Folding for Team 32 newbie [Archive]

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makaid

01-07-10, 07:13 AM

jonspd

01-07-10, 08:12 AM

Not sure about folding reducing the life of video cards but overclocking does :D after that being said what is the life of said hardware? More people the regularly stay around these forums very rarely use a single piece of hardware for more then a yr to 2 at the most.

I also have a 955be ATM that puts out about 1800ppd using the smp client.

looking at what you have I would say if those 5770's can fold then you should be looking in the area of 6-8kPPD not 100% sure tho.

none the less welcome to the team

makaid

01-07-10, 08:20 AM

Thanks. That lifespan seems about correct for me as well. I built the third PC on my list at the end of 2008 and I built the newest one this year.

If I was to fold also using my GPU's, would I need a different client? I didn't see any options for anything like that when I installed the app.

jonspd

01-07-10, 08:26 AM

not sure about the gpu client seeing as your using ati someone else you need to chime in.

I just noticed I have the same board as you as well as cpu but have failed to update my sig

Hardass

01-07-10, 08:41 AM

Welcome to the Team.:thup:

Adak

01-07-10, 08:03 PM

I am looking forward to getting started. I have had a little experience with F@H on the PS3, but that is a somewhat simple task. I just recently joined the forum and am looking forward to folding for this team.

The machines I have available at the moment are

1) PS3

2) My new gaming rig w/ a Phenom II 955 BE and 2 x Radeon 5770's in xfire

I read somewhere that F@H can reduce the life of video cards. How much so?

3) Gateway Laptop w/ centrino Duo

4) Athlon X2 64 5000+ OC'd to 3.00GHz, w/onboard video

I could let this one run 24/7 for a while. My brother is going to buy it from me soon though.

So I would love any help on maximizing the resources I have.

Thanks

#1) Here's the link to all the PS3 info:
http://folding.stanford.edu/English/FAQ-PS3

The Cell processor in the PS3 is a very powerful folder. :cool:

#2) On your gaming rig, the SMP folding client, would be good. There IS a client that runs only in Linux, but can run inside a virtual machine, on your Windows OS.

It's too intense for a gaming rig, for a folder just starting out. So I'm going to recommend the systray SMP client for you. This is a straight windows program. It's only real problem I've found is that the protein viewer is still buggy, and shouldn't be used.

Instructions are here:

Our install guide is here:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6061845&postcount=5

Edit: This is the SMP MPICH guide! (Thanks dz!)

You don't want a service install.

#3) Laptops are a mixed bag for folding. Some do OK, but others can't handle the heat. Also, there is the mobile nature of a laptop - it might be fine in one place, but put it down on the bed, or near a book, so one of the air intakes is partially blocked, and it's trouble. Put it near a window,and the direct sunlight on a black colored case, can again, cause trouble.

Let's pass on the laptop, at least for now.

#4) This one should get the VM Player install, that we passed over for your main gamer in #2, above.

This is the sticky to that info:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6061638&postcount=3

The VMPlayer version you want is now 3.0,

It now supports more cores, but the number of cpu's you want is still "2", for this dual core system.

Understand that this will be a more complicated set up - but rewarding in two ways. First, it folds with the best cpu client program, and second, you'll be able to see how a virtual machine can be used. :cool: :cool: It actually runs Linux inside your Windows operating system, in this case.

I will have to get someone with ATI card experience to help you with your GPU folding. I have ATI cards, but they're not good enough to fold with. In any case, they're more difficult, so I'd let them be, until the above clients were folding, and you had just a bit more experience.

Any questions, hit us up!

In all these installs, be sure to follow the instructions EXACTLY. They're very exact, and especially with the GPU and SMP folding clients, you can't cut ANY corners. If it says you must be signed in as an administrator with a password, then you must be signed in as an administrator, with a password, and nothing else will do. :)

makaid

01-07-10, 08:52 PM

wow thank you for the time, effort and detail you put into this. I will let you know how it goes.

makaid

01-07-10, 09:16 PM

On my gaming rig installed the systray client. But I also found a thread explaining how to force your GPU to fold. I have it folding in crossfire and is going way faster than my PS3! I don't know if it is actually using both cards or just the primary on though. The only thing is that when I am using the GPU client, my GPU temp hikes up to 70 degrees max. I have a feeling this is normal.

I am currently allowing F@H to run continuously on my PS3. I still need to find a place in the house fr the last rig.

The laptop may not work out well as it already has an issue with heat, not being taxed.

Adak

01-07-10, 09:35 PM

GPU's are the fastest (but least flexible) folders of all. Temps are an issue with them, and you have to be sure your cards don't overheat. That could really shorten the lifetime of the cards.

If the laptop has a known problem with handling it's heat, then don't fold on it. FAH is too intensive for any system with a heat problem.

Check with ATI on the web, and see what they say about 70 degrees. That doesn't sound high for an NVidia card I have, but I don't know about your cards, and wouldn't want to guess.

