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CPU vs GPU
- Thread starter Mark620
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
Nvidia GPU's are the darlings of SETI. I don't know what the ratio of cpu ppd to gpu ppd would be, but it's clear from my experience, that GPU's rule here. (But Rosetta works only with cpu's, so it can be a nice combo -- warning about Rosetta: it wants about 1/2 GB or RAM per core!)
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2011
- Location
- Cádiz (Spain)
So, Adak. I could fold with Rosetta and SETI at the same time?
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
Yes, but -- If you don't have more than 1/2 GB of memory per core, then you don't want to run Rosetta. It will start using your HD swap file, and then your whole system performance goes into the ****ter.
I'd concentrate on SETI for the time being, and do Rosetta later. I'm working on a fix to the memory problem.
Edit:
For Rosetta, this worked for Tanker. It is best to do this BEFORE you connect to the project and start crunching a work unit.
1) Click on advanced >> preferences >> disk usage and memory.
Set the percent of memory BOINC should use to 85%.
Set the amount of swap file it can use to 0.00%
Click on OK to save it.
2) Click on advanced again >> read the preferences file.
If you have already started your work units working, and they are already using more memory and the swap file, then you'll get a few work units that will fail with "computation error". You'll also get errors -- indeed I got a dozen of them with Tanker when I did this, including just having the BOINC manager fail to respond to anything, etc.
Finally, you'll get a window saying "Communicating with BOINC client, please wait...", and it just sits there.
Finally (in about an hour), it started working again, but without the BOINC manager (the GUI) working yet. Only the cores were working - you can see that via the cores (nearly) all at 100%, in System Monitor).
I restarted the BOINC manager, and all was well - memory used was down to 88%, and swap file used was down to 0.1%.
Out of 64 cores and work units being originally processed, 2 failed with "computation error", only. About 60 work units now run at the same time, and there are a few that say "waiting for mem...".
All 64 cores are not working - only 60 of them, but that is a good deal to get rid of nearly all the use of the swap file.
All the errors and b.s. could have been avoided, if I had set these preferences BEFORE I started crunching, but I had no idea the work units would want to use so much memory, so that was not done.
Note that the preferences file is for the local system ONLY. It is NOT for all your PC's running BOINC. If you want to set it for all your PC's running BOINC, you need to change the preferences file that BOINC keeps on the web. You get there by going to the "Projects" page, and clicking on the "Your Preferences" button on the left hand side of that page.
Remember, after you make changes to the file, you have to go back in Advanced, and tell it to read the file you just changed. At least, that's the way I interpret having that option in the list of choices.
I'm posting this in the Rosetta team forum, as well.
I'd concentrate on SETI for the time being, and do Rosetta later. I'm working on a fix to the memory problem.
Edit:
For Rosetta, this worked for Tanker. It is best to do this BEFORE you connect to the project and start crunching a work unit.
1) Click on advanced >> preferences >> disk usage and memory.
Set the percent of memory BOINC should use to 85%.
Set the amount of swap file it can use to 0.00%
Click on OK to save it.
2) Click on advanced again >> read the preferences file.
If you have already started your work units working, and they are already using more memory and the swap file, then you'll get a few work units that will fail with "computation error". You'll also get errors -- indeed I got a dozen of them with Tanker when I did this, including just having the BOINC manager fail to respond to anything, etc.
Finally, you'll get a window saying "Communicating with BOINC client, please wait...", and it just sits there.
Finally (in about an hour), it started working again, but without the BOINC manager (the GUI) working yet. Only the cores were working - you can see that via the cores (nearly) all at 100%, in System Monitor).
I restarted the BOINC manager, and all was well - memory used was down to 88%, and swap file used was down to 0.1%.
Out of 64 cores and work units being originally processed, 2 failed with "computation error", only. About 60 work units now run at the same time, and there are a few that say "waiting for mem...".
All 64 cores are not working - only 60 of them, but that is a good deal to get rid of nearly all the use of the swap file.
