The Team 32 Folding Mentor Program is back!

[deadlysyn]

Are you having some issues getting that folding client working, or is it just not working as expected? We, as the Team 32 Folding Mentors, would love to help you get that problem sorted out. If you are in need of some help either understanding what it is we do, or how to get that perfect client set up, feel free to post up here, and we will do everything we can to help out.

 

[mxthunder]

Not really a question, but a general rant.. I started up folding again (I usually fold in 2-3 month spurts) and I am very frustrated with the statistics setup. Almost everytime I go to check my stats, it says a stats update is in progress, or the server is too busy, or sometimes the page just times out all together. I think its a little crappy how they cant even provide us with nice stats given all that we do for them.

 

[deadlysyn]

Not really a question, but a general rant.. I started up folding again (I usually fold in 2-3 month spurts) and I am very frustrated with the statistics setup. Almost everytime I go to check my stats, it says a stats update is in progress, or the server is too busy, or sometimes the page just times out all together. I think its a little crappy how they cant even provide us with nice stats given all that we do for them.

This is the reason a lot of us use EOC for our stats updates. You can find it at: http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com. Just search the name you are folding with, or you can go through the T32 user list to get an idea of where we are at as a team. back to the fold! Glad to have you back!

 

[mxthunder]

Awesome! I knew there was a 3rd party site like that somewhere. Thanks!

 

[checkeredhat09]

So I've been folding on my PS3 on and off for about a year...but obviously that's a piece of cake compared to on a comp. So I have a intel q8200 quad core and I'm running 4 instances of the system tray client to utilize all four cores.

I know SMP clients are supposed to bring in more PPD but i'm a noob and i read that it doesn't work easily with Vista.

So to my actual question...what is a ballpark for PPD that I should be getting with this setup? Right now it looks to be in the 1100 to 1200 range more or less. Is this really low? Or does it sound reasonable. Just want to make sure i'm not overlooking anything.

Thanks!

 

[deadlysyn]

So I've been folding on my PS3 on and off for about a year...but obviously that's a piece of cake compared to on a comp. So I have a intel q8200 quad core and I'm running 4 instances of the system tray client to utilize all four cores.

I know SMP clients are supposed to bring in more PPD but i'm a noob and i read that it doesn't work easily with Vista.

So to my actual question...what is a ballpark for PPD that I should be getting with this setup? Right now it looks to be in the 1100 to 1200 range more or less. Is this really low? Or does it sound reasonable. Just want to make sure i'm not overlooking anything.

Thanks!

With the SMP client, you could be looking at somewhere around 1000 or so PPD more. This is a rough estimate, due to posting from a mobile device, so it is a bit harder to come up with a more precise calculation. I usually get around 1800-2200 PPD with a Q6600 OC'd to 3.2. For an SMP client, if you are not looking to get into VM's, that you go with the MPICH client. The install guide, written by harlam357 can be found here: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=602978 in post #5. It is very simple to set up, just run install.bat, and then set up the client like you normally would, with the -smp flag. Also, there is the 6.24 drop in .exe that you must replace the original .exe with, otherwise you will get an error about an expired client. If you have any more questions, feel free to shoot me a PM or post back up in this thread.

 

[HayesK]

The Q8200 does not support virtualization, so you will not be able to run a VM. You can run Windows SMP or native Linux SMP.

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2quad/specifications.htm

 

[checkeredhat09]

Because im running a quad can you run 2 SMP's? thought i read that somewhere...



edit - also running the one SMP my cpu usage is only at about 25 to 30 percent. is that normal?

 

[deadlysyn]

Because im running a quad can you run 2 SMP's? thought i read that somewhere...



edit - also running the one SMP my cpu usage is only at about 25 to 30 percent. is that normal?

To answer your question about CPU usage, it should be at 100%. Did you add -smp in the extra parameters field during the config? You can also add -smp at the end of the target with a space in the properties window in the target field, after a space. Make sure, if you close the client to restart it, that you close it by bringing the FAH window to the front, and hold CTRL and press "C" to avoid corruption to the files.

