Folding@Home on PS3 - Also news on the GPU client

rich99million

rich99million

rich99million

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Folding@Home on the PS3: the Cure@PS3 project - http://folding.stanford.edu/FAQ-PS3.html

While the Cell microprocessor does most of the calculation processing of the simulation, the graphic chip of the PLAYSTATION 3 system (the RSX) displays the actual fold process in real-time using new technologies such as HDR and ISO surface rendering. It is possible to navigate the 3D space of the molecule using the interactive controller of the PS3, allowing us to look at the protein from different angles in real-time.
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Neat stuff!!! :D



Also an update on the progress of the GPU client development - http://folding.stanford.edu/FAQ-highperformance.html

August 2006 We're running on the cluster and starting to ramp up. Vishal's new method to build cores should yield a FAH core soon, but it will take a lot of Q&A (GPU folding is much more sensitive to machine configuration) so it will still take some time before we release the core. It's pretty exciting for us to see the calculation racing away on the GPU cluster! Prof. Pande also formally announced FAH's GPU client at his award lecture at the Protein Society meeting, with a great response for the GPU work. We will be making a more formal announcement of the GPU client and some other surprises relatively soon. Note the update above regarding GPUs -- we currently plan to support only recent generation ATI GPUs (see above).
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just checked out the videos of the PS3 client (at bottom of that page)
the 866K avi shows the interface working though quite low quality - the 6MB avi is much clearer but doesn't do much - the screenshot is also worth a look if you like that kinda thing :p
 
This will be huge if Stanford can get it working reliably on a reasonable range of hardware. GPUs are capable of performing these kinds of calculations many times faster than modern CPUs. My only worry is whether GPUs have been tested with the kind of 24/7 load we tend to put our CPUs under. I can see aftermarket GPU cooling becoming a staple of a Folder's shopping list :p
 
Mattus said:
I can see aftermarket GPU cooling becoming a staple of a Folder's shopping list :p
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/Strokes Accelero cooler on X1900XT :D

Seriously though.
As you said Mattus, as long as they can make the client work on a wide range of GPUs and the hardware can handle it, this will be an immense step - nay, leap forward for the project.

Stan :)
 
Bigstan said:
/Strokes Accelero cooler on X1900XT :D

Seriously though.
As you said Mattus, as long as they can make the client work on a wide range of GPUs and the hardware can handle it, this will be an immense step - nay, leap forward for the project.

Stan :)
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I see your rubbish Accelero and raise you a Zalman VF-900! :D

Would be good to give my X1900XT something to do while I am waiting for some new games to be released!

SiriusB
 
Mattus said:
This will be huge if Stanford can get it working reliably on a reasonable range of hardware. GPUs are capable of performing these kinds of calculations many times faster than modern CPUs. My only worry is whether GPUs have been tested with the kind of 24/7 load we tend to put our CPUs under. I can see aftermarket GPU cooling becoming a staple of a Folder's shopping list :p
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The problem with GPUs has always been down to accuracy of calculations, making sure they're done accurately to the right number of decimal places. As I understand it only the latest generation of graphics cards perform to the same accuracy as a CPU. There is an API that microsoft released a few years back (around the time of the first programmable GPUs, the GeForce3 days) to allow you to offset such calculations but the lack of accuracy put most people off it.
 
I can see researches workling in labs in protein research facilities all over the world looking at that crossfire GPU solution for there workstation now.

Can I use foldig as an excuse to upgrade my aging 9800 pro?

PT
 
dammit i have a spare x1800xt lying about and 2 of my 3 pc's are agp

pc1 is a sempron on socket 754 (geforce 4mx 440)
pc2 is an x2 4400 s939 with agp mobo (6800LE unlocked to ultra)
pc3 is an x2 4800 with an x1900xt
should i get a pci-e s939 mobo or sell the x1800xt? i dont need a good graphics card in that computer because its mainly used for downloading
 
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