All the errors and b.s. could have been avoided, if I had set these preferences BEFORE I started crunching, but I had no idea the work units would want to use so much memory, so that was not done.
Note that the preferences file is for the local system ONLY. It is NOT for all your PC's running BOINC. If you want to set it for all your PC's running BOINC, you need to change the preferences file that BOINC keeps on the web. You get there by going to the "Projects" page, and clicking on the "Your Preferences" button on the left hand side of that page.
Remember, after you make changes to the file, you have to go back in Advanced, and tell it to read the file you just changed. At least, that's the way I interpret having that option in the list of choices.
I'm posting this in the Rosetta team forum, as well.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2011
- Location
- Cádiz (Spain)
I have 4 threads, and 16GBs.
I guess I can Rosetta?
I guess I can Rosetta?
Apparently Boinc saw an old setup because I didn't have to put an id or email address in. It doesn't look like it was setup to use the gpu though. So, I went into tools-> preferences and checked off use gpu when processor is less than 65% since it only seems to be using 51-55% as it is right now.
Does that sound good?
Edit: Sorry if this is an ot post. Thought I had posted this in Adak's Advanced party thread. Hopefully it applies here to.
Does that sound good?
Edit: Sorry if this is an ot post. Thought I had posted this in Adak's Advanced party thread. Hopefully it applies here to.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
Yes, you'll have no problem with that ratio of threads (cores) to memory.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
Right - you still were connected to the project, with BOINC, even though you hadn't used it in awhile - so it knew you.
Sounds like you nailed it.
@Rickdstik: what is a good percent for when the gpu should be allowed to fold? Is there a "sweet spot" percentage to use for this?
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
- Location
- Dallas, TX
It's generally accepted that one cpu thread per gpu be left free ... for example, my i7 has 2 gpus, so I set BOINC to use 75% (or 6 of 8 threads) ... that seems to feed the 5850s each running two instances of SETI well enough.
OP
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2003
- Thread Starter
- #11
How does one get to the advanced setup options in seti?
I am only using cpus - no video cards a.t.m.
I want to change this on 1 or 2 rigs.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
There are two sets of preferences (options), that you can set, in BOINC (OK, there, are more if you REALLY want more sets of preferences, but I'm not going to discuss those).
Two general preferences options, working from the advanced viewer only:
1) Local prefs, for ONE rig only:
"Tools" pull down menu >> Computing preferences
2) Global prefs, for all your rigs:
Click on the project you want, in the "Project" menu.
Look down the left hand side in SETI, (it varies with other projects what buttons you see there). Click on "Your preferences".
That will take you to your SETI preferences file. Go to the bottom of that page it shows, and click on "Edit preferences", to bring up the edit page.
When you're done, click on the Advanced menu and either
"Read config file", or "Real local prefs file"
Only when the file is read will the changes be made. (Although when any update is done, the file SETI config file may be read, as well.)
For big changes, you may see a "Communicating with BOINC client, Please wait" box show up, and stay there for several minutes.
That is normal, and just wait - after several minutes - and for a big change it can be 10 minutes or more - it will finish, and disappear. No crunching will go on at that time, until it's done and the message box disappears.
Two general preferences options, working from the advanced viewer only:
1) Local prefs, for ONE rig only:
"Tools" pull down menu >> Computing preferences
2) Global prefs, for all your rigs:
Click on the project you want, in the "Project" menu.
Look down the left hand side in SETI, (it varies with other projects what buttons you see there). Click on "Your preferences".
That will take you to your SETI preferences file. Go to the bottom of that page it shows, and click on "Edit preferences", to bring up the edit page.
When you're done, click on the Advanced menu and either
"Read config file", or "Real local prefs file"
Only when the file is read will the changes be made. (Although when any update is done, the file SETI config file may be read, as well.)
For big changes, you may see a "Communicating with BOINC client, Please wait" box show up, and stay there for several minutes.
That is normal, and just wait - after several minutes - and for a big change it can be 10 minutes or more - it will finish, and disappear. No crunching will go on at that time, until it's done and the message box disappears.
