Folding@Home

Handruin

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I just added an i7 3770K to my folding at the stock clock speed. The client is saying 16400 PPD with it. but time will tell if I can sustain that. It will at least add a little more to the team. Aside from our team number, my passkey, and username, should I change anything else on the advanced config? It's a win8 64-bit with 16GB RAM.
 

CougTek

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My i7 2600K produces between 20Kppd and 26Kppd under Windows 8. My i7 3770 gets closer to 30K under Linux. Don't forget to drag the performance cursor to the right in order to get maximal production.
 

Handruin

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My i7 2600K produces between 20Kppd and 26Kppd under Windows 8. My i7 3770 gets closer to 30K under Linux. Don't forget to drag the performance cursor to the right in order to get maximal production.

The performance bar is set to full. Maybe the 10 minutes it was running wasn't enough to get a good PPD estimate? Is your i7 3770 also doing the advanced units since it's under Linux?

Is there an easy way to see the actual PPD production of each system? I've been using the extreme overclocking website F@H stats but I haven't seen a way to break down which system is producing results.
 

CougTek

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Is your i7 3770 also doing the advanced units since it's under Linux?
Nope. As for the huge SMP units, you need 16 cores or more in order to get them.

Is there an easy way to see the actual PPD production of each system? I've been using the extreme overclocking website F@H stats but I haven't seen a way to break down which system is producing results.
I'm almost certain there are stats systems doing that, but I've never looked into this. When I want to know the details about a specific system, I just switch my KVM on it and check the stats. When everything runs fine, I simply follow the big picture on EX OC's FAH stats page, just like you do.
 

P5-133XL

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I run HFM.net to see the PPD per slot and it changes colors if there is a problem with a slot and you get used to what each slot normally generates so you can see if something is low, I also keep track of failed WU's with it. It also tends to be more accurate/consistent than Advanced Control. I have configured Advanced-Control for remote control of all my folding computers and If I need PPD/system then I switch Advanced-Control to look at that machine. Advanced control gives PPD/slot by clicking a specific slot, PPD/system above the slot window and total PPD for all systems on the bottom left. Advanced-Control is also convenient for adjusting the config of any machine (specifically for setting client-type to chase the highest PPD projects).

On one machine I keep both HFM.net and advanced control always on the screen.
 
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P5-133XL

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P.S. with that picture: You will note that there are only two machines in HFM.net but 4 machines in Advanced-Control. HFM.net is showing that which I'm making points off of for the team. I'm testing other non-released cores on the two other machines that generate no points and cause problems with HFM.net.

The local machine in Advanced control is W8x64. You can clearly see the PPD for highlighted slot as well as the total for the machine and the Total for all machines. You can compare the Advanced control PPD to the HFM.net.

Failed WU's typically are ones that I pause, or caused myself by recently adjusting the OC. They tend to accumulate because to reset I have to restart both HFM.net and the machine they are recording. Real failures are rare.
 

CougTek

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There's been an electrical outage earlier this afternoon and one of my machines now refuses to boot and smeel burn plastic. Great.
 

P5-133XL

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It's alright, I had a surge during a storm that killed two surge protectors last night. I only had one replacement so I had to choose what got powered. I just got back from the store with two new ones. I don't think anything died other than the surge protectors though.

I was not happy with Win8. It decided that the OS was corrupt so it restored from scratch config losing the only things that mattered: My applications. I restored from backup and all is well.
 

Handruin

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I run HFM.net to see the PPD per slot and it changes colors if there is a problem with a slot and you get used to what each slot normally generates so you can see if something is low, I also keep track of failed WU's with it. It also tends to be more accurate/consistent than Advanced Control. I have configured Advanced-Control for remote control of all my folding computers and If I need PPD/system then I switch Advanced-Control to look at that machine. Advanced control gives PPD/slot by clicking a specific slot, PPD/system above the slot window and total PPD for all systems on the bottom left. Advanced-Control is also convenient for adjusting the config of any machine (specifically for setting client-type to chase the highest PPD projects).

