Can you help out ?

Deano12345

Well the Chimp Challenge is rolling around for 2010,its starting in may and Overclock.net (another forum I am a regular of) are the defending Chimp-ions (see what I did there )

I decided to make a post here to see if I can call in any reinforcements for team OCN. We need as many CPU's and GPU's folding as possible when the challenges starts, so will any boardsies be able to lend a hand. Everything you need to know can be found here

http://www.overclock.net/general-processor-discussions/703593-ocn-needs-your-cpus.html

Thanks Guys !

PS : I know there is a 'distributed computing' forum,but that gets VERY little traffic so I felt putting it here would make more sense

zodac

Seconded.

We'd appreciate any help, and there are plenty of us on hand to help you get set up.

Deano12345

zodac wrote: »

Seconded.

We'd appreciate any help, and there are plenty of us on hand to help you get set up.

For anyone wanting to ask questions, word is that this zodac fella knows what he's talking about, apparently

zodac

No takers?

zodac

Ok, so maybe you could all use an introduction to what 'Folding' actually is.

Basically, Stanford University sends out little projects (Work Units/WU) to your computer. Your CPU or GPU then completes the project, and sends the results back to Stanford. Each WU has a different value, depending on the difficulty and the method (CPU/GPU).

The reason? Proteins. I'm not going to go into any biology (partly because I don't like it or understand it), but just accept that proteins fold, similar to a piece of paper. Now, sometimes these proteins can fold unnaturally ("misfold"). This can lead to many diseases like Huntington's, Alzheimer's and some forms of cancer.

The WUs are each projects on how these proteins misfold, and under what circumstances. By getting this information from us, Stanford is able to better understand why the proteins misfold, in the hope that they may eventually find a cure, or at least slow down the disease.

The term used is "distributed computing". What this is, is instead of Stanford spending millions of dollars to fund a massive supercomputer, they send out WUs to us, so we can do the work. In return, they give us points for each WU. It's meant to give a sense of competition about it all, since we all love a good rivalry.

There are a few forms of Folding:

GPU folding - Fastest form of folding. Better on nVidia cards than ATi at the moment.
CPU folding - Slower than GPUs, but for quads (and i7s especially), the introduction of bonus points means this is now a very efficient way of folding
PS3 folding - Set rate of production; 1,004 points a day (a 251 pt WU every 6 hours).

Now, though boards.ie has (had?) it's own Folding team, it is pretty quiet. So here's an invitation to join Overclock.net's Folding team. We're the reigning champions of the Chimp Challenge (as Deano said), and have plenty of prizes up for grabs if you're interested.

Here's the main Chimp Challenge thread, with information on the Challenge, prizes, and how to get started.

Thanks.

zodac

Bump.

zodac

I shall continue until we get some interest, or until a Mod gets annoyed.

BrokenArrows

sounds interesting. I have a few spare computers i could hookup and have running to help you guys win this thing. im just reading the threads and details on it now.

BrokenArrows

all installed and folding away.

zodac

Very good news.

Couple of things:

• You don't need to fold under the team name just yet; the Challenge starts in May.
• You haven't signup yet. The first line here is a form for the spreadsheet. If you sign up you'll get a message a bit before the Challenge so you know when to switch over,

Thanks.

BrokenArrows

ok ive signed up on the ocn forum and signed up with the above link.

im running the gpu client as it seems to be operating faster.

zodac

BrokenArrows wrote: »

ok ive signed up on the ocn forum and signed up with the above link.

im running the gpu client as it seems to be operating faster.

I saw.

By the way, though GPU folding is faster, CPU folding still brings in a fair amount of points. I'm not sure what kind of system you're running, but if you've got a quad core, you can get 6-7k points a day at stock, and up to 10k if you OC it.

BrokenArrows

zodac wrote: »

I saw.

By the way, though GPU folding is faster, CPU folding still brings in a fair amount of points. I'm not sure what kind of system you're running, but if you've got a quad core, you can get 6-7k points a day at stock, and up to 10k if you OC it.

Just have a xps laptop M1530 2.2 dual core witha 256mb GPU.

So just running the cpu version will get more points?

zodac

Well GPUs generally get more points than CPUs, but a dual core can get 2-2.5k PPD as well. As for your laptop, if it has a GPU with CUDA (8 series+ for nVidia) or is 3 series+ ATi it'll be able to fold.

nVidia GPUs are better than ATi, but it's only a week long, and every point counts.

zodac

Another bump.

Deano12345

zodac wrote: »

Another bump.

Come on lads, I know thers a few i7's out there

Set up properly, those things can kick out 20K PPD

Solitaire

I wonder if Wonda Boy has bought a Gulftown or any GTX480s yet... :P

Deano12345

Solitaire wrote: »

I wonder if Wonda Boy has bought a Gulftown or any GTX480s yet... :P

*Dean sits in corner and waits for Wonda Boy *

zodac

No support for Fermi as of yet.

Bug in the current client that Stanford are working on, but you can't use a 470/480 to fold yet. News is that a new client will be out during April, so we might have them running before the Challenge.

Deano12345

zodac wrote: »

No support for Fermi as of yet.

Bug in the current client that Stanford are working on, but you can't use a 470/480 to fold yet. News is that a new client will be out during April, so we might have them running before the Challenge.

Do you think they will fold well, when they can ?

zodac

The only values we have are that they're 70% better than GTX 280, so ~13k PPD. Those results came from nVidia though, so they're not 100% reliable.

And if we need to wait for a new client, there'll be new WUs too, so PPD could still change.

zodac

BUMP.

