Move over CELL - The GPU is the king of Folding @ Home.

[Viper1]

MikeB said:

Top GPUs cost multiple times the amount of a Cell processor and are more power hungry, top graphics cards cost more than an entire PS3 system.

'The GPU client is still the fastest, but it is the least flexible and can only run a very, very limited set of WUs.' The Cell processor is much more flexible with regard to what kind of calculations can be performed, with additional effort the Cell can perform well for any kind of calculation an ordinary desktop CPU is suited for.

Unsurprisingly the RSX can perform more operations per second than the Cell as well, but the Cell is really what makes the PS3 interesting for Folding (or science in general) as well as a multi-media / gaming platform.

They updated the ATi client (and I'd assume the nVidia client) several months ago to include everything the CELL client handles plus some new stuff.

 

The only thing that makes the PS3 intersting for F@H is because of the volume and easy marketing.   When was the last time you saw a GPU based marketing scheme for F@H of equal size to the one plastered on the PS3?