Interested in folding, but which client...?

ChrissyT88

ChrissyT88

ChrissyT88

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9 Mar 2008
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Hi,

I have experimented with folding over the last few weeks, and up until now have been running the graphical client on an older machine. However, i have just finished building a new quad core machine, and want to dedicate some more of my wasted clock cycles to the cause! I just wanted to know which client i should be using... I followed the guide in the sticky, and currently have two 5.04 console clients working away as services. I do not intend on folding 24/7, but i would like to optimize the amount of work my machine will do whilst it is on. Is the SMP client a better way forward?

Thanks
 
Thanks very much theheyes - i feel as though i should specify further that the machine will only be folding when is is on being used for other things (internet, work etc). Before i go ahead and download the client, i do have a couple of questions:

1. Can i port the work my machine is currently doing over to the new client, or should i wait for the work units to be completed?

2. What benefit does the SMP client actually offer over the console clients i am currently running? Does it increase production rate? Is it assigned to separate cores? Can i use FahMon to monitor its progress?

Thanks very much. If there is no significant benefit to running the SMP client, i may just leave it as it is - its working after all! For future reference (possibly!), my machine consists of the following: Q6600 @ 3.3 Ghz, Asus P5Q Dlx, 4Gb Corsair PC-8500, 8800GT, plus the usual complement of hard drives, fans and optical drives!

EDIT: Just read on the FAQ section of the FAH web page that the SMP client sends work units with short deadlines. Since the computer will not be on for long each day, is it best that i stick to the previous console clients?
 
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Cheers cob - the length of time the machine is on varies a lot, but i'd guess its probably only on for between 2-6 hours a day (sometimes more, sometimes not at all!). Is it best to stick with the current console client in that case?
 
Okay, cheers. I appologise for all the questions, but i want to get it done right! Is it alright to join team OCuK? Do i just select team ID of 10 and everything will work itself out? :D
 
Cheers guys - will look into the CLI client, thanks magman. I am currently running two instances of the client - may look into running some more if my production rate is too low :D. I'm afraid i wont be the worlds best donor (possibly one of the worst??), but hopefully i can donate a few points to the team...
 
I am interested in running the GPU client (having finally found a program that will read temps of my asus card), but was wondering how stable the CUDA drivers are for day to day use and in games? I am not big into gaming, but now and then will delve into a game, so dont want to affect performance to badly...
 
Installed the GPU client last night. I must admit it wasnt folding at full whack (i think i set it to 70% so as to monitor temps whilst it was working), but i was very impressed. FahMon keeps changing its estimates, but it is currently sitting at 3600 ppd! Using the ASUS monitor, the card is also running pretty cool - an added bonus!
 
Not really related to this thread as such, but dont need to start a new one. One of the console clients i have running downloaded a work unit and was around 40% completed last time i shut down the computer. Unfortunately i suffered a BSOD on restart due to changing hard drive mode to ahci, and this is the first time i have logged into windows since, other than to test things were working. The console client seems to have lost all of its progress on the work unit and has reverted back to 1% completed (same core, same work unit) - could this have been caused by the BSOD?
 
Slight thread revival - have been happily folding for a few weeks, albeit with a fairly low output. Currently running the gpu client and 2 normal console clients as services, and the pc is usually on for about 6 hours a day (although, with the nice weather and the fact i am running out of cds to archive, this may be reduced...!).

I have no problems with the gpu, but it seems that the two console clients are very slow, with work units taking roughly 2 days of cpu time (folding at 70%), and therefore at least a week for me to complete. I choose these clients because they have very long deadlines, but my lust for points is turning towards the smp clients. How long are the deadlines for these WUs and how long do they take to complete (quad @ 3.3 Ghz)?
 
Umm, it seems to vary quite a lot. I only have it folding at 70% because it is only ever folding whilst im using the PC for other things, and i have found that picture whilst watching video is not so good when it is set to 100% (card is non OCd). However, depending on the WU, it normally lies somewhere in the range of 4200-4400 ppd. The last couple of days it has been a bit lower though - closer to 4000, which is a little odd. However, its only ever on for about 6 hours, so i dont really clock up that many points.

I think i'll give the smp client a go once the current ones have finished their WUs. How do you instruct the console clients to pause after they have finished their current WUs? And how would i go about removing the console clients (they are currently running as services - i followed the guide in the sticky) - do i just remove the folders and their registry entries?

EDIT: Thanks for the info on the expiring GPU client Yeggstry - i would have completely forgotten...
 
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