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VMPlayer using 50% CPU

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onefstsnake

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Fburg, VA
Trying to get the new i7 rig going.
Running VMPlayer 3.0 w/ Ubuntu 9.04

Ubuntu shows all 4 cores at 100% but windows task manager shows ~50%
Is there a .vmx edit so all 8 cores are used 100%?

I turned off power management in Ubuntu. Currently working on a 1920 WU.

Thanks!
 
In the BIOS, did you enable hyperthreading and turn off the other "green" and power-saving features? You want turbo boost off, as well. (sounds great, but it's another way to save power, actually).

You have your monitoring program able to view your folding log file, right? You'll definitely want that set up. Go back in the log file until you reach the very start of your folding, (in that file), and look at the parameters that are passed to the program, there.

Do you see
-smp 8 -bigadv
??

This is how it looks in my C2D (2 cpu's), in the folding.vmx file:

Code:
#!/usr/bin/vmplayer
.encoding = "windows-1252"

# This is a Workstation 5 or 5.5 config file
# It can be used with Player
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "4"

# Number of virtual CPUs. Your virtual machine will not
# work if this number is higher than the number of your physical CPUs
numvcpus = "2#!/usr/bin/vmplayer
.encoding = "windows-1252"

# This is a Workstation 5 or 5.5 config file
# It can be used with Player
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "4"

# Number of virtual CPUs. Your virtual machine will not
# work if this number is higher than the number of your physical CPUs
numvcpus = "2"

You must have the big option turned on in your client.cfg file, and you must have the advanced option set to No, if you want the extra large smp WU's.

You are using your passkey with the client, right? That is also required.

After you've folded and returned 90% of 10 smp WU's, you'll be eligible for the bonus points in the extra large WU's. Until you're eligible, I would keep folding the smaller smp -4 WU's. That will shorten the time before you have 10 WU's folded, by a week or more.

Let us know how you're getting on, OK?
 
Last edited:
Turbo mode is off.

-smp 8 -verbosity 9 -bigadv

I havent messed with the VMX file other than adding the priority flags.

Advmethods are off. Passkey has been in use since I started folding so it should be good to go.

Just not sure why Im only getting 50% cpu usage... a 1920WU is taking about 6-8min per frame @ 3.8ghz
 
How's your numvcpu number, in the folding.vmx file, and do you have hyperthreading turned on in the BIOS?

Until that rig has 10 smp WU's under it's belt, you don't WANT the extra large WU's. Not yet - that will just delay the number of days before you're eligible for the great bonuses.

I'm not SURE if the servers will even give them out to a rig that hasn't met the above requirements - that was not made clear in the FAH forum.

I'd suggest waiting until you have the 10 WU's done (all smp -4) type, and THEN see if you don't start getting the smp -8 WU's.

ChasR answered a thread on this about a month ago. I'll dig it up and have his answer put in here. For now, relax, and be patient.
 
Do you have the 8 core client put in place of the normal SMP client?

The 8 core client is a drop in (you just move your current folding executable out of your fah folder, and put the new one into the fah folder).

This is the link for the 8 core extra large WU:
http://www.stanford.edu/~kasson/folding/linux/fah6

Once you have these ducks all lined up, just be patient. When your SMP count gets to 10, you'll start getting the extra big one's.
 
Normal a2 WUs use as many threads as you have cores, I'm not sure of the max but it's more than 16. THe -bigadv WUs will run on 48 and perhaps more, so the normal a2 core WUs may as well, since both run on v2.10 of the a2 core. You are limited to running on the number of cores detected. If you haven't edited the .vmx file to allow Player access to 8 cores, you will be limited to 4 cores.
 
This looks fine

Code:
[settings]
username=onefstsnake
team=32
passkey=e02d10d063b4be04af5243512cc7bb7b
asknet=no
machineid=1
bigpackets=big

[http]
active=no
host=localhost
port=8080

[core]
priority=96
nocpulock=1
 
The only VMX file i see is in my users folder. I pulled it up with Notetab and it says to use the binary filter. I tried that and it comes up as a bunch of symbols. I had this problem before but i cant remember how i fixed it. Ill try again tonight. Posting this from my phone lol. Thanks!
 
