Get back in the [Folding@Home] game!

A forum just for SPCR's folding team... by request.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

nici
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Post by nici » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:24 pm

I got further than before, i didn't get an error but i donä't any progress either. It just uses 20-30% on both cores, even after i close the program. So i'll have to shut down this POS and go to sleep. Probably a good thing. Im jsut going to wait for a final release and then maybe i'll start folding again.

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:20 pm

Hi Nici,

It does get frustrating, at times anyway. I got the Windows SMP client working, and unless this is some uber work unit, the Windows SMP client is not nearly as fast as the Linux one! :(

It has been nearly 24 hours, and it has yet to get to 10% (Project 2610), while the Linux client got through about 50% of the big 1760 point units. It could be that this is an even larger project, or the lack of 64bit-ness is slowing it down?

avi_dan
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Post by avi_dan » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:18 am

Dont be disouraged, the 2610 is notoriously slow.

check out this thread in the EOC forum:

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/p ... ost2670247

peteamer
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Post by peteamer » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:25 am

Nick Geraedts wrote:I'm going to be getting my hands on a 20-node cluster soon, each node with 2x quad-core Xeons @2.66GHz.
:twisted: indeed!!

Hopefully they'll let F@H run in the background... it's for the science after all... :wink:


Pete

Nick Geraedts
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Post by Nick Geraedts » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:18 am

*One Month Later...*

Nick's score = 3x Neil's score


:twisted:

peteamer
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Post by peteamer » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:42 am

Image

:lol:


...and 20+X mine..... :D



Go Baby Go!!!.....




Pete

Image for Image

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:46 pm

Hello,

The Windows SMP really needs 4 cores/CPU's and/or large caches. My Athlon 64 X2 4200+ would have taken close to 8 days to finish the 2610 project, and only yielded ~190 PPD -- which is way worse than the same CPU running the Linux 64bit SMP client, which is ~800-1000 PPD.

Mind you, the 8 days is 2X as long as the deadline, so in reality, it would be 0 PPD. :roll:

I've booted back to Ubuntu...

avi_dan
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Post by avi_dan » Thu Mar 29, 2007 12:10 am

I installed the Win SMP client on a P4 3.0 GHZ with 1 MB that is taking 3 days to finish the 2610 wu.

1500 point / 3days = 500 ppd

Not bad for a Non-multi core machine, and a lot better than the non SMP Win client.

BUT yeah, the Win SMP is not as good as then Linux SMP.

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Post by aristide1 » Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:27 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

The Windows SMP really needs 4 cores/CPU's and/or large caches. My Athlon 64 X2 4200+ would have taken close to 8 days to finish the 2610 project, and only yielded ~190 PPD -- which is way worse than the same CPU running the Linux 64bit SMP client, which is ~800-1000 PPD.

Mind you, the 8 days is 2X as long as the deadline, so in reality, it would be 0 PPD. :roll:

I've booted back to Ubuntu...
My old PIII can take 2 weeks to finish folding some WU, how do I know it's not wasting it's time. Points are good, but results in time are better.

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Post by aristide1 » Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:43 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

If anybody here on SPCR has a dual core Mac or Linux machine, then you really need to run the Beta SMP client! I got it going on my brother's 17" Core Duo iMac, and it finished a 1,760 point work unit is about 2 days! :shock: :o :twisted:

http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/ ... =&u=189150

I hope to heck they get a Windows SMP client up and running soon! Wow...
But later you said you really need a quad core (like they said). Still you're whipping out points like crazy.

Unfortunately both of us keep passing people who are not folding at all. There's a lot of those on the SPRC list. :( Ooops. I'm looking at Nathan.

Hey, your bro's flying up the charts with just 20 completed WUs. What gives?

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:10 am

Hello,

They say they recommend a quad core, but it works with a dual core. I think it works a LOT better in Linux, than it does in Windows. In Windows, the mpiexec.exe is still taking up to 33% of the CPU cycles?! And currently, only three of the four FahCore_a1.exe instances is using any CPU time.

[Edit: It runs nearly the same speed in Windows as it does in Linux, after all.]

