Folding@Home on PS3 - Concerns

UKFX

UKFX

UKFX

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Must it finish the current Work Unit (WU) and upload before you can turn the console off, or return to the XMB, or can you do said things and then return later to either finish the current Work Unit and/or upload?

I was just wondering this because someone wants me to play some games and I said I'd help them out with something on a game, but I'm 51% in on the current Work Unit. I don't want to quit, return and realise that all of the work that was done had been in vain. I would very much like to pause it, if possible, quit Life with Playstation, hop on my game, jam for a bit, quit that, and then return to Life with Playstation/Folding@Home to finish said Work Unit.

I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work, for fear of corruption and what not, especially since it was designed for 8 hour stints to yield useful results "overnight".

I probably already know the answer, but after spending well over an hour Googlin' for an answer (on many Folding contributing websites, forums, the Folding@Home website itself and Sony's Folding info pages), it seemed pointless after finding absolutely nothing on the matter.

Thanks

FX
 
Is it based on %? I wouldn't fancy losing a whole bunch. I ran it now because I thought I'd be watching some TV and sleeping soon, but I ended up trying to figure this out. Now folks want me to play games, lol.
 
This is from the Stanford site:


How long do I have to complete it?
Note that Work Units (WUs) "expire" after a certain amount of time. This means that after a certain amount of time, if the WU has not been returned, we assume it's not coming back and our server moves on from there. This is necessary due to the fact that future work units depend on previous work units and so we need to eventually give the work to someone else to get it completed. The times to complete a WU for the PS3 is short (8 hours), so the deadline time is also correspondingly short (2 days).
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I've read that numerous times hours ago, that is why I am here. It doesn't specifically say that it saves the current data so that it may be continued at a later time. It simply says that there is a deadline. Sure, the PS3 usually gets 6 hour Work Units, by the time mine finishes it'd be about 5 hours, so it'd seem that this "deadline" was for those who had quit the software and done other things, and so had a certain amount of time to return, complete it and send it off, for it to useful. However, some people have found that they receive significantly larger Work Units which take far longer to Fold, some which I have read claim longer than a day. It's reasons like this which make me think that this deadline for the PS3 is in case of the PS3 getting larger Work Units to deal with.

I'm at 60% at the moment. I've turned off the molecular visualisation, an whilst there is nothing I can do about the globe, the screensaver is currently active.

I suppose I'll just have to wait, but at the moment I am not certain enough to chance it.
 
HAz said:
Do you earn money from this? sounds like a complete waste of electricity :S
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No. Check out the distributed computing forum for more details. Basically, you are helping scientists develop cures for alzhemiers etc, by using you compiter time to work out how their proteins 'fold'.
 
WobblerJW said:
whats better money or knowing your helping find a cure for something that you could get later in life?

i'll go with the second one

WobblerJW
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Indeed. Good thing is anybody can contribute as much or as little as they wish. A few work units a week (with a 4th Generation PS3 Slim) would probably only add about £1-£2 a month to your electricity bill. If you want to cain it and leave your PS3 on 24/7 running Folding@Home, then it'd probably cost like £10-£12 a month or some crazy **** like that. I don't know the actual costs of course.

I only run it a few times a week, overnight, then set it so when it has done the current Work Unit it automatically uploads to Stanford University's Server and then shuts the PS3 down.

I actually figured out it saves progress with the Work Unit before checking back here, because today I turned it on after doing my first 2 Work Units, left it for a short while and then quit out via the XMB (PS button) menu to play a game, when I returned it carried on from where it was last. :D

Shame Folding@Home can't cure diseases for nice people and somehow magically avoid terrorists, rapists, murderers, theives, greedy old ******** and Politicians. lol
 
I have done a lot of folding (Ranked 48th on the team and dropping) and 1400 or so work units. I go in and out of it depending what my cashflow is like. I have built dedicated crunchers, although again, cost made me sell them.
 
UKFX said:
Indeed. Good thing is anybody can contribute as much or as little as they wish. A few work units a week (with a 4th Generation PS3 Slim) would probably only add about £1-£2 a month to your electricity bill. If you want to cain it and leave your PS3 on 24/7 running Folding@Home, then it'd probably cost like £10-£12 a month or some crazy **** like that. I don't know the actual costs of course.

I only run it a few times a week, overnight, then set it so when it has done the current Work Unit it automatically uploads to Stanford University's Server and then shuts the PS3 down.

I actually figured out it saves progress with the Work Unit before checking back here, because today I turned it on after doing my first 2 Work Units, left it for a short while and then quit out via the XMB (PS button) menu to play a game, when I returned it carried on from where it was last. :D

Shame Folding@Home can't cure diseases for nice people and somehow magically avoid terrorists, rapists, murderers, theives, greedy old ******** and Politicians. lol
Click to expand...

the latest generation ps3 would cost you 30-40 pence per day as it uses 140ish watts
 
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