BOINC CPU Usage

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
Hi!

I recently started running the BOINC seti software and notice that since I have, my CPU has been running at 100% whenever it is running. This causes the CPU chip temp to raise.

While this may be great for the seti results, I am not really comfortable with high CPU temps and 100% CPU usage all all the time.

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me how to alter the settings, so I do not have 100% CPU Usage?

Thanks in advance!

:)
 

keeleysam

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2005
8,131
0
0
Like you don't want it running 100% of the time or you don't want it to use 100% of the cpu?
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
I do not want the BOINC program using 100% of the CPU.

I don't care if the program is running all the time. As long as it is not draining my resources.

:)
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
correct.

Windows Task Manager shows my CPU Usage at 100% whenever I am running BOINC... the temp goes up , a lot... and i get worried. ;)

 

Spacehead

Lifer
Jun 2, 2002
13,067
9,858
136
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
I do not want the BOINC program using 100% of the CPU.

I don't care if the program is running all the time. As long as it is not draining my resources.

:)

All DC projects are designed to use all un-used CPU cycles. THe key word is "un-used". THe reason you see SETI taking up 100% of the CPU is because at the time nothing alse needs the CPU.
If you open a program that needs 50% then SETI will only use the other 50%. But your CPU will alway be at 100%.
You shouldn't see any "draininng" of your resources.

AS for heat, some people were talking about a program that will throttle the CPU usage. Threadmaster, i think it was called.
I'm not sure if BOINC has built in throttling.
You may also want to look into getting better cooling. What are your temps at 100% load? What brand of CPU?
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
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Originally posted by: Spacehead

AS for heat, some people were talking about a program that will throttle the CPU usage. Threadmaster, i think it was called.
I'm not sure if BOINC has built in throttling.
You may also want to look into getting better cooling. What are your temps at 100% load? What brand of CPU?

I just bought a new heatsink/fan today. Will be delivered by Friday the latest.

My current rig setup is in my sig. but the GlobalWin heatsink/fan needs to be changed as it is not preforming as it should.

In any case, idle temp is 50C, light usage (word docs, puzzle games, email&surfing) gets me approx 52-54C all with under 20% CPU Usage. But as soon as I load BOINC...

CPU = 100% and temps of 60-62C.



 

Freewolf

Diamond Member
Feb 15, 2001
9,673
1
81
If you built your machine two years ago it's probably time for some new thermal paste and a good cleaning of the inside including the hs/f and ps.
Of course you may have done all of this already . :)
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
Originally posted by: Freewolf
If you built your machines two years ago it's probably time for some new thermal paste and a good cleaning of the inside including the hs/f and ps.
Of course you may have done all of this already . :)

A few times. Every few months, I like to open the case and give everything a good blow out and once over. This is a VERY VERY dusty house and is filled with cats.

I recently purchased the Thermaltake Kandalf and finished rebuilding it (in the new case) on Saturday. That is when I noticed the fan was not reaching nearly fast enough RPMs.

But this issue with the BOINC program has been occuring since I downloaded it on August 31st. To be honest, I am a weirdo and just thrilled not to run the chip at 100% and see these temps.

:)
 

GLeeM

Elite Member
Apr 2, 2004
7,199
128
106
Hi KarenMarie!

I checked my BOINC account and don't see any way to set CPU usage, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. If you wait a little longer the TeAms' BOINC guru will answer your question with certainty.

I know how you feel - I run at 100% but am always checking my temps and cleaning out dust etc. from inside computer :roll: :D

Computer manufacturers do guarantee their computers to be able to run 100% but...
 

Rattledagger

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
2,994
19
81
BOINC haven't currently a built-in method to limit cpu-usage, so you must use 3rd-party-tools if really want to slow-down things... or underclock...

When again, if you've got adequate cooling it shouldn't be a problem to let the cpu's run at 100% all the time.
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
Originally posted by: GLeeM
Hi KarenMarie!

I checked my BOINC account and don't see any way to set CPU usage, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. If you wait a little longer the TeAms' BOINC guru will answer your question with certainty.

I know how you feel - I run at 100% but am always checking my temps and cleaning out dust etc. from inside computer :roll: :D

Computer manufacturers do guarantee their computers to be able to run 100% but...

Yea, I am not happy about the 100% usage, or installing even more software.
And my car speedometer says it can go up to 120mph, but I dont run it at that. ;)

I will have to see what happens.
 

Pabster

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
16,986
1
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It will use 100% but it is low priority and will give cycles to whatever else you want to run. It is occupying unused cycles only...
 

ecvs85

Member
Mar 4, 2005
145
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0
I live in equator and heat has been a major issue to me, I don't have any AC so my processor ran quite hot. My processor was socket 754 1.8Ghz newcastle (AMD 64 2800+). With stock cooler and stock speeds it ran at 49 celcius idle and 59-60 celcius under load. Right now I'm using zalman's cnps7000 cooler and my chip ran cooler a little bit. At 1.4volts and 2167Mhz (stock 1.8Ghz and 1.5v) it'll consume 4.9% more power based on calculation (so hotter), but the idle temp is around 47-49 celcius and 55-59 celcius under load (in night it runs cooler :D ).

I've been running it 100% under load and it still ran fine till now, as long as you watch the temp the CPU would still last for years.

I understand that you don't like to put 100% load on your processor, I'm just like you last time, in which I'm still with F@H where I'll put it at around 40-50% processor's usage. But right now it's different, I like to put my CPU under full load because I like to earn more points :D and to prevent much more temperature fluctuations for my processor, which I read from discussions about this matter last time.