You're getting into this aren't you? :D

makaid

01-07-10, 09:46 PM

Yeah. It is pretty cool. I may not fold with the gpu untill I get a better cooling solution. However I am going to see what I can do with the fourth machine since I am not even using it. I am going to look into your suggestions for that one.

onefstsnake

01-07-10, 09:56 PM

You can manually set fan speed for the GPU's. I use Rivatuner, not sure if this works for ATI cards though. Maybe ATItool??

makaid

01-07-10, 10:00 PM

onefstsnake

01-07-10, 10:06 PM

It should help alot. I know most NVIDIA cards are set to run as quiet as possible without burning up. I set my GTX285 to 60% fan speed and temps dropped alot!
The systray client will do that since its not a "high" performance client.
If you were to go with a VM client for your CPU you would see similar WU sizes.

Adak

01-08-10, 03:45 AM

I will look for more info on that. That possibly could help.

The other thing that I noticed is when I recieve a job for the GPU, it ends up being substantially larger than the jobs my cpu gets. Right now the GPU is 2000/10000 and the CPU is 15/500 in the tray.

This sounds very fishy. I suspect you're folding with the older work units (WU's), which were much smaller.

In your Folding@home folder, you have a file "fahlog.txt", that the folding program creates as it's folding.

Would you go right to the VERY start of that file, when it first started up, and copy and paste the very first 50 lines or so, of that file, into this thread?

Then I can see for sure, just what is being folded. The systray client may have a selection from the pop up menu that includes looking at this file, if you click on the little systray icon.

As soon as we get this sorted out, we'll get you a monitoring program, so you can see just what is going on with your folding.

This:
http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/user_summary.php?s=&u=493401

is the link to your folding stats on a very good folding site - EOC. Bookmark that baby! :burn: :burn: :burn:

Two things to remember with EOC stats:
1) They run on Central Standard or Daylight Time so they're two hours ahead of Stanford University, where FAH's lab is located.

2) EOC updates it's stats at Midnight, 3, 6, & 9 am., and at Noon, 3, 6, & 9 pm., Central Time.

It's very normal for a returned WU to be 2 to 6 hours later (sometimes even later than that), before it shows up on your stats.

makaid

01-08-10, 06:07 AM

OK. I am at work now. I will get back to you with that log file this afternoon.

Porvalsh

01-08-10, 07:30 AM

I don't know about the lifespan thing either. I mean, I've got hardware thats 6 years old still chugging along like a champ. So is the hardware lifespan 10 years and you're reducing it to maybe 8? Or is it 3 years and you'd be reducing it to 2?

I've got some older 8800GTS cards that have been passed down for folding a few times. I'm sure they are at least 3 years old and they've folded 24/7 their entire life. I've not had any problems with them yet so I'm just crossing my fingers and riding them into the ground.

Technically graphics cards aren't designed for 100% loads for extended times like CPU are so its a shot in the dark as to how long they will last.

The 955 should fold more in the 4000-6000 range. WU's take me about 10 hours to complete, for 1920 points.

dz_jad

01-08-10, 05:34 PM

#1)

It's too intense for a gaming rig, for a folder just starting out. So I'm going to recommend the systray SMP client for you. This is a straight windows program. It's only real problem I've found is that the protein viewer is still buggy, and shouldn't be used.

Instructions are here:

http://folding.stanford.edu/English/WinUNIGuide

That link is to a Uni-proc client--from what it says. Is there really a SMP client out there now? I've been running 2 uni-cores for the past week or so since I've gotten back into folding...

harlam357

01-08-10, 05:53 PM

That link is to a Uni-proc client--from what it says. Is there really a SMP client out there now? I've been running 2 uni-cores for the past week or so since I've gotten back into folding...

Man dz... you have been gone for a long time haven't you!? :D

I suggest you check-out the Intro (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=574026)... it's got links to all the guides you need. ;)

Porvalsh

01-08-10, 07:00 PM

Oh and welcome to the FOLD!

Adak

01-08-10, 07:24 PM

Makaid: apologies, I sent you the wrong client link: the correct one is here:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6061845&postcount=5

Stanford also has one of course, but Harlam did a great job, so ours is the best. :)

Note that you NOT want a service install on your gaming rig. Services are program that run in the background of Windows, and have no display, btw.

It's best to remove the former folders, before starting the install of the new one, unless it's a service. If it's a service, then let the new client detect it, and remove it for you. (there are registry entries that have to be modified for service removal.)

This is THE client that you can NOT NOT NOT, skip any install steps on. Yes, we've tried *all* the shortcuts == FAIL! :D

dz_jad

01-09-10, 06:46 AM

Makaid: apologies, I sent you the wrong client link: the correct one is here:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6061845&postcount=5

Stanford also has one of course, but Harlam did a great job, so ours is the best. :)

oooo. Yay. Does the SMP boost PPD at all? Or does it simply make the FAH install more simple?

Adak

01-09-10, 07:11 PM

SMP folding is significantly faster (in production), than the single core client. One SMP instance is better than two single core client instances.

veryhumid

01-11-10, 08:14 PM

Welcome to the team!