Folding@Home

[CougTek]

It took my computer almost 4 days to complete a Project 2684, just within the prefered deadline and I cannot communicate with their f**king server! I'll missed the dealine AND the bonus point assosciated with it because there's a problem with their f**king server and it's not showing on the server status page. I went to their forum and two others are experiencing the exact same problem with the same server.

Four f**king wasted days! F**k them!

 

[CougTek]

Seems like it finally became cooler in Fushigi's neck of the wood : he started folding again

And I don't know why Stanford keeps sending 2684 units to my least powerful i7 system. That machine cannot completes them in the prefered deadline, while my other overclocked system could.

And Windows update automatically rebooted my computers last week, wasting precious bonus points because by the time I noticed it, the prefered deadline was busted. I modified the updates setting afterward, but it still pisses me off.

 

[LiamC]

I'm giving up again for the time being. My electricity bill for the last quarter was just over $900. I think I need to rethink how I go about this.

For the same quarter:
07 $549
08 $681
09 $738
10 $900

KW/h/day
07
08 51
09 56
10 60

Running 5 computers flat out doesn't help

 

[timwhit]

How much do you pay per kW·h?

 

[CougTek]

Ok so now with you out, I have to find a way to produce almost 60K points per day if I don't want our team to be trampled by every other folding teams in our neighborhood.

Great.

 

[LiamC]

How much do you pay per kW·h?

It was $931. 13.9c up 14.2c. Price increase near the end of the quarter.

 

[Bozo]

The rate caps came off our electric bills starting in January. Our electric bills went up 30%.

 

[Handruin]

Ok so now with you out, I have to find a way to produce almost 60K points per day if I don't want our team to be trampled by every other folding teams in our neighborhood.

Great.

Now that it's getting cooler here, I can also turn mine back on to help out.

 

[CougTek]

Thanks. Any additional contribution will help.

Oh and Liam, does it has to be an all-or-nothing decision? Instead of leaving 5 computers folding 24x7, why don't you simply keep one or two of the most energy-efficient on the project. You would still help the team, not as much, but it would be a lot better than nothing. And it shouldn't cost you that much. Of course, running the FAH client on a Phenom (any) is going to use considerably more energy than running it on an i5 or i7.

It's just a thought. Even a 2K-3K daily contribution would make a difference in the long run.

 

[Pradeep]

So with the gpu console client, I have been running the 6.23 on the 5770.

Is the 6.30 client only for nvidia cards that can run the GPU3 client? Or should it also be used for ATI cards (bearing in mind the "-forcegpu ati_r700" should be changed to -forcegpu ati_r800 on 6.30)?

 

[CougTek]

I don't know the answer but Mark should. He's the one folding on graphic cards around here. Too bad he's no longer around here.

According to what's written on Stanford's FAH download page, the client 6.32 is only for Nvidia. ATI owners should use the 6.23.

In the FAH forum, I read this (regarding GPU3 for ATI cards) :

GPU3 fahcore_15 currently is written using openmm, see: gpu3-open-beta-test, but openmm is using CUDA code to run on Nvidia GPUs.
The OpenCL implementation for OpenMM is still in development (as is OpenCL itself).

So IMO, you should keep using version 6.23 for your hardware.

I don't know what would be the ppd of a GeForce GTX460 768MB. And that of a cheaper GTS450. Those cards are what I consider to be affordable. I'll have to check if it would be worth it versus another i7 with bigadv units.

 

[CougTek]

I read in a thread on their forum that a GTX460 should yield ~9000ppd. So I need two of those to equal an i7. I'm pretty sure I can make an overclocked i7 more silent than a pair of GTX460, while it won't consume as much power.

GPU3 won't be a solution for me in the short term.

 

[CougTek]

Regarding your HD 5770, this review might be of interest to you. Be sure to read the next page of the review too. Still, 3200ppd would certainly help us.

 

[Pradeep]

Regarding your HD 5770, this review might be of interest to you. Be sure to read the next page of the review too. Still, 3200ppd would certainly help us.

Thanks Coug.

According to FahMon the GPUv2 with 384 points is giving an estimated 2336 PPD. The SMP client (dual core 6600 @ 2.4GHz) is forcasting 165 PPD.

Hopefully the implementation of an OpenCL client for ATI/AMD will give us a big points bonanza (it's nice to hope) and fully utilise 400/800 stream processors.

 

[CougTek]

Bozo, have you taken the time to get a passkey? You don't have to, but the point reward on certain units is a lot greater if you configure your client with a passkey than without.

What machine are you running the client on?

 

[Bozo]

I'm running a Core2 Duo @ 3GHz.

I had a passkey but lost it. I searched for a way to retrieve it, but came up empty.
I'll try again.

 

[Bozo]

Found it!
I'll get it installed as soon as I can.

 

[Pradeep]

Some big earners you've been producing Coug, you are keeping us cranking. Thanks.

 

[CougTek]

Now it's Mark turn to stop contributing. At first I thought he switched to another team, but there are no others on his profile. It is strange because he contributed a lot in the Folding forum (Stanford's).

Fortunately, David and Tea resumed their efforts. Thanks to both.

I need to sell my two-and-a-half years old Core 2 Quad to replace it with another Core i7. That would boost my contribution substantially. In fact, all I need to add another two Core i7 are the processors, because I have all the other spare parts to build one LGA1156 and one LGA1366 systems.