On one machine I keep both HFM.net and advanced control always on the screen.

I plan to give this a try tonight. Thanks for taking the time to provide me the info on monitoring my setups.
 

CougTek

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I plan to give this a try tonight. Thanks for taking the time to provide me the info on monitoring my setups.

Run a Big Unit on a quad-socket board filled with Xeon E5-46xx or Opteron 63xx and that's the kind of point returns you'll get. If you have 5K$ to 6K$ to put on FAH, that's the way to do it. At least, that's what I should have done instead of spending half as much on a bunch of weaker, unreliable systems.
 

Handruin

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Run a Big Unit on a quad-socket board filled with Xeon E5-46xx or Opteron 63xx and that's the kind of point returns you'll get. If you have 5K$ to 6K$ to put on FAH, that's the way to do it. At least, that's what I should have done instead of spending half as much on a bunch of weaker, unreliable systems.

Wow really? Quad socket setups are needed for that kind of PPD? I think it'll be a bunch more than $5-6K.

SuperMicro X9QR7-TF+: $1500
Xeon E5 4620: $2100/each
It's already at $9900 and we haven't even added a case, memory, power supply, drives, etc...
 

P5-133XL

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I'm pretty sure, that shortly when better OpenCL drivers come out you will be able maintain 500K+ PPD with 4x Titans on a single machine while just GPU-only folding on core_17. When the 5.1 core_17 version comes out it should be close to 1M PPD. Better have a really good PS for that machine for you'll suck down electricity like mad.

That being said, the only way currently to maintain 500K PPD is with 4/8P machines. Yes, you can do it for $5K-$6K with good planning.
 

CougTek

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Wow really? Quad socket setups are needed for that kind of PPD? I think it'll be a bunch more than $5-6K.

SuperMicro X9QR7-TF+: $1500
Xeon E5 4620: $2100/each
It's already at $9900 and we haven't even added a case, memory, power supply, drives, etc...

SuperMicro SYS-8017R-TF+ : 1667.10$
Xeon E5-4607 (6c/12t - 2.2GHz) : 822.77$ each (4x = 3291,08$)
Samsung M393B1K70DH0-CK0 8GB : 67.99$ (8x = 543,92$)
Intel SSDSC2BA200G301 200GB : 499.99$
Linux : free
Total : 4334.99$
More than 400,000ppd : priceless

The same server with Xeon E5-4610 (2.4GHz ad 15MB of L2 cache instead of 2.2GHz and 12MB of L2 cache like the E5-4607) would cost 6023.31$. With the E5-4620 you mentionned, it would climb to 7502.51$.

I never wrote 4 eight-core CPU. I was in the ballpark.
 

Handruin

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Is the $500 Intel SSD really needed? Couldn't a basic Linux be installed on a compact flash or SD card?

Even if I had the money to build that kind of machine I would have to stick it in the garage.
 

Handruin

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I'm pretty sure, that shortly when better OpenCL drivers come out you will be able maintain 500K+ PPD with 4x Titans on a single machine while just GPU-only folding on core_17. When the 5.1 core_17 version comes out it should be close to 1M PPD. Better have a really good PS for that machine for you'll suck down electricity like mad.

That being said, the only way currently to maintain 500K PPD is with 4/8P machines. Yes, you can do it for $5K-$6K with good planning.

Thanks for the info/up[date on the improvements to the core software. I don't see 4 x Titans being in my future any time soon but having the improvement be possible is also nice to read about. I may see about building my next setup with multiple GPUs but mainly for folding vs gaming.
 

CougTek

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I only have one UPS and three different places where I plug computers. I have surge protectors for all my computer equipment though.
 

ddrueding

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Mainly due to the brain-dead HVAC system at work. I currently have a half-dozen servers in my office doing about 450W. My machine while folding pulls another 780W. My office doesn't hit equilibrium until past 100F with that load, and F@H crashes before then.
 

