Discussion AnAndTech vs [H]ardForum, let's not let them beat us!

[Skillz]

We need all GPUs on deck for this race guys. Starting on the 23rd of this month we'll be racing the [H]ard|OCP team in Folding@home for 1 week. The team that completes the most points in that time frame will be deemed the ruler and will have bragging rights until the next year's race.

You'll need to post in this thread here: https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...-3rd-anniversary-challenge-h-vs-taat.2600444/

Letting us know you'd want to participate. ONLY members who opt in BEFORE the race starts will be counted.


What is F@H?
Basically uses your computer's CPU and GPU to do complex simulations related to protein folding.
More info about them can be found here: https://foldingathome.org/?lng=en

How can I join?
Joining is easy. You'll need to post here that you are wanting to participate.
Then you'll need to go download the F@H installer which can be downloaded here: https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/?lng=en
For most users, this is all you'll need. For users who do not use Windows primarily you'll need additional help. Post in this thread here and one of the team members will gladly help you out. (For the record, Linux generally gives better points than Windows)

When does it start?
Jan 23rd at 12:00 UTC time (This is around 7AM EST)

How long do I have to run it?
You can run it for 1/2 day, 1 day, or all 7 days. Doesn't matter; but only the points you generate between the start and stop time will go towards the competition's points.

I want to provide the best points. What do I need?
GPUs give the best points by far. So if you have a GPU, it's best to run it on your GPU and leave the CPU out of it unless you have a CPU with many cores (like a 3950x, 5950x, etc..). Just make sure you leave 1 unused core on the CPU to feed the GPU if you are also running a GPU app on the host.



This post will be updated periodically with more information.

 

[Mopetar]

Just offer to buy @VirtualLarry his pizza for a week and he can probably win the thing by himself if he uses his mining GPUs for this instead.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Just offer to buy @VirtualLarry his pizza for a week and he can probably win the thing by himself if he uses his mining GPUs for this instead.

Oh how I wish that were true. F@H utilizes an "early return bonus", that promotes using the biggest, baddest GPUs and CPUs for computation, so that they can finish early, and reap the highest QRB. My fleet is moreso comprised of mid-range cards, power/core-limited, and tuned for mining ETH (highest power efficiency, not highest output). Plus, F@H needs a CPU core per GPU, and needs as much PCI-E bandwidth per GPU as you can muster. Mining is the opposite arrangement. In short, 2-3 of Mark's GPUs (5.8mil PPD ea.) outclass my entire farm (each card maybe 800K PPD ea., if I don't run out of CPU time to feed them.)

 

[Skillz]

Oh how I wish that were true. F@H utilizes an "early return bonus", that promotes using the biggest, baddest GPUs and CPUs for computation, so that they can finish early, and reap the highest QRB. My fleet is moreso comprised of mid-range cards, power/core-limited, and tuned for mining ETH (highest power efficiency, not highest output). Plus, F@H needs a CPU core per GPU, and needs as much PCI-E bandwidth per GPU as you can muster. Mining is the opposite arrangement. In short, 2-3 of Mark's GPUs (5.8mil PPD ea.) outclass my entire farm (each card maybe 800K PPD ea., if I don't run out of CPU time to feed them.)

I don't think the x1 bandwidth will hender you as much as you think.

I have a 3090, 3070Ti, 1070 and 1080 GPUs on a mining board where I mine on them majority of the time. During the F@H Christmas Race I let them run for a day or two and the rig was doing around 20M PPD.

 

[Markfw]

Make sure to choose team 198 when you configure F@H, and get a passkey for 10 times the bonus points ! a 3080TI can do 9 million points per day !

 

[Leeea]

Oh how I wish that were true. F@H utilizes an "early return bonus", that promotes using the biggest, baddest GPUs and CPUs for computation, so that they can finish early, and reap the highest QRB. My fleet is moreso comprised of mid-range cards, power/core-limited, and tuned for mining ETH (highest power efficiency, not highest output). Plus, F@H needs a CPU core per GPU, and needs as much PCI-E bandwidth per GPU as you can muster. Mining is the opposite arrangement. In short, 2-3 of Mark's GPUs (5.8mil PPD ea.) outclass my entire farm (each card maybe 800K PPD ea., if I don't run out of CPU time to feed them.)

You have electric bills to pay and eth mining is not going to be here forever.

Make the $, do the charity later.

 

[Skillz]

You have electric bills to pay and eth mining is not going to be here forever.

Make the $, do the charity later.

1 week of running F@H a year isn't gonna break anyone's bank.

So, can we count on you to join the team for the event? @Leeea

 

[Leeea]

1 week of running F@H a year isn't gonna break anyone's bank.

