Folding@Home: Sorry for my inactivity

[Cheex]

Sorry guys. I haven't put out anything for about a week now.

I've been having issues caused by the F@H GPU client. Video driver just randomly stop working and all kinds of other shit. I got frustrated and just stopped. Since then my system has been running trouble free.

I miss crunching but I don't know what to do now

 

[Gravity]

Can we help? There's a lot of experience on our team and perhaps we've had the same or similar issue. We need you, Cheex!

let us know,

Gravity

 

[Keysplayr]

Definitely ^. Cheex, let us help if we can.
What is happening? Have any error logs?

 

[Insidious]

A couple possibilities:

Most Motherboard BIOSs have a setting that allows for 'overclocking' of the video card. Usually it's settlings like Auto, Turbo, Fast, Normal, etc.... Make sure you have the setting to Auto or Normal (or none).

Never attempt to use the viewer that is suppllied with the GPU client. (it's one of the choices on the system tray options pop-up. It is totally ferked up and will generally hose things if run.

When ever you want to game, watch a movie, or use your media player pause the GPU client using the system tray pop-up menu.

Finally, to do a 'fresh start' use add/remove programs to un-install your video card drivers.

Get the latest CUDA drivers Here and install them.

Follow the installation guide for the ststem tray version of the GPU client from the fah site

Unless there is something very unusual about your PC setup, this should work for you.

Good Luck!

-Sid

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: Insidious

When ever you want to game, watch a movie, or use your media player pause the GPU client using the system tray pop-up menu.

This is the issue...

The fact is that because my machine runs so well, even while crunching F@H on GPU and SETI on CPU, that I tend to "forget" that they are running.

When I open up something that needs the GPU, my monitor just loses it signal and goes to sleep. The system runs for another 5-10 seconds and then...BSOD.

Annoying!!!!

 

[Insidious]

Originally posted by: Cheex

Originally posted by: Insidious

When ever you want to game, watch a movie, or use your media player pause the GPU client using the system tray pop-up menu.

.
.
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Annoying!!!!

Agreed!

It is a shame that this client has lost track of the fact that DC clients must be written in a way not to limit how we use our computers.

I don't think you are the first (by a long shot) person to decide that it just won't do. Honestly, it feels like Stanford has taken a bit of a Microsoft approach and is telling us we are using our PCs wrong rather than acknowledging their client is intrusive and not the first priority of the resources we are donating.

If you decide to give it another try on down the road, we'll be happy to help and please know you have our appreciation for trying in the first place.

-Sid

 

[Gravity]

Cheex, I had about 4 BSODs last night playing COH and Zuma. I also forget the clients! I pause the GPU client but let the smp client run. That's a mistake too! Then, apparently because of the CUDA drivers, the fan won't adjust properly on the vid card and I start to melt it after about an hour of the game and P00F!

Come back and fold, we need your points!

Best,

Gravity

 

[Cheex]

I've decided that for now I'll fold at night when I'm not using the system AT ALL.
Better than none at all.

Am I to take it that the whole "monitor-losing-signal-thing-a-ma-jig" is due to my GPU overheating???

 

[Foxery]

What sort of temperature range are you seeing?

 

[Cheex]

Usually while its running F@H....I'll see low 70s at night and high 70s during the heat of the day. Never really seen it go past 78C. G80 can withstand temps of mid 80s I'm sure, so what gives???

 

[VirtualLarry]

I heard 80C was the cutoff for stability. Then again, I also heard things about the solder weakening around that temp (from a thread in the video forum), so it's possible that extended runs through that temp zone will eventually kill the card. You have heard about the NVidia solder bump issues, right?

 

[Insidious]

Your temps don't sound high enough to hurt anything. The automatic fan control of the drivers doesn't even start to speed up my fans until ~70-75C.

I think your lockups were just conflicts from forgetting to pause the clients. (OK, that isn't really the primary fault... it's stanford clients that need paused in the first place that is the real issue here)

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
I heard 80C was the cutoff for stability. Then again, I also heard things about the solder weakening around that temp (from a thread in the video forum), so it's possible that extended runs through that temp zone will eventually kill the card. You have heard about the NVidia solder bump issues, right?

Nope, I'm not sure if I've ever heard of the Nvidia solder bump issue.

Originally posted by: Insidious
Your temps don't sound high enough to hurt anything. The automatic fan control of the drivers doesn't even start to speed up my fans until ~70-75C.

I think your lockups were just conflicts from forgetting to pause the clients. (OK, that isn't really the primary fault... it's stanford clients that need paused in the first place that is the real issue here)

Well I have my fan running at 85% all the time.
I also recall reading that the clients have low priority on the GPU and hence shouldn't interrupt or slow down gaming and video playback.

 

[Insidious]

Originally posted by: Cheex
I also recall reading that the clients have low priority on the GPU and hence shouldn't interrupt or slow down gaming and video playback.

While it's true that the GPU client is assigned low priority in Windows, it is 100% not true that the GPU client will prioritize itself below other graphic jobs. I don't know where you read this. There is post after post in the fah forums of complaints about this and Stanford has responded that there is not a mechanism in the GPU client to make it give way to other (graphic) jobs.

-Sid

 

[Gravity]

I have not heard of the solder issue either. My cards run in the 70s. I have one 8800gt that runs at 80 pretty consistently. That ah heck won't adjust the fan speed with riva or precision. Not sure what the issue is. Also, the fan is so tiny...its laughable. I still make the bastid fold What's that burning plastic smell? Dunno...lol!!

Hell, I tried to get a copier with a risc cpu so I could make it fold.

Keep folding,

Gravity