And lastly a car's engine and processor is not comparable, mainly because a car's engine is a an assembly of mechanical parts and runs mechanically, while a processor is a silicon which electricity passes to them. And from what I heard, there are three causes that accelerates processor's failure: temperature, voltage and temperature fluctuation(not confirmed). As long as you kept the load temperature under around 60C I think it will be okay (it depends on the processor so I would like to know what processor is that too).
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
Originally posted by: ecvs85
[snipped]

And lastly a car's engine and processor is not comparable, mainly because a car's engine is a an assembly of mechanical parts and runs mechanically, while a processor is a silicon which electricity passes to them. And from what I heard, there are three causes that accelerates processor's failure: temperature, voltage and temperature fluctuation(not confirmed). As long as you kept the load temperature under around 60C I think it will be okay (it depends on the processor so I would like to know what processor is that too).

My rig is in my sig. Click on the RIG link and you can see my system specs. The analogy to the car was a kind of tongue in cheek one.

And the temps I getting while running JUST seti are between 60-62C. And that is not even running anything else. I do not think I am prepared to run my CPU at 100% especially at these temps.

:)
 

petrusbroder

Elite Member
Nov 28, 2004
13,348
1,155
126
Hi KarenMarie,
This is a very interesting discussion, so I'll add my 2 cents ...
All my comps [10 PCs running win xp, 1 PC running suse-linux, 2 macs running OS X Tiger (now)] run att 100% CPU load crunching BOINC (10 comps) or seti@home classic (3 comps). The processors range from Pentium III running @ 833 MHz to Athlon 64 3200+.
I have been concerned about temps for a very long time because I have 7 of my comps in one room (which BTW never ever need heating, not even in the harshest of winter days when temp drop to - 35 degrees C). Most of the problems are of the opposite kind. ;)
My oldest comp has been running for 9 years 24/7 before a capacitator on the mobo gave up. I did find a used compatible mobo and rebuilt the system. The processor and most of other components run perfectly ... this is a PIII and the temps are between 62 and 64 degrees C.
My newest comp is the Athlon 64. It has been running @ 100% for more than 1 years, the temps are 60 - 62 degrees C.
I have not seen any problems in any of my comps.
Of course: these comps have also other work to do: one is a file server, an other a multimedia server, one is a communications computer (scans for viruses etc for all the incoming traffic, is the first firewall, switches to modem if the DSL goes down etc), the next is a scanner-server, one has all the electronic books and serves those files, etc). I have tested the rigs extensively, and I have not ever seen more than 1 % degradation in the tasks which are the main function of the comps. BOINC just interrupts its work when the other process use the CPU.
Similarly to you I clean the comps once every 3 - 4 months (I have no cats now - had 2 of these sweet critters before and then I had to clean the comps bi-monthly - cat hair is pesky for comps. The cats just loved to sit on the top of the comps...
I have tried to throttle the cpus using Threadmaster. The temps of the CPU (a PIII) started dropping significantly when I throttled CPU-usage for seti@home (this was before BOINC) below 70%, but the problem was that when I used an other program, which required more than 30% (i.e. the CPU-load became 100%) the program ran more slowly. E.g. photoshop and seti:
Without Threadmaster: seti without photoshop: 100% CPU-usage. seti with photoshop: seti: between 0 and 98% (depending on what photoshop was doing), photoshop 2 - 100%, depending on what photoshop was doing.
With threadmaster: seti without photoshop: 70%, seti with photoshop: seti 70%, photoshop 30% no matter what photoshop was doing!
Thus: threadmaster gives you control of the CPU-usage, but at a cost: you isolate the different processes from each other and when an other program needs more CPU-power it will not get it. I uninstalled Threadmaster ....
Today I am only concerned about CPU-load and temps when I add a new comp (which will not happen soon unless somebody gives me one ....) and the only routines I have is the cleaning out ot the dust (every 3 - 4 months), checking on the comps daily, and rebooting them once a month after cleaning out the temp-directories etc. On the other hand: I had my comps run (just to test them) for 120 days without rebooting and that was OK too.

Now: let me say that this was some 5 years ago, now Threadmaster has evolved (I hope) and may assign CPU-usage more dynamically... but I will not use it because - as I see it - there is no cause ...

A long post but: these are my 2 cents ...

Edit: spelling, addeed last paragraph.
 

lane42

Diamond Member
Sep 3, 2000
5,721
624
126
Hi KM,

As a rule of thumb ive found temps should rise between 5-7C with Seti on and off, of corse this may depend on room temp or oc"ing. With your 12 degree temp swings it sounds like you need better case cooling or HS\F.

Maybe some others can let us know there temps with Seti off and running :)
 

Pabster

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
16,986
1
0
I see about a 11C rise ... but that is on my X2 so that is roughly a 5-6C rise on a single chip.

60-65C isn't anything to be concerned about. Especially with the older CPUs which often have thermal specs 75C or above (Athlon XP for example has a 90C)
 

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
6
81
Thank you, everyone for your replies.

It seems that my choices are to run seti at 100% CPU Usage, or not run seti.

while I appreciate everyone telling me that it is safe or unimportant to run my CPU at 100%, I do not feel comfortable doing so. It is my CPU, afterall, and it is just something that I am not comfortable doing, for a hobby. Therefore, I will not turn the seti program back on until I can do so without taxing my CPU or hogging my resources. That is my choice, supported by quite a few thru PM if not thru this forum.

I will be more than happy to consider any other DC program that does not demand such from me.

thanks.

:)
 

ecvs85

Member
Mar 4, 2005
145
0
0
How about Folding@Home? You can set the CPU utilization yourself, it's not really a bad choice.