As far as having 2 SMP clients running, I do think it can be done, as long as you use separate machine ID's. The thing is, I don't know for sure that it will net you any more PPD. If anything, I would think that running just one client will net you the best PPD, where with 2, they each would be running at a slower pace. The reason some of us use VM's with Linux, is because the Linux clients do net a higher PPD, and VMWare server only allows us to use 2 cores. I would really suggest using just one client, and if you have a capable GPU, we can also help you set up the GPU2 client which can get you quite a bit more PPD.

 

[mxthunder]

Currently folding with my sempron rig, getting 6900ppd according to fahmon with an 8800gts g92.
Could I just add in an 8800gt and have them work together, or would it get really complext to use both to fold?

 

[checkeredhat09]

WIN!! yeah i forgot to install with -smp flag, and the the work unit i had didn't utilize all cores, so i uninstalled and reloaded with the flag and now its at 100%

thanks guys!!!!

 

[Porvalsh]

I started folding. All I did was download the system tray client installer which did all the work for me. Once I got it installed I set it up with my username, team name and passkey. Now its running.

Did I do it right or is there another way I should be doing it?

I also got the GPU version for my 4890. It installed the same way and is running.

 

[deadlysyn]

Currently folding with my sempron rig, getting 6900ppd according to fahmon with an 8800gts g92.
Could I just add in an 8800gt and have them work together, or would it get really complext to use both to fold?

I am not absolutely sure, but I think that the new drivers will allow you to fold in SLI. If not, you can always set up another GPU2 client with a separate machine ID.

I started folding. All I did was download the system tray client installer which did all the work for me. Once I got it installed I set it up with my username, team name and passkey. Now its running.

Did I do it right or is there another way I should be doing it?

I also got the GPU version for my 4890. It installed the same way and is running.

It sounds like you set it up right. You would get much better PPD (Points Per Day) running the MPICH console client. If you want to set that up, check the link to the guide in my earlier post, and that should get you going. Also, if you want to monitor your progress, I recommend HFM, which can be found here: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604660. If you have any more questions, feel free to post them up.

 

[mxthunder]

They wouldnt be in SLI, it will be on an AMD chipset mobo. Either way, I could just install an additional client I suppose

 

[deadlysyn]

They wouldnt be in SLI, it will be on an AMD chipset mobo. Either way, I could just install an additional client I suppose

That will work out just fine. I think you will be able to expect around 3-5k more PPD, depending in the WU. I'm not the best with numbers, but that is about what I get with my 9800GT. Just make sure you have a machine ID of 6 if you are running a quad, or 4 if you are running a dual core.

 

[sneakysnowman]

Mixing cards with different shader counts tended to cause issues (one card not folding at all, EUEs, one card folding slower). The 190.38 driver seems to have helped with the problem. Also there's a new core in the works that should eliminate this issue.

Still I wouldn't recommend mixing cards with different shader counts. It would be better to add another 128shader card like the 8800GTX, 8800GTS, 9800GTX, etc.

 

[Sydney]

Mixing cards with different shader counts tended to cause issues (one card not folding at all, EUEs, one card folding slower). The 190.38 driver seems to have helped with the problem. Also there's a new core in the works that should eliminate this issue.

Still I wouldn't recommend mixing cards with different shader counts. It would be better to add another 128shader card like the 8800GTX, 8800GTS, 9800GTX, etc.

Indeed. I'm running two 128 shader nvidia cards, 8800GTX and 8800GTS 512mb on a crossfire mobo and they are both folding at their full potential

Although if they do indeed fix this issue I might upgrade from my 8800GTX to a GTX260 or something.

 

[checkeredhat09]

integrated graphics officially suck for folding...yes im talking to you nvidia 9300....

 

[Sydney]

integrated graphics officially suck for folding...yes im talking to you nvidia 9300....

Can't really expect anything better from an integrated card.

 

[checkeredhat09]

what does everyone think about a BFG GTS 250? I could pick one up for eighty bucks at frys.