Interested in folding, but which client...?

ChrissyT88

ChrissyT88

ChrissyT88

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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
 
Yes, the Windows SMP client sounds like the best bet for your machine. If it's not going to be on 24/7, and you use the computer for other things, just run one instance of it. It will use just shy of 100% CPU time which will be fine for your particular needs.

Post back in you have any problems setting it up. List the full specs of your machine, particularly which graphics card you have.
 
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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1) I would let it finish on the the current machine.

2) The SMP client is designed for multi-core machines (specificially quad-core machines) and runs 4 threads per client. It is also designed to take advantage of the extra cache of the quad-cores. Work units are worth between 1500 and 1920 points each, and running just a single SMP client on a quad-core can gain well over 2000 ppd. And yip Fahmon works with it.

A quad-core @ 3.3ghz running a single SMP client for 8 hours a day should still make the deadlines. Tho you'll have to keep an eye on it via Fahmon to make sure it does.
 
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
 
If you're going to stick with the standard client on the quad, don't forget that you can run four of them on that one machine on a quad core. Just follow the FAH guide that's a sticky at the top of the forums.

Also, I suspect the CLI client is a little more efficient than the Windows client, all of which can be monitored by FAHMon
 
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...
 
He has an 8800GT. The GPU2 client on an 8800GT can finish a WU in < 3 hours for 480 points. They have short deadlines but a machine on between 2 and 8 hours per day is going to make it most of the time.

You could run that alongside the standard clients as well. 3 standard clients and a GPU2 client would be great.

Depends how far you want to go with it, post back if you need any more help.
 
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...
 
CUDA Drivers are fine, I've run several games (including TF2) with no problems what so ever.

The latest drivers have their own exe so you dont have to fiddle with the inf file as with previous drivers on non Vista machines. Will be interesting to see what performance you get on those.
 
I can vouch for the GPU version of SETI on an 8800. Works well and I found it is possible to run the old CPU client at the same time! With the GPU client, FahMon says I could get 4000+ ppd.
 
Caustic said:
I can vouch for the GPU version of SETI on an 8800. Works well and I found it is possible to run the old CPU client at the same time! With the GPU client, FahMon says I could get 4000+ ppd.
Click to expand...

I wonder what the equivalent SETI RAC would be on an 8800 :D
 
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