So, can we count on you to join the team for the event? @Leeea

Nope, I am the scrooge. I have done it in the past for quite a bit more then a week, but I need the money this year.

1 week of running F@H a year isn't gonna break anyone's bank.

Tell you what, you donate $50 to F&H, and call it my share?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Make the $, do the charity later.

More like, I've done nearly $1K in charity this month to AT members, now I gotta mine to make that up.

 

[Shmee]

Would an RTX 3090 do well? What about my Ryzen 5900X? What about 5700XT's and a Ryzen 3700X + Xeon 1660v3?

 

[Markfw]

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Would an RTX 3090 do well? What about my Ryzen 5900X? What about 5700XT's and a Ryzen 3700X + Xeon 1660v3?

he 3090 would do at least 8-9 mill , more like 10-12, bring it on please !. The 5900x would be nice, but not effective use (they suck at ppd, I got 670k with a 5950x) 5700XT's would do much better, but I don't know the ppd. The Xeon would be a total waste.

 

[Shmee]

Ok, it sounds like I could at least donate some 3090 work when not gaming, as long as it is not too warm here. Sounds like the CPUs aren't worth it. I could consider a 5700XT or two as well.

For the 3090, what sort of OC/tuning settings should I use? I have a profile but it is meant for ETH, so IDK how well that would work. I like to minimize heat output if possible with DC, and maximize efficiency. For gaming I run default settings.

 

[Markfw]

Ok, it sounds like I could at least donate some 3090 work when not gaming, as long as it is not too warm here. Sounds like the CPUs aren't worth it. I could consider a 5700XT or two as well.

For the 3090, what sort of OC/tuning settings should I use? I have a profile but it is meant for ETH, so IDK how well that would work. I like to minimize heat output if possible with DC, and maximize efficiency. For gaming I run default settings.

no OC, no tuning required, flat stock works great. My 3080TI FTW3 does 9 mil most of the time. Choose to do Altzheimers. As far as when not gaming, the thing is there is a quick return bonus, so before you start try to make sure the unit has just started, so maybe only one units looses the bonus. The units can still vary. Right now my 3070TI is doing 4.2m and the 3070 is doing 5.1 m ! Usually the 3070TI will do 6 mill or so. For these cards the units are only about 2 hours each. Just to give you an idea, I only have 5 2080TI's, a 3070 and a 3070TI running, and doing 43.7m ppd, so you can see 9-12 mil for a 3090 will help a LOT !

Right now I am saving some electricity $ after my last bill was $752 ! When this race starts, I will fire up the other 2080TI and the 3080TI. The 2060's and 1080TI's I can fire up in an emergency, but they only get like 1 mil ppd.

 

[Skillz]

@Markfw is on top of things! Nice going bro!

@Shmee I would recommend downloading the F@H software now. Letting it run for a couple hours just to make sure it's working as intended. It'll give you a chance to create a username, request a passkey (passkey is needed for the QRB [Quick Return Bonus]), join the team number and let our stats collector @biodoc get your name down on the books for joining.

 

[Skillz]

Nope, I am the scrooge. I have done it in the past for quite a bit more then a week, but I need the money this year.


Tell you what, you donate $50 to F&H, and call it my share?

No, even though I don't even know what F&H is.

 

[Markfw]

@Markfw is on top of things! Nice going bro!

@Shmee I would recommend downloading the F@H software now. Letting it run for a couple hours just to make sure it's working as intended. It'll give you a chance to create a username, request a passkey (passkey is needed for the QRB [Quick Return Bonus]), join the team number and let our stats collector @biodoc get your name down on the books for joining.

Yes, I almost forgot the passkey, VERY important. You also have to complete 10 units before you starting getting the bonus so set it up now, and get it going, and after 10 units, tell us the PPD, dying to know if its worth it ! I only spent $1430 on my 3080TI ! I don't want to spend $3000 for 12 million ppd.

Edit, you need to register with them first, here is where you get the passkey after that.

Get a Folding@home Passkey

And, to EVERYONE ---- Did you know that this project is researching covid ?

 

[Shmee]

I have done F@H and BOINC a long time ago, and I was even on the team Anandtech. I will re-download the F@H software and check it out I guess.

 

[Skillz]

I have done F@H and BOINC a long time ago, and I was even on the team Anandtech. I will re-download the F@H software and check it out I guess.

Its best to test things out beforehand during competitions such as this. Otherwise, you could potentially lose a couple days or more troubleshooting an issue.

 

[Skillz]

Anyone else want to get in on this before it starts? You have until Saturday night to (tomorrow night) opt into helping kick [H]s booty.