu>

would allow seti to run on nVidia 0 and the IGPU but not on the ATI card.


rather than rewriting it for different projects each time i change i have been lazy and at the start defined
<ignore_cuda_dev>3</ignore_cuda_dev>
device 3 doesn't exist but boinc will still ignore it , so changing device 0 or 1 to a 3 will allow it to run all apps for that project without having to rewrite the config type each time ie

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/</url>
<device_num>0</device_num>

</exclude_gpu>

no seti tasks will run on any device 0
change to

<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/</url>
<device_num>3</device_num>

</exclude_gpu>

and now seti will run on all gpu device 0's. Quick and dirty for competitions etc.

Hi Alez, did you recently by any chance noticed on Win 8.1 boxes the same rotten behaviour that I experienced? Being that I can run either my ATI card or my NVIDIA card, but not both at the same time since a few weeks. Before that the ATI was doing MilkyWay while NVIDIA did PrimeGrid....

Sorry Dirk, no windows 8 here. Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Just a though but did you change either drivers with an update or far more likely, did microsoft push a new 'update' to ruin everything. You could try rolling back you're system by a restore point or two and see if that cures it.
Have you tried plugging both cards into a monitor ? Maybe windows has reverted back to the bad old days of requiring a card to see an active monitor or power management turns it off ?
Maybe some of the other guys on here have noticed this ?

Win 8.1 seems to bloody hate my HD 7790 as it constantly pushes a MicroSoft driver that won't even allow me to crunch with it!
Having disabled this 'update' to my beloved 13.4 Catalyst driver with CAL support (which adds 1000 GFlop as compared to later OpenCL-only drivers!) the system would crash as soon as both the nVidia and AMD card went crunching together. Crunching apart gives no problems, doing 'normal' things let me use both cards on two monitors.

I would read that as an incompatibility between the 13.4 drivers and windows, and microsoft in their time honoured fashion of they know best, pushing a crap replacement driver that works with windows rather than finding a proper solution.
Do you get any clues from the error or is just BSOD.
Does it do it when crunching a cuda and an open CL or when both cards are on openCL. ( ie trying to use the wrong driver on 1 card ) Is it every project or project specific ?

No BSOD, just CRASH! and restart....as soon as the two cards try to crunch together. ANd mind you: the 13.4 driver worked flawlessly before a certain Windows 8.1 'update', which I can't pinpoint atm....

:pale: Will i be able to control my 7990 and a r7 240 so i can choose what to run on each, i.e Collatz on the 7990 and MW on the r7 240 so the r7 wont do anything else, i'm presuming that my Be Quiet! 850w will be able to handle both at the same time.

I know it's up there but it's making me feel cold just looking at it .

Have done the cc_config_xml thing, its the exclude thing i'm not getting.

Who would have thought i used to run the original seti cli version lol.

Sure. First look in the BOINC Manager event log to find out which GPU #s the 7990 are the other. Should look something like...
CAL: ATI GPU 0: AMD Radeon HD 7870/7950/7970/R9 280X series (Tahiti) (CAL version 1.4.1848, 3072MB, 3032MB available, 9728 GFLOPS peak)
CAL: ATI GPU 1: AMD Radeon HD 7870/7950/7970/R9 280X series (Tahiti) (CAL version 1.4.1848, 3072MB, 3032MB available, 9728 GFLOPS peak)
CAL: ATI GPU 2: AMD Radeon HD 7850/7870 series (Pitcairn) (CAL version 1.4.1848, 2048MB, 2008MB available, 6080 GFLOPS peak)

Then add the following <exclude_gpu> tags int he cc_config.xml file in the /programdata/BOINC/ folder.

<cc_config>
<options>
<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://boinc.thesonntags.com/collatz/</url>
<type>ATI</type>
<device_num>2</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>
<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/</url>
<type>ATI</type>
<device_num>0</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>
<exclude_gpu>
<url>http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/</url>
<type>ATI</type>
<device_num>1</device_num>
</exclude_gpu>
</options>
</cc_config>

Then shut down the BOINC client and restart it. You can look in the event log to make sure it picked up the exlude statements. Should see this...
Collatz Conjecture | Config: excluded GPU. Type: ATI. App: all. Device: 2
Milkyway@Home | Config: excluded GPU. Type: ATI. App: all. Device: 0
Milkyway@Home | Config: excluded GPU. Type: ATI. App: all. Device: 1

04/06/2014 12:04:12 | | CAL: ATI GPU 0: AMD Radeon HD 7870/7950/7970/R9 280X series (Tahiti) (CAL version 1.4.1848, 3072MB, 3032MB available, 10240 GFLOPS peak)
04/06/2014 12:04:12 | | CAL: ATI GPU 1: AMD Radeon HD 7870/7950/7970/R9 280X series (Tahiti) (CAL version 1.4.1848, 3072MB, 3032MB available, 10240 GFLOPS peak)

Cheers mate will try that as soon as the new card arrives.

Got the 2nd card (hd 7750) done this

<cc_config>
<options>
<use_all_gpus>1</use_all_gpus>
</options>
</cc_config

But it says in the boinc cal ati gpu 2 not used and open cl ati gpu 2 ignored by config???