I'm trying it again in Windows, and I have excluded everything to do with Folding from both NOD32 antivirus and with Kerio firewall -- but it still seems to be very, very slow.

My brother's got "just" a Core Duo 17" iMac and obviously that SMP client works very well, indeed.
Last edited by NeilBlanchard on Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

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The SMP F@H client is awesome!

Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:43 am

Hello,

Well, I did manage to get the SMP client to run well in Windows: I had to uninstall it, and reinstall it; after excluding it from my antivirus. It is now running at a ~880 PPD rate, with the 2651 project. :twisted:

So, anybody with a dual core machine, running 64bit Linux, Mac OSX, or Windows -- you can all run the SMP Folding@Home client! Please do, for the SPCR F@H Team!

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Re: The SMP F@H client is awesome!

Post by ryboto » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:55 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

Well, I did manage to get the SMP client to run well in Windows: I had to uninstall it, and reinstall it; after excluding it from my antivirus. It is now running at a ~880 PPD rate, with the 2651 project. :twisted:
So, should I stop using the GPU client, and switch to the windows SMP client?? I haven't really been monitoring the PPD of my GPU client, but do you think I'd be getting more if I had the cpu running this newer client? I've been using my x1950pro to fold, but my Opteron 170 could be folding at 2.8ghz....is it worth switching over?

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:15 am

Hello,

You can (probably) use FahMon to monitor the GPU client and find out how many points per day you are getting. This will make it possible to compare them.

It may depend on the CPU compared to the GPU in your machine, though one big advantage of the SMP/CPU clients is that they stop when you use the CPU, and then continue again as soon as you stop using it.

They do not recommend running both the GPU and the CPU/SMP clients -- unless you have a quad core machine.

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Post by ryboto » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:35 pm

well, I installed the SMP client, and now I get the error, "home core shutdown: FILE_IO_ERROR". My system is stable, as I had been folding with it with the original console client before I tried the GPU client. guess I may have to wait until it comes out of beta?

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Post by aristide1 » Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:15 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

You can (probably) use FahMon to monitor the GPU client and find out how many points per day you are getting. This will make it possible to compare them......

They do not recommend running both the GPU and the CPU/SMP clients -- unless you have a quad core machine.
But why? And what about OCd cpu's? :twisted:

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Post by ryboto » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:23 pm

aristide1 wrote:
But why? And what about OCd cpu's? :twisted:
I think because the GPU drivers poll the CPU if the gpu is working hard, so it would cause intermittent pauses in the cpu, plus the gpu client really kills your pc if you do anything visually intensive, even flash seems to slow down on my machine.

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:34 pm

Hello,
ryboto wrote:well, I installed the SMP client, and now I get the error, "home core shutdown: FILE_IO_ERROR". My system is stable, as I had been folding with it with the original console client before I tried the GPU client. guess I may have to wait until it comes out of beta?
I would search the F@H forum for that error and see if they have any suggestions -- that is a different one from what I had.

You have the .NET installed?
You ran the install.bat successfully?

I'm curious about the PPD on the GPU -- did you try FahMon?

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Post by ryboto » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:18 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

I would search the F@H forum for that error and see if they have any suggestions -- that is a different one from what I had.

You have the .NET installed?
You ran the install.bat successfully?

I'm curious about the PPD on the GPU -- did you try FahMon?
I've looked up the error, some people are having the error on brand new stock machines, so i guess it could just be a beta issue? .Net is installed, install.bat installed correctly from as far as I can tell. I just checked the GPU client with FahMon says it gets ~563PPD.

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Post by aristide1 » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:01 am

ryboto wrote:
aristide1 wrote:
But why? And what about OCd cpu's? :twisted:
I think because the GPU drivers poll the CPU if the gpu is working hard, so it would cause intermittent pauses in the cpu, plus the gpu client really kills your pc if you do anything visually intensive, even flash seems to slow down on my machine.
I'm planning on reducing 2 consoles to about 40% (80% on each processor) and then start a GPU as well.

We only have 142 active folders and TSC! Russia is going to pass us very soon. :?

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