So what's changed since...

Z

Zygomatic

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
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So what's changed since... ah hell I never was a "folding expert", I've been in and out of it for about 10 years. I've always made due with whatever hardware I could get my hands on (e.g. my cousins get a new SNES, We bought their old NES). I have a humble home network that still includes a Windows 3.11 machine (for gaming :p) as well as...

A dual, dual core Xeon Server (not stable enough to fold just yet)
Core2 Duo E4600 + 9800GT (folding on both with no advanced options enabled besides running on "Full")
2 AMD 64 X2 3800 machines + crap video cards
it gets progressively older and slower from here on out

My question is what is worth folding on nowadays? My GPU seems to crank through WU's (although it shows nothing in the PPD column from the web interface) even though it's an older card, and all my cpu's seem to take days to finish a WU. I'm not really worried about points (except a contribution to THE [H]OOOORRRRDDDEEEE), just trying to help out and it's always been a fun hobby and pastime. The machines are on all the time anyways as they have work to do (With some CPU cycles to spare :))
 
Welcome back!

I would suggest you look at some of the BOINC projects. We have an [H] team and your older gear would work fine with the BOINC stuff. I don't think it is worth your money (PPD/watt) to fold with your equipment.

Great to see you around again!
 
Desktop CPUs have really fallen out of favor among the larger contributors since their PPD/W and PPD/$ is not very good. GPUs became much more attractive in both regards with the introduction of a new GPU core earlier this year. It runs equally well on AMD and Nvidia cards. The AMD improvement was especially welcome since the previous AMD cores were poor and Nvidia had pretty much always outclassed them in PPD. Note that it's only really Keplers on the Nvidia side and 7000 series on the AMD side (likely also the new R7/R9 series too) that are seeing large improvements, and even then it's primarily midrange cards or higher.

Many-core servers running bigadv WUs in Linux is the other popular purchase. Bigadv projects require at least 16 cores, and even then 16 cores of an older architecture might not be enough power to make the deadlines. These tend to be more expensive purchases, though you can get couple-generations-old AMD setups for a few hundred dollars. There's no upgrade path for those, however, so when the core count is raised again (it used to be a minimum of 8 cores) these will likely no longer be able to make the deadlines.

Regarding the blank PPD column, the server that gives out WUs for G80/G92/GT200 GPUs still hasn't been updated to give out the information that v7 needs to make PPD estimates. This is just a cosmetic issue. The one core that can run on those architectures is approaching end-of-life, so I'm guessing that this won't be fixed until that server is repurposed for other work.
 
Pocatello said:
Welcome back!

I would suggest you look at some of the BOINC projects. We have an [H] team and your older gear would work fine with the BOINC stuff. I don't think it is worth your money (PPD/watt) to fold with your equipment.

Great to see you around again!
Click to expand...

Yes, the [H]ard Commandos would be more than happy to have your systems on their lists. Also, I would recommend adding the DIMES client since it is non-CPU intensive and therefore can run alongside any of the other clients.

Our BOINC thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1783464
BOINC install guide: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1768558
DIMES install guide: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1768712
 
Thanks for the warm welcome back, I didn't realize how much I missed DC projects. What are some recommendations for BIONC projects that can be ran on older equip (at least the ones I listed so far) and I'd like to stick to cancer and or medical research if possible. After I get that going I will probably seek out some fun projects for older machines (Is SETI@Home still around? lol, a lot of memories there). As far as my 9800GT (i'm cheap) should I fold on it until the uhh core reaches the end of it's life?
 
WCG is about to launch a new cancer project by the scientists who ran the previous Help Conquer Cancer project that just finished earlier this year. WCG only does humanitarian projects. They are down to just a few right now, but they are going through some changes after doing their first ever survey from volunteers. The do NOT currently have GPU work. However, nVidia cards can work at GPUGrid and at POEM (also uses AMD) if you want bio/medical research. There are also multiple bio/medical CPU projects. What projects I would recommend for you also depends on the amount of RAM your machines have and whether they run 24/7 uninterrupted or if they would be pausing/stopping work regularly.

And Yes, SETI is still very much around.
 
I guess SETI has a soft spot in my heart being the first DC project I ran, I remember having it running on like 4 computers in my bedroom on all the screens, I knew I was hooked. I also remember FoldServer being my first entry into the PXE world, and having to get an [H] member (I'm so bad with names) from IRC to SSH in and fix for me :p. I never really thought about how much DC had tought me in my younger years... good times....ahem...

Most of the computers have a modest amount of RAM the AMD 64x2's have 2 and 3 gigs, my Core 2 has 4G. They are all on all the time, my Core2 for the most part sits idle, no time for gaming as of late. The AMD's are a FrontEnd machine (videos and some general use, had to set F@H to light to avoid videos stuttering) and a WebcamXP server (uses about 30% CPU on average).
 
Well, our team tends to focus on projects that are a part of the DC Vault. http://www.dc-vault.com/ However, we have a team at pretty much every BOINC project. Check my comment at the bottom of the BOINC setup guide for a list of projects where our team name is slightly different from the rest. With small amounts of ram in the systems, I would highly suggest avoiding RNA because it can take up over 4GB per work unit at times. The video rendering projects (renderfarm and BURP) also can suck up a lot of RAM. Volpex is another Protein project, but they do things a little different than most projects and thus don't have a constant stream of work available. (I usually make is a secondary project to pick up work when it is available) SETI is nice for old times sake, but that is about it.... They still have troubles keeping up with demand from time to time. (They are just too big) They also have a horrible credit system. It is called Credit New and is designed by David Anderson himself. Most projects that have tried it have since turned away. WCG is one of the few who have stood by it and that is because they are very pro-BOINC devs. and trying to support them as much as possible. I would certainly make sure to add WUProp to every box because it is a non-cpu app that runs alongside other work units without taking up a core. This app builds more BOINC points and badges. They also provide some helpful info on their page that can help in the process of deciding what project to run. SETI can run both AMD and nVidia. (I think they now have Intel capabilities but that is only newer chipsets)

This month, those pushing the DC-Vault are trying to do a push at Asteroids. It is very RAM light and is only CPU at the moment. We are pushing POEM with the GPU's.

If you are interested in badges, there are also a handful of projects that offer those and they all have different criteria for them. Stop in the BOINC thread we have and we will answer all of your BOINC questions. That and a few others may take notice of your interest if they haven't seen this thread yet.

Also, there has been mention in the DC-Vault 2 thread about what project we should run for November's push. I plan on pushing Cosmology unless WCG gets their new cancer project launched. I think Grandpa is planning on pushing Rosetta. If you have a preference, make sure to mention it. Some of our members are lurkers and just push what the majority decide or they do their own pushes. :)
 
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Thanks for all the info, glad to be back! I would vote the DC section of the [H] best "tech support" in the world!

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