I have an old GTX460 1GB sitting on the table (was replaced by a GTX960 several months ago), and also an ancient GTX275. Was considering getting them up and running again, but wonder if the energy draw is worth it for these relics.

What is your opinion from an overall "good for mankind / society" point of view? Is the performance / watt worth the contribution? Or is the energy draw killing the environment more than the social benefit they return?

My opinion is:
One day, energy will be both free and clean. One day, we'll want to utilize all the resources, because their "cost" (monetary, and environmental), will be free.

In the meantime... If I still had space in my rig to put my 400-series in, I would. And I still have 2 aging laptops doing useful work, including a Quadro FX3800M GPU. And I have a first-generation Kindle, which just sits there and does BOINC work, too.

So I guess my response would be: If there's a project out there that can put your resource to use, then it's still overall beneficial to help out if you can. The humanitarian projects can always use the help. And one day, the "cost" will be free.

You can ask this question for many types of pieces of technology: CPUs, mobile phones, TVs, washing machines, cars, etc. I think it's always the cost / benefit ratio that you have to take into account, which of course will not be equally important to all persons.

I would not use these cards for crunching, as I find their running cost / performance ratio unacceptable. A CPU analogy may help: would you continue using a Pentium 4 or even 3 for crunching? I mean, you could of course, but would it make any sense, when for the same required power you could produce many times the work of the old CPU with a new one?
____________

I don't think Jacobs future vision of a "Utopian" world where one day energy and other resources will be free (though the cost may not be money) will ever be realised.

Your GTX460 is slow and power hungry for what it can produce. A better plan would be to save the money in electricity charges by NOT running this card and use that to buy a new more energy efficient card now or in the future. I think a GTX970 can do more than twice the work for less power.

On another note and just out of interest, how do you manage to have so many WU's cached on your 960 and lots of them are never returned within 5 days?

You don't have to answer that but maybe it's possible to get more out of what hardware you already have.

My opinion is:
One day, energy will be both free and clean. One day, we'll want to utilize all the resources, because their "cost" (monetary, and environmental), will be free.

In the meantime... If I still had space in my rig to put my 400-series in, I would. And I still have 2 aging laptops doing useful work, including a Quadro FX3800M GPU. And I have a first-generation Kindle, which just sits there and does BOINC work, too.

So I guess my response would be: If there's a project out there that can put your resource to use, then it's still overall beneficial to help out if you can. The humanitarian projects can always use the help. And one day, the "cost" will be free.

1 - When it stops working. (Either through obsolescence or failure.)

2 - When I can't make use of it in any of my systems.

Energy efficiency is nice, but lets face it; crunching for BOINC isn't the most energy efficient thing to do any way you slice it. We do it because we believe or at least hope that the ends justify the means.

If you are able to save up for more efficient cards, that of course is a good option, but if it's between using a card or not, I'd say go ahead and use it as it is an available resource.

If environmental impact is a pressing concern and you are able to do so, look into offsetting it by implementing and using "greener" energy such a solar and wind. Unfortunately, many of our governments aren't going to help us, because their most viable politicians work for the private interests that fund them and environmentalism and sustainability don't have short term profitability and ease of use as their primary objectives.
____________
My BOINC Cruncher, Minecraft Multiserver, Mobile Device Mainframe, and Home Entertainment System/Workstation: http://www.overclock.net/lists/display/view/id/4678036#

On another note and just out of interest, how do you manage to have so many WU's cached on your 960 and lots of them are never returned within 5 days?

Thanks everyone for your comments. The day energy is completely renewable and unlimited this would be a no brainer. But unfortunately, energy isn't free (yet) - and in my region it is generated by burning natural gas and oil. We don't have any significant green energy generation here.

If we use inefficient hardware, on one hand we're making contributions to science (which is positive to humanity). But on the other hand, we're contributing to global warming and helping accelerate the day when fossil fuels run out (both of which are negative impacts to humanity).

In the end I will let the GTX460 idle and put the reduced electricity bill towards bringing forward my next GPU upgrade.

Thanks everyone for your comments. The day energy is completely renewable and unlimited this would be a no brainer. But unfortunately, energy isn't free (yet) - and in my region it is generated by burning natural gas and oil. We don't have any significant green energy generation here.

If we use inefficient hardware, on one hand we're making contributions to science (which is positive to humanity). But on the other hand, we're contributing to global warming and helping accelerate the day when fossil fuels run out (both of which are negative impacts to humanity).

In the end I will let the GTX460 idle and put the reduced electricity bill towards bringing forward my next GPU upgrade.

My philosophy is to use all assets until they fail beyond repair or can no longer be used because of server requirements. Energy and raw materials as well as labour were used in making all IT assets.

You could argue that it depends on how green your electricity is, and what it costs to generate; resources are not free whatever the source.

But there is another cost, which is an opportunity cost. If you use an old inefficient card to grab a work unit that is in limited supply, you deny the possibility that a more efficient card would get it. So as a rough estimate, I would use the GTX 460, but not the GTX 275, which is over the hill in my opinion.