 

[LunarMist]

Now it's Mark turn to stop contributing. At first I thought he switched to another team, but there are no others on his profile. It is strange because he contributed a lot in the Folding forum (Stanford's).

How is he doing?

 

[CougTek]

I have no idea.

 

[LunarMist]

I hope he is still alive. :sqnt:

 

[Handruin]

I started folding again. I'm using the tool that Bozo linked to and this made it so easy to setup and run.

 

[ddrueding]

Handruin is pulling away from me...I'll see what I can do about that

 

[Handruin]

Oh man...now I need to find more machines!

 

[CougTek]

With my increased production and Handruin's substantial participation (combined to the return of Ddrueding, Bozo, Pradeep and Fushigi), LiamC's vanishing has been erased. It took one month and a half, but we're now back to the level we were in August. I could add another 15000ppd with a moderate investment, but it will wait a little (my money needs to go elsewhere).

And Mark has less than five months to react before I overtake him for the lead. There's still plenty of time for him, but he should start to look into it if he cares. Unless they stop to support the GeForce 9500GT with the GPU client, I doubt he will change his hardware in the short-to-middle term.

BTW, computers are great heating devices. Temperature now drops at or below the freezing point here during the night, but I have yet to start the electrical heater.

 

[ddrueding]

BTW, computers are great heating devices. Temperature now drops at or below the freezing point here during the night, but I have yet to start the electrical heater.

The 60-year old furnace at our new house is coming out, and I don't plan on replacing it. My wife worries, saying that we don't have a heater. I don't think it will be a problem.

 

[CougTek]

IIRC, the only computers you have at home, besides your laptop, are those in your coffin. Again, IIRC, your entire coffin draws less than 300W. You don't heat a house with 300W. One room perhaps, but not a house.

You 4GHz i7 EE is at your office, isn't it?

 

[LunarMist]

Then what happens whern folding in the summertime? A/C load will increase or the room will warm up if there is no A/C.

 

[CougTek]

In my case, the room warms up. I plan to shut down one or two systems during next summer. I didn't this year because I was in a race against LiamC and I also tried to close the gap with Mark, but I had to endure incomfortable temperatures. Good thing I spent a lot of time outside the house (working).

Next summer, I should be confortably installed in first place with no pressure on, so I plan to have a fresher summer and slack my effort a little.

 

[Handruin]

I've also started folding now that the temperature is dropping and the system can help aid in warming the room/house even though it's not that much.

I just noticed that the GPU folding works on my 8800GT but the temperature is fairly high at a consistent 80 degrees C when I run the client. I don't think I'll be using that client right now until I figure out a way to lower the temperature on the GPU.

 

[Handruin]

I found some fan speed controls for my card to fix the issue, so now I' running the SMP and GPU clients on my box. The GPU is giving an estimate of around 4500 PPD.

 

[LunarMist]

In my case, the room warms up. I plan to shut down one or two systems during next summer. I didn't this year because I was in a race against LiamC and I also tried to close the gap with Mark, but I had to endure incomfortable temperatures. Good thing I spent a lot of time outside the house (working).

Next summer, I should be confortably installed in first place with no pressure on, so I plan to have a fresher summer and slack my effort a little.

You should not give away the strategy.

 

[ddrueding]

IIRC, the only computers you have at home, besides your laptop, are those in your coffin. Again, IIRC, your entire coffin draws less than 300W. You don't heat a house with 300W. One room perhaps, but not a house.

You 4GHz i7 EE is at your office, isn't it?

You have a remarkable memory. I'm in the process of amping up the systems at the house, perhaps putting in some new hardware.

 

[CougTek]

You have a remarkable memory. I'm in the process of amping up the systems at the house, perhaps putting in some new hardware.

If you want to keep power consumption comparable, then there's not much you can do before Sandy Bridge goes out. Replacing yous 3.6GHz Core i5 680 with quad cores will increase your power needs substantially. The best thing you can do is wait.

 

[sdbardwick]

The 60-year old furnace at our new house is coming out, and I don't plan on replacing it. My wife worries, saying that we don't have a heater. I don't think it will be a problem.

I'd check local codes before deciding to go without some sort of permanent furnace/heater; it might not be allowed. For sure if you plan on ever selling, or more importantly renting the house you'll need a heat source. The worst case could come from renting; the renter can't waive that right, and could then stop paying rent until a functional unit is installed, and you can't recover the lost rent. Calif. law is rather renter friendly; some localities even more so.

 

[CougTek]

I don't think it will last very long, but I'm quite proud when I look at the daily production I've been able to sustain for the last seven days.

 

[Handruin]

Your production has been stellar. Sadly mine will now drop off, I had to relinquish a machine. :-(

I have grand ideas of building a 6-core i7-970, but I can't justify it.

 

[CougTek]

Cheaper, more effective : anything with two GeForce 450GTS (or more). Two of those cards cost ~250$ and yield +20000ppd. They don't need that much energy either and they are fairly quiet.

 

[CougTek]

I added another Core i7 this evening, but I should remove the Core i5 760 with the 450GTS later this week.

It is good to see LiamC restarting to help our team, but I'm worried because Mark, Doug, David and Pradeep still haven't produced points so far today. Please don't let us down guys.