F@H Question

[dnuggett]

Quick question from a noob,

I don't have much to offer in the line of machinery, so I need to maximize this one. It's a 1.6 Celery with a 100FSB. Question is it took me about 1 1/2 days to finish a single WU (500/500). The machine was idle (ready for crunching full time) for about 20 of those 48 hours. What can I do to maximize the time it takes to finish one of these? When the machine and I go idle for the night, I disable the screen saver and turn the LCD off as well as close down all the progs except those in the sys tray. Anything else I hould be doing? I can't help but think things should be moving along a little faster than that.

 

[bgeh]

hmm, try putting the switches -advmethods to get the Gromacs Core, they run faster than Tinker cores

e.g. In startup, right click Folding@home, properties
In the target box, you should see something like this:
"C:\Program Files\Folding@Home\Folding@Home3.exe"
add this( -advmethods)
and you will get something like this
"C:\Program Files\Folding@Home\Folding@Home3.exe" -advmethods

 

[osage]

a good tweak guide Here, skip the "local " switch as it's just for dual machines.

I use FireDaemon to run it as a hidden service, out of sight out of mind. the client is set to low priority always so no need to turn it off no matter what you are doing on the comp.

welcome to the TeAm

 

[ProviaFan]

Aside from the great advice that bgeh and osage have already given, I must ask which client you're using? Based on what you've said, I assume it is not the screensaver (that's a very good thing, because the screensaver F@H client sucks, and badly). Either the GUI or CLI will benefit from much of the guide that osage posted, but you'll only be able to run the client as a service (something that you can do on Windows NT, 2000, and XP that makes the client totally hidden, and allows it to run even when nobody is logged in) if you're using the CLI.

Oh, and don't get discouraged if your computer is kind of slow. That Celeron shouldn't do too badly... it's far better than two of my machines, and it probably comes close to beating the third. 😱

Every bit of power helps. 😎

 

[dnuggett]

Well I'm not too discouraged after seeing the points earned. After one WU was completed it earned 47 points. I've noticed others that have completed 9 and have less. I'm looking into the tweeks mentioned, but I'm confused with bgeh's suggestion. Does changing the download core restart a work in progress? I also need a little more insruction on how to change this. Also w/ osage's suggestion what actual benefits are derived from FireDaemon, and what does it actually do?

BTW how do I tell what version I am using?

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: dnuggett
Well I'm not too discouraged after seeing the points earned. After one WU was completed it earned 47 points.

The more complex the WU, the more points you will get. You'll probably find that you'll get addicted to the statistics before too long. 😉

I've noticed others that have completed 9 and have less. I'm looking into the tweeks mentioned, but I'm confused with bgeh's suggestion. Does changing the download core restart a work in progress?

No, it will download the new core after it finishes and sends in the current work unit.

I also need a little more insruction on how to change this. Also w/ osage's suggestion what actual benefits are derived from FireDaemon, and what does it actually do?

On some workstations that use Windows 2000 (or Windows XP set up to use the secure login with CTRL+ALT+DEL), the system may sit at the login screen for an extended part of the day. Since the Folding@Home clients normally only run when someone is logged in, all that time during which the machine is sitting at the login screen is "wasted," in that F@H can not run. When the Command-Line client is set up with FireDaemon, it runs as a System Service (this only works on Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003 Server) which keeps going whether someone is logged in or not.

BTW how do I tell what version I am using?

If your client only kicks in when you're not using the computer, and shows fullscreen graphics until you move the mouse or press a key, you are using the Screensaver client. Please consider upgrading to one of the two listed below, as the Screensaver client is very slow and tends to suck.

If your client shows up as a small icon in your system tray, and can show a graphical window when you click on it, you are using the GUI, or Graphical User Interface client. This client is pretty good (about as fast as the CLI, and easier to use), and recommended as long as you don't need to run it as a System Service.

If your client shows up as a button in your task bar (along with your other applications), and when clicked on, displays a DOS-like window filled with text, then you are using the CLI, or Command Line Interface client. You can run it as a System Service if you desire, by following a link in our Folding@Home Getting Started Guide (which I will post a link to in here if you're interested). You can also "hide" it behind a small system tray icon using the program "Electron Microscope III" but there's not much benefit to using that versus just using the GUI client, as there is much more complexity with the CLI that you may not want to deal with.