newbie here, want to get into DC

[VirtualLarry]

So I've got a 2.8Ghz C2D sitting here not doing much, unless I'm shrinking a DVD.
Would like to try some of these projects, not sure which one I want to try, except that I don't believe in aliens, and don't want to try SETI@Home, seems like a waste to me.
But something with more concrete science, with a predictable goal, would be nice.
I used to do the Prime95 DC thing back when I was on dialup. Was thinking about trying Rosetta@home. Prime95 seemed simpler to set up than these modern projects though.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Welcome to DC. And it might seem complicated when you are looking at it from the outside, but you get used to it quick. You can participate in a project like DPAD that computes more efficient parts for particle accelerators. Beginning in the project is a simple matter of downloading the program and running it. The only thing you have to setup is your name so that it knows who to give credits to.

Then there are the BOINC projects. With BOINC, there are tons of different projects to choose from, and it is a little bit more complicated because of that. But it basically consists of download & installing the BOINC program, and then finding a project that you are interested in. Once you find a project that you like, you add it to the BOINC program (by referring to the projects URL) and then it's fire and forget. Until you get addicted, and you try to assimilate other machines.

You also might want to give this thread a look, as there are a lot of questions that new members asked in there. By all means, let us know if we can help you with anything or answer any questions.

EDIT: By the way here is a list of BOINC projects that is very organized, and will give you a summary of the projects...

 

[BlackMountainCow]

Welcome VirtualLarry! :beer:

As FMC already wrote, BOINC seems more complicated, but once you know how to use it, is makes handling different projects so much more easy. But even if you don't like BOINC, there are still other projects like SeventeenOrBust, Folding@Home or DPAD. Most importantly: don't get discouraged if run into troubles; just ask and we'll help you as best as we can.

 

[The Borg]

Welcome.

Just a word of warning This stuff gets VERY addictive. :thumbsup:

 

[TallBill]

Welcome aboard. If math interests you seventeenorbust has found 10 of 17 of the primes that are being searched for and is easy to set up. For a lot of people the math projects are uninteresting. But there are a crapload of science boinc projects that are fairly easy to get going as well.

 

[Smoke]

Hello there VirtualLarry!

Looking forward to having you join the "CRUNCH" with us on the TeAm.

:thumbsup:

 

[Assimilator1]

Originally posted by: The Borg
Welcome.

Just a word of warning This stuff gets VERY addictive. :thumbsup:

Shhh you're not supposed to tell him that yet

Welcome VirtualLarry
Oh & I'll make sure the aliens send you a postcard when we find them
I hope you find a project to your liking ,GL
Btw ,just become a C2D owner myself ,I still can't believe how much cooler & more power efficient (as well as faster) it is to my old XPM!

 

[RaySun2Be]

Welcome VirtualLarry!

Just want to repeat what everyone else has said, there are a lot of DC projects now, take some time, check them out, and run the ones that fit your interests and desires.

Feel free to post any questions and concerns, and someone will be along to help out.

This is a great team, mainly due to the great people that put so much into DC.

Welcome to Team Anandtech! :thumbsup:

 

[GLeeM]

Welcome to the TeAm

 

[TallBill]

We're officially going for a record of emoticons :Q in this thread :beer:

 

[Shooks]

:beer:

 

[VirtualLarry]

What's the difference between Rosetta and Folding? Aren't both of them involved in protein folding?

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
What's the difference between Rosetta and Folding? Aren't both of them involved in protein folding?

I'm wondering the difference between all the protein ones.. Rosetta, Predictor, Folding, etc. Can anyone sum up the differences?

 

[Assimilator1]

I'm not a F@H or R@H guru but I believe that they are targetting different diseases ,I'm sure a guru will step in soon & give a better answer

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: TallBill
We're officially going for a record of emoticons :Q in this thread :beer: </end quote></div>

lol ,don't I'm already hooked on emoticons!

 

[Wolfie]

DON'T DO IT!

You start to DC and then you meet new friends here and then you visit the forums and stats more often then not. Then you just want to find old computers just to run your favorite DC program. You always want more, more, more!!!! Then, you realize that you have been doing it for 8 or 9 years and wonder were the time has gone.

haha Actually, it is a lot of fun. I have met a lot of wonderfull people over the last 9 years and needless to say, I wouldn't regret doing it for so long. Welcome and like others have said, look around, check out all the projects, and have fun. We are all here to help.

 

[Wolfie]

Gee, I hope i didn't scare em away. I just hope he read past the first paragraph. heh

 

[Assimilator1]

Hey aren't any of the R@H or F@H folks going to answer their questions?

 

[Neurodog]

Here are some of the disease that Rosetta are helping with:

HIV, Malaria, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Cancer,Prostate Cancer


And here is what Folding are helping:

Alzheimer's Disease, Cancer, Huntington's Disease,
Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Parkinson's Disease,
Ribosome & antibiotics

 

[Assimilator1]

Thanks Neurodog
Do you know if on the overlapping areas (Alzheimer's Disease & Cancer) they are covering different aspects?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Another stupid question - is there a way to figure out how many CPU cores that various projects will occupy? For example, if I have two cores, obviously I want to use both of them to crunch, so if one project only runs on one core, I would want to find another project to run on the other.

So far, I think I want to run Rosetta@Home and/or SeventeenOrBust.

Can anyone tell me if one of those projects is dual-core, or should I run both of them?

 

[Coquito]

You can set SoB when doing a service installation.

Easiest project I've ever run, aside from Seti Classic.

 

[TallBill]

You can set both projects to run dual core by themselves, one core each, or dual core each. If you do the last option you'll see 2 threads for each project getting 25% cpu utilization each.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Ok, I finally decided to use both of my cores to crunch SoB. One interesting thing that I noticed, that is an artifact of the shared L2 cache, is that with two threads, I'm not getting 2x the output. I got 4.9Mcems with a single thread, but only 2x3.6Mcems with dual-core. I'm using a E4400, with only 2MB L2 cache. Surely a 4MB cache CPU would run better. Can't wait for Penryn-based quad-core CPUs. 12MB L2 cache!

 

[Amaroque]

You will find out that the DC fourm is the frendliest fourm on all of AT also!

 

[Assimilator1]

4 cores & 12MB cache!:Q ,wow!,I'll have 2 of them