Help please :).

Had another look and it also says cc_config.xml not found using defaults but its definitely there and set up with notepad as instructed.

ok, just some thoughts so don't be insulted

first it is in the folder c:/ProgramData/BOINC ?
2nd, it is called cc_config.xml not .txt ?
3rd have you typed the contents here or did you cut and paste. If you typed check the sytax is the same in fact..... just noticed .... sorry what you have typed is wrong

<cc_config>
<options>
<use_all_gpus>1</use_all_gpus>
</options>
</cc_config>

your missing the last >


If that is just a typo try running it without the config file. Seems weird I know, but the 7990 is seen as 2 cards by boinc and used as such without the config file. With my 6990 ( dual card ) I do not need the config file and I have a 6970 there to, so it sees and uses all 3 cards without the config file. The dual card seems to confuse boinc.
If this doesn't work let me know and we can see what else we can try.

1 yes
2 yes
3 yes
It was a typo and the syntax is correct, i will dump the cc_config now and re start it and see what happens..............................................................................................................
no joy still says cc_config.xml not found using defaults, it even said that with the cc_config.xml in there?????

It has the second card connected to my tv's media box and is showing as a second desktop.

Yes it sees the 7990 as 2 separate cards without the cc whatsit, it also sees the 7750 just says not used and ignored by config, with or without the cc_config

Going to disable the 7990 for a short while and see if the 7750 will work without them in.

If it doesn't work can you post the start up log in boinc down to where it starts projects running. Advanced > event log

Edit, disconnect the card from the media box and try again. It may be windows causing the issues and you may have to extend the desktops across each other with catalyst.

Edit 2 which version of Boinc do you have and when you boot, do you see the bios screen etc or is the screen blank or staticy until you get the windows desktop ( this happens on mine )

Right the 7750 works fine (slow as 2 minutes to do 10% its trying to do 4 units like) have disconnected the media box and boinc still sees it but just wont play.



When the PC boots i see the bios and the boot up screen until it hits desktop.

Then what I would try is the following. ( again no offense intended if I'm teaching you to suck eggs )

Replace the cc_config.xml file. ensure you save as in notepad and make sure the extension on the file is .xml and not .xml.txt

Reboot and check. If not

Move display output cable to the last gpu IE last pci slot used on the board. Reboot and check. If not.

Reinstall AMD drivers using the clean install option. If not

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/forum_thread.php?id=8378 download and try one of the beta versions of boinc. I use 7.3.15 with no issues but no reason not to go to 7.3.18 or 19 ( I will be when I get home )

If none of the above works we are scratching heads. I think the important part here is to get the cc_config file recognised as I think that is the issue here.

There she blows, i sussed it out.

You cannot name the file cc_config_xml because when you do and then look at property's its called cc_config.xml.xml and it will not recognise it, so i had to just name it cc_config and then the property's say its called cc_config.xml .

Cheers Alez :pirate: :bounce:.

Looking good

So you have the app_config.xml you have cpu_usage and gpu_usage set to .25? Does that provide better overall throughput?

scole250 wrote:So you have the app_config.xml you have cpu_usage and gpu_usage set to .25? Does that provide better overall throughput?

Hmmm yeah it does its doing 8 in between 1.30 and 1.35 so at 1.35 its 16.875 seconds per unit where as without it it was doing one in roughly 20 seconds so yes its quicker and you can do more.

I have had to abandon my 2 gpu thing for a short time as when i have the 2nd one in the 7990 gets ridiculously hot like 100c+ and then the protection on the card kicks in and slows the thing down to 500mhz and still hits 90c+, it was sitting in the pcie slot under the 7990 and blocking the air flow to it, so its out for now and i have ordered a water cooling rig for the cpu which will arrive next week sometime but i am out of funds till next pay day now so i cant extend the loop till June the 8th as the gfx block is £112 so when i get it up and running i will slap the hd 7750 back in as it shouldn't matter when its water cooled, that's if i don't fubar it and blow all my comp up with a water leak .

Ooooh, sounds like you'll be having some fun soon then!!
I'll look forward to your updates on water cooling, it's something that has crossed my mind but I haven't got any closer than doing some reading so far

Ha just wangled some ca$h out of the missis (a loan till payday 8))
and went went to overclockers.co.uk and ordered > http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... =WC-365-EK with two compression fittings for it, will be here on Tuesday and so should the loop from watercooling .
I'm in for some fun.

I see you are going to cool your cpu and 7990. What radiator and pump are you going to use? I'm still a newbie to water cooling, but my i7 3770k uses all of a 240mm and another similar cpu uses all of a double thick, duel fan 120mm. They are both closed, self contained systems though.

Alpha cool pump/res, 240 mm radiator 2 x 120mm fans, phoybia cpu cooler, 8 x compression fittings, 3 meters of 10/8 mm tubing and a EK Water Blocks EK-FC7990 SE - Acetal for the 7990, i will post everything in the thread i have created as i get going :).