Folding@home catchall

[Ftiafpi]

New sandy bridge i5-2500k system arrives Friday! Totally going to get some folding going on it ASAP.

[Puvomun]

New sandy bridge i5-2500k system arrives Friday! Totally going to get some folding going on it ASAP.

I hate you.

[bommel]

New sandy bridge i5-2500k system arrives Friday! Totally going to get some folding going on it ASAP.

Yay, nice!

[Ftiafpi]

Heh, well I've been running a Athlon 64 3000+ for almost 7 years now, it was time for an upgrade.

System is up and running as of last night, installing stuff and then I'll see how benches. Probably wont OC it for a while since it's blazingly fast enough as is.

[bommel]

Heh, well I've been running a Athlon 64 3000+ for almost 7 years now, it was time for an upgrade.

System is up and running as of last night, installing stuff and then I'll see how benches. Probably wont OC it for a while since it's blazingly fast enough as is.

My main PC is still an Athlon XP 2400+. I can't even install Scilab anymore because it needs SSE2 and my CPU supports just SSE
However, I have a stronger laptop around (Core 2 Duo) but both are not very suitable for running f@h

[Ftiafpi]

So, now that I have a quad core with an awesome GPU can someone help me sort through the mess of optimizing F@H for my system? I could figure it out but I'm feeling especially lazy today and it just seems like it would be easier to ask someone knowledgeable here.

[bommel]

So, now that I have a quad core with an awesome GPU can someone help me sort through the mess of optimizing F@H for my system? I could figure it out but I'm feeling especially lazy today and it just seems like it would be easier to ask someone knowledgeable here.

Get the SMP client from here: http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadWinOther
and the GPU client depending on your GPU (AMD/Nvidia; you can download the tray client if you like to but I stick to console windows )

SMP config:
I haven't seen a SMP tray client (and I can't remember having used one before anyway) therefore I will guide you through the console client setup process.
First, move the downloaded exe to your location of choice and open a CMD prompt. cd to the directory where your fah exe is (btw. I recommend renaming it to sth shorter like fah6.exe). Then type "fah6.exe -smp -configonly". Follow my instructions in the three screenshots I have provided.

When you are done setting the client up, start with "fah6.exe" and it will run with the arguments "-smp -forceasm -local". What do those do?
-smp <num>: enables SMP support (num is optional number of cores/CPUs to use; default is all)
-forceasm: enforce usage of optimized assembly code (though it should work without this flag on modern CPUs - just to be on the safe side )
-local: tells the client to use its own configuration file from the launch directory and don't look for it in the registry (useful if running multiple clients)

You may want to play with the "-advmethods" flag: this enables beta WUs that may improve your points per day (PPD). But it could also lead to a decrease or not change them at all. If it works for you, you can add it to the addition params list by invoking fah with either the -config or -configonly flag if you like.

Another useful flag is -oneunit: this tells fah to quit after finishing the current WU.

For the GPU: I can't tell you sth about AMD clients because I never used them but configuration should be similar to Nvidia. For Nvidia cards get the latest Fermi-client (if you have a Fermi card / GTX400 onward) or the regular client (for non-Fermi). The configuration of the try client looks a bit different but in general the settings are the same. However, I will stick to the console client again.

Start by downloading the fah GPU client and put it into a directory of choice (not the same as the SMP client!!!). Start your CMD again and enter "fah.exe -forcegpu nvidia_fermi -configonly" if you have a Fermi card (otherwise just -configonly). Go through the config process just like you did with the SMP client. In adv. settings, set Machine ID to sth else than the SMP client (2 for example). Set the setting "Disable CPU affinity lock" to "yes" (if you're running the SMP client simultaneously; otherwise you can leave it at the default).
Additional client parameters: -forcegpu nvidia_fermi (if you have one; otherwise just press return).

Start the client by typing fah6.exe. You could also add the -advmethods flag if you like.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Edit: by the way, I've passed the 1 million points mark

[bommel]

We have over 2000 completed WUs now

[guest2859]

My maching is barely there with WU's, but does pretty good with points.

[Ftiafpi]

Well, I finished my first big GPU work unit two days ago, only took about half an hour or so. I've been turning on F@H every once in a while making sure it doesn't affect stability or get the temps too high on the new PC. Those GTX 560 ti cards run scary hot (70+) but apparently that's well within their design limits and shouldn't cause any premature failures.

[bommel]

Well, I finished my first big GPU work unit two days ago, only took about half an hour or so. I've been turning on F@H every once in a while making sure it doesn't affect stability or get the temps too high on the new PC. Those GTX 560 ti cards run scary hot (70+) but apparently that's well within their design limits and shouldn't cause any premature failures.

I think the GTX470 I use for folding gets up to 87 °C. But it's okay for those cards. As you said, they are designed for such temps.

[bommel]

Well, I finished my first big GPU work unit two days ago, only took about half an hour or so. I've been turning on F@H every once in a while making sure it doesn't affect stability or get the temps too high on the new PC. Those GTX 560 ti cards run scary hot (70+) but apparently that's well within their design limits and shouldn't cause any premature failures.

I've seen you have a typo in the team number: it's 198857 not 198875. Or do you want to fold for team 198875?

[Zefanaya]

I'll see if I can free up one of the servers at my house. No promises.

[Puvomun]

Nice idea to pop the project on FB!

[Ftiafpi]

Well, I finished my first big GPU work unit two days ago, only took about half an hour or so. I've been turning on F@H every once in a while making sure it doesn't affect stability or get the temps too high on the new PC. Those GTX 560 ti cards run scary hot (70+) but apparently that's well within their design limits and shouldn't cause any premature failures.

I've seen you have a typo in the team number: it's 198857 not 198875. Or do you want to fold for team 198875?

Ack

[Ftiafpi]

Fixed it, I was wondering why my folding wasn't showing up. Meh, wasted WU.

Also, here's a picture of the new box:

[bommel]

Fixed it, I was wondering why my folding wasn't showing up. Meh, wasted WU.

Also, here's a picture of the new box:

looks pretty nice!
Maximum warp - err, folding! 

[Eana Tanhì]

I wanna that computer!

[Swoka Ikran]

Oooh. Nice system

[guest2859]

Danm, if only I had 4 RAM slots and a PCI Express slot...