Fermi gets optimized version of Folding@Home

Stanford University has published a new Folding@Home beta clients with specific optimizations for users of GeForce GTX 480 and 470 graphics cards. This release requires the latest GeForce drivers (197.45) and promises to achieve more than 1 microsecond per day performance.

Since NVIDIA started working with the Stanford University Folding@home team, NVIDIA GPUs have grown to the point that they now contribute over 45% of the x86 TeraFLOPS while accounting for less than 4% of the active processors.

With the introduction of Fermi and the GeForce GTX 400 GPUs, we recognized we had the opportunity to raise the bar even higher, and began working closely with the Folding@home team to jointly craft an efficient client tuned to the Fermi architecture. Now that client is available in Beta, and it’s the first Folding@home GPU client to achieve more than 1 microsecond per day performance. We look forward to continued positive collaboration with the Folding@home team, and know that with the help of the thousands of volunteers that contribute to the project, we’re shedding light on important questions that will hopefully lead to advances in medicine and health for all of us.

Professor Vijay Pande, director of the Folding@Home project, says they're also working with AMD on a new version for ATI cards, but the launch date of this release is still unknown.