P5-133XL

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The office needs its own HVAC zone and thermostat. If you have an outside wall, you can consider getting a separate air conditioner for that one room.
 

ddrueding

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What I'm putting together now is a fan to force air through the doorway into the rest of the zone. Hopefully I can manage to get closer to the average and trigger the AC.

My other plan was to plumb a radiator on the outside of the wall and watercool the PC. Haven't gotten that OK'd by the boss yet.
 

Howell

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If you put the fan at the vent exhaust you could suck the cooler air out of the neighboring rooms as well as sending your hot air ou of the room by pressurization. If your exhaust fan closely fits the doorway it would accomplish the same thing.
 

CougTek

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Apparently, P5_133XL, Ddrueding and Handruin all had simultaneous heart attacks and stopped contributing the project. Or the entire U.S. suffered a blackout. Or there's an alien invasion going on. Or...I don't know.

Anyway, I slept 12 hours straight and the first thing I notice when I wake up, make my morning (well, noon) coffee and look at my computer is that I'm the only member left to send units today. Weird.
 

P5-133XL

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I was running all my clients on a test WU (no point given) yesterday. I switched them back and should start producing more points shortly.
 

Handruin

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One of my two are still folding. Had to do some rearranging in the house so the other one (i7 3770) is offline for a bit.
 

LunarMist

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I know you have no basement and its unlikely the computers are outside, so what gives?
 

ddrueding

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I know you have no basement and its unlikely the computers are outside, so what gives?

Mainly due to the brain-dead HVAC system at work. I currently have a half-dozen servers in my office doing about 450W. My machine while folding pulls another 780W. My office doesn't hit equilibrium until past 100F with that load, and F@H crashes before then.

...
 

P5-133XL

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Windows FAHCore_17 GPU beta testing is back. If you are using AMD or Kepler video cards the PPD has significantly improved unfortunately Fermi not so much. With FAHCore_17 Nvidia uses a full CPU core which will affect SMP PPD but AMD uses virtually no CPU.

They have also started beta testing FAHCore_17 GPU folding for X64 Linux using proprietary video drivers: Nvidia reasonably stable, and AMD not nearly as stable.
 

CougTek

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My production should increase significantly from now on. It should go back to approximately what it was two months ago. At last.
 

CougTek

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I can tell you that a dual socket server with two Xeon E5450 is roughly equivalent to a single i7 2600. So a 10K$ 4-years-old server performs just like a 2-years-old desktop for Folding@home.

And I don't know how Mark does to get 40Kppd from a single GTX 580 because both of mine are stuck at ~27Kppd. One is hooked to an i7 960 CPU and the other one is paired to an Athlon X3 435. I've set the 3D performance to maximal in the Nvidia config utility for the FAHcore and FAHClient files. No improvement.
 
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P5-133XL

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Core_17 beta WU's give QRB and thereby get 40+K PPD on 580's on p7663's. They are now switching to p8900's and those are only barely getting 30K.

I'm seriously considering selling the 3x 580's and using that money to buy a 780 or 2x GTX 580 for a single HD 7970. The 780 stock gets 120K PPD on p8900's while the 580's get 30K. The 7970 gives 100K PPD but only costs $400. Each used 580 can be easily be sold for $200 on ebay for a total of $600+ and a 780 costs $649 new. On the short term both are a push in cost, but the single 780/7970 will give more PPD while using a ton less power.

The big hindrance is that I like to play games! Using the 780 to play a game will totally kill folding PPD while using one 580 only drops it by less than 1/3. The 7970 purchase still leaves a 580 for gaming though.

If my PPD is disrupted for a while, it likely means I just pulled the trigger on the above plan.
 
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CougTek

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Thanks to thunderstorms, there's been an electrical outage and I've lost at least 3 hours worth of production, plus at least one unit. Great.

The meteo man forecast more thunderstorms tomorrow, so more potential production lost to come.
 
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