Gonzovision

I'll get the "old" i7 going on this.....

TiNcAn

This folding thing, is it like Prime95 kinda?

If i were to partake could I leave it run during most of the day and when I come home pause it, then continue it again at night?

zodac

gonzovision wrote: »

I'll get the "old" i7 going on this.....

Yay.

You've got two options if you wish to go ahead. You can use Linux in a Virtual Client to run -bigadv Folding. It'll give much higher points, than the regular SMP client with bonuses (25k+ compared to 17k). It's a bit harder to run, but a challenge if you're up for it.

TiNcAn wrote: »

This folding thing, is it like Prime95 kinda?

If i were to partake could I leave it run during most of the day and when I come home pause it, then continue it again at night?

Similar stress-wise. Although in many cases, though an overclock might be Prime95/LinX stable, it won't be stable enough for folding (even more so when running a GPU folding client with the CPU).

Gonzovision

I'll give the -bigadv a go. I might need to get more ram though, but thats no big deal.

zodac

Yeah, you'll need 6GB (Triple Channel) or 8GB (Dual Channel) to fold efficiently. You can manage with 4GB, but you won't be able to use your computer much.

TiNcAn

So while folding with -bigadv can you use your computer or must you pause it? can you pause it?

Deano12345

TiNcAn wrote: »

So while folding with -bigadv can you use your computer or must you pause it? can you pause it?

Dunno about the bigadv, but with folding on my Q9550 (on the regular client) and 4Gb of RAM, the computer is useable, same wiht my Mac

zodac

You can use your computer. However, the Virtual Client can be affected by background applications, and can crash causing you to lose a WU. After folding on a WU for 2 days, having it crash won't do wonders for your mood.

If you plan to use your computer (web browsing, writing documents, light gaming) the SMP client would be much better for you.

DistortedWave

Can ya do this with more than one pc at a time, say a macbook and a handful of desktops?

zodac

Yep, just have them all fold under the same name. Let me know if you need any guides.

TiNcAn

I got to step 4 on this page http://www.overclock.net/overclock-net-folding-home-team/682249-smp-how-setup-smp-client-windows.html
unfortunately it wont let me enter in the data like it says in the instructions?

zodac

What happens instead? Does it just not run?

And make sure you get the right client. People sometimes download the System Tray (Unicore) client, or the Deino client; you want the MPICH client.

TiNcAn

This is a screenshot of install.bat and then me trying to run Folding@home-Win32-x86 with the -smp added on in the shortcut.

zodac

If you've tried restarting and the FILE_IO error still comes up, reinstall the client. It's an issue that comes up sometimes if the installation didn't go ahead properly.

TiNcAn

Still getting the same error as before after reinstalling. Does it matter that i am running a 64bit processor in a windows 7 64-bit?

zodac

No, this client works fine on x64 OSes.

You're not running Nod32 AntiVirus are you? If so, disable the real time protection.

Problem with FILE_IO errors is that there can be many reasons (most of the time hardware based). Start the client with the "-verbosity 9" flag added (add a space after "-smp"), then post what the client reads if it errors out again.

TiNcAn

I did have Nod32 running in the background so i disabled it. Reinstalled MPICH client then tried to run again with "C:\Program Files (x86)\Folding@Home Windows SMP Client V1.01\Folding@home-Win32-x86.exe" -smp -verbosity 9 with same FILE_IO error.
This is getting annoying

zodac

Ok, if you added -verbosity 9, then the client should have shown a few more lines after FILE_IO; can you post what those lines were?

sKeith

is there an aptitude package?

zodac

Not quite. But the GPU client is far simpler to get set up, and is much faster than the SMP client (~2hrs for a GPU unit, compared to ~1.5 days for a CPU unit).

It takes all of 3 minutes to set up the GPU client. You'll need an 8-series+ card for nVidia, or a 3-series+ card for ATi.

sKeith

The machines i have only have integrated gpus so i cant see them being better that their cpus. to be honest. i'll have many machines which i can help for week of competition.

zodac

Well, you'd probably get the client working on them, but it wouldn't be worth it in the end.

What CPUs are you using, and at what speed? I can get you some points estimates at least.

sKeith

I just did a quick check on the cloest 4 machines. i have many more which do nothing 16 hours a day.
4 x 2310mhz
2 x 2493mhz
p4 dualcore 3ghz
2 x 2411mhz

the p4 is in a windows machine, so that how i could tell, the others info i got from dmesg

zodac

Ok, so a quad @ 2.3Ghz, 2 duals ~2.4Ghz, and a P4 with HT @ 3Ghz?

I'll be back in a sec.

Quad - 3k PPD
Dual (2.49) - ~1.9k PPD
Dual (2.41) - ~1.8k PPD
P4 - 400 PPD

6-7k PPD with those machines, when running 24/7. (The first 10 units will be at a lower rate, you after that you'll start getting bonus points, which wil boots your output.)

zodac

Bump for some more Folders.

Deano12345

Bump for folding !

BTW Zodac, I've got my main rig back up and running. The Q9550 + 4890 should be good for like 11-12K PPD right ?

zodac

What speed is the Q9550 at? If 3.6Ghz, expect 7-8k PPD on that, then I think the 4890 gives 4k, so 11-12k indeed.

Deano12345

zodac wrote: »

What speed is the Q9550 at? If 3.6Ghz, expect 7-8k PPD on that, then I think the 4890 gives 4k, so 11-12k indeed.

Stock

zodac

Aww... you can still get 6k if you run 24/7 for the CC.

No chance of OCing?