The only VMX file i see is in my users folder. I pulled it up with Notetab and it says to use the binary filter. I tried that and it comes up as a bunch of symbols. I had this problem before but i cant remember how i fixed it. Ill try again tonight. Posting this from my phone lol. Thanks!

It sounds like you are trying to open wrong file. I did same! In SS you want the one circled not the one checked.
 

Attachments

  • vmx.jpg
    vmx.jpg
    95.1 KB · Views: 117
The .vmx file is in the same directory as the VM you created. You had to enter a path, look there.
 
Wierd. I found the VMX opened it in Notetab Lite and it comes up fine...

Did the VM need to be running to access this?


Anyways...

Code:
.encoding = "windows-1252"
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "7"
numvcpus = "4"
vcpu.hotadd = "TRUE"
maxvcpus = "8"
scsi0.present = "TRUE"
scsi0.virtualDev = "lsilogic"
memsize = "5000"
scsi0:0.present = "TRUE"
scsi0:0.fileName = "i7 [email protected]"
ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
ethernet0.connectionType = "nat"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
usb.present = "TRUE"
ehci.present = "TRUE"
sound.present = "TRUE"
sound.fileName = "-1"
sound.autodetect = "TRUE"
pciBridge0.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge4.functions = "8"
pciBridge5.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge5.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge5.functions = "8"
pciBridge6.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge6.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge6.functions = "8"
pciBridge7.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge7.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge7.functions = "8"
vmci0.present = "TRUE"
roamingVM.exitBehavior = "go"
displayName = "i7 F@H"
guestOS = "ubuntu-64"
nvram = "i7 [email protected]"
virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"
gui.exitOnCLIHLT = "FALSE"
extendedConfigFile = "i7 [email protected]"
ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:1f:2c:eb"
uuid.location = "56 4d aa de 58 2a ed ed-a1 ae d6 21 e8 1f 2c eb"
uuid.bios = "56 4d aa de 58 2a ed ed-a1 ae d6 21 e8 1f 2c eb"
cleanShutdown = "FALSE"
replay.supported = "FALSE"
debugStub.linuxOffsets = "0x0,0xffffffff,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0"
replay.filename = ""
scsi0:0.redo = ""
pciBridge0.pciSlotNumber = "17"
pciBridge4.pciSlotNumber = "21"
pciBridge5.pciSlotNumber = "22"
pciBridge6.pciSlotNumber = "23"
pciBridge7.pciSlotNumber = "24"
scsi0.pciSlotNumber = "16"
usb.pciSlotNumber = "32"
ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "33"
sound.pciSlotNumber = "34"
ehci.pciSlotNumber = "35"
vmci0.pciSlotNumber = "36"
vmotion.checkpointFBSize = "16777216"
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"
vmci0.id = "-400610069"
isolation.tools.hgfs.disable = "FALSE"
sharedFolder0.present = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.enabled = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.readAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.writeAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.hostPath = "C:\Users\Ken7\Documents\Virtual Machines\i7 F@H"
sharedFolder0.guestName = "i7 F@H"
sharedFolder0.expiration = "never"
sharedFolder.maxNum = "1"
tools.remindInstall = "TRUE"
tools.syncTime = "FALSE"
ide0:0.present = "TRUE"
ide0:0.fileName = "D:\Program Files (x86)\VMPlayer\linux.iso"
ide0:0.deviceType = "cdrom-image"
ide0:0.startConnected = "FALSE"
tools.upgrade.policy = "useGlobal"

priority.ungrabbed = "idle"
priority.grabbed = "normal"

vmi.present = "FALSE"
ide1:0.present = "FALSE"
floppy0.present = "FALSE"

Ive now set numcpus to 8
 
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