PlayStation3 surpass PCs in Folding@Home computations

[JWMiddleton]

Link to story on PS3 performance on F@H. I was a bit surprised!

If it takes PS3 only 8~9 hours per WU and a Windows PC days, then that is VERY significant!

 

[Wolfsraider]

According to statistics released today, more than 14,000 PS3 owners are working on the distributed protein-folding project and those consoles are currently contributing more than double the work of Windows computers.

Holy mainframe :Q

 

[IeraseU]

This makes me want to try a computer with a CPU based on the Cell.

 

[Extelleron]

Imagine what it will be like after the Sunday "fold-a-thon" :Q

The PS3 client is doing really well so far, but I'm afraid the novelty will wear off for alot of people after a few days. Obviously when everyone sees F@H for the first time in their dashboard they want to try it out, but not all of them will stay with it. I've been folding almost constantly with my PS3 since the update but I don't think I'll be doing this much on a regular basis... I'm afraid my PS3 will die an early death if I keep folding 24/7. A PC might be alright to leave on 24/7 but the PS3 is in a little box and who knows how hot it gets in there.

 

[IeraseU]

Well the nice thing about F@H for the PS3 is that there is an option to have F@H come on like a screen saver during inactivity (10 - 30 minutes, user customizable). If you are uncomfortable leaving your PS3 on all the time, then just do it once in a while.......whatever amount you do contribute will help because just leaving the PS3 folding for a few hours is basically equivalent to a few days on a PC.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: IeraseU
Well the nice thing about F@H for the PS3 is that there is an option to have F@H come on like a screen saver during inactivity (10 - 30 minutes, user customizable). If you are uncomfortable leaving your PS3 on all the time, then just do it once in a while.......whatever amount you do contribute will help because just leaving the PS3 folding for a few hours is basically equivalent to a few days on a PC.

Where's the option to do that?

F@H on the PS3 is treated as an application, like any game or demo, so you have to start it up to fold. I was hoping the PS3 f@h would work in the background as long as you weren't playing a game, but apparently it doesn't.

 

[IeraseU]

Navigate to the F@H icon and push triangle. You will see the option there.

 

[CupCak3]

So far the average work unit takes around eight to nine hours to complete. Work units on Windows computers generally take several days to finish.

I don't think I could agree less this this statement. You can't really compare WU's across platforms like that. Also my C2D will spit out multiple WUs per day per core at time... just depends on what WUs I get...

But this is still great news for the project!

Extelleron: I'm not sure how much you need to worry about your dieing PS3. Alot of my own personal hardware failures have been when turning a machine on or off. Plus from what I've read, Sony has actually done very well in dealing with heat dissipation... ALOT better than the xbox 360 (and truth be told, I could almost be labeled as a 360 fanboy)

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: CupCak3

So far the average work unit takes around eight to nine hours to complete. Work units on Windows computers generally take several days to finish.

I don't think I could agree less this this statement. You can't really compare WU's across platforms like that. Also my C2D will spit out multiple WUs per day per core at time... just depends on what WUs I get...

But this is still great news for the project!

Extelleron: I'm not sure how much you need to worry about your dieing PS3. Alot of my own personal hardware failures have been when turning a machine on or off. Plus from what I've read, Sony has actually done very well in dealing with heat dissipation... ALOT better than the xbox 360 (and truth be told, I could almost be labeled as a 360 fanboy)

The PS3 is definately quieter than the 360 and I don't think it gets as hot either. It does seem that not many people have had issues with the PS3; most of the issues I've heard of were in stores where the console is kept locked up in a plastic cage... obviously these next-gen consoles need room for airflow. My 360 hasn't had any problems either, however it does get EXTREMELY hot and I'd be worried about leaving it on 24/7. Perhaps I'm just a bit paranoid when dealing with a $600 console.

I'll keep my PS3 on pretty much 24/7 for now, running F@H. It seems I'm getting close to 1,000PPD, which is much better than on my PC. I've basically given up folding on the PC... maybe it's just Vista but it runs far too slow to be worthwhile.

 

[sparks]

Originally posted by: CupCak3
[I don't think I could agree less this this statement. You can't really compare WU's across platforms like that. Also my C2D will spit out multiple WUs per day per core at time... just depends on what WUs I get...

I'm new to this, but I am running this on my Opteron 175 and the WU has 5000 frames, and its processing at 26s per frame, it will take a total of 36 hours to complete this WU.

On my PS3, the WU was 500,000 frames, processing at .06s per frame and taking a total of around 8 hours to complete the WU

I'm not sure if you can compare them directly, but I am impressed by the power of the cell processor.

 

[JWMiddleton]

Glad to see the interest here and from a lot of new ppl to the DC forum.

After I posted this info I started to wonder if they are using the GPU to get the results they are achiving. This seems to be more in-line with what the Radeon 19xx cards are doing. Any ideas?

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: JWMiddleton
Glad to see the interest here and from a lot of new ppl to the DC forum.

After I posted this info I started to wonder if they are using the GPU to get the results they are achiving. This seems to be more in-line with what the Radeon 19xx cards are doing. Any ideas?

No, they can't be using the GPU; the RSX is basically a 7800GTX with a 550MHz core. Like any nVidia 7xxx series card it won't be much use for folding.

The GPU is used to render a model of the protein on screen while you're folding.

 

[CupCak3]

Originally posted by: sparks

Originally posted by: CupCak3
[I don't think I could agree less this this statement. You can't really compare WU's across platforms like that. Also my C2D will spit out multiple WUs per day per core at time... just depends on what WUs I get...

I'm new to this, but I am running this on my Opteron 175 and the WU has 5000 frames, and its processing at 26s per frame, it will take a total of 36 hours to complete this WU.

On my PS3, the WU was 500,000 frames, processing at .06s per frame and taking a total of around 8 hours to complete the WU

I'm not sure if you can compare them directly, but I am impressed by the power of the cell processor.

It has more to do with the type and complexity of calculations each client is doing. The number of frames is just a way to split up an count the work being done. It does not necessarily have merit on the amount of work completed. Each client is optimized for certain architectures. But I do agree the PS3 is a folding beast

 

[jojolimited]

I wondering...
The Cells' floating point prowess is single precision only, double or higher it slows down quite a bit. Are the Windows based PCs doing single or double precision floating point operations? Or does it matter?

 

[GLeeM]

Originally posted by: jojolimited
I wondering...
The Cells' floating point prowess is single precision only, double or higher it slows down quite a bit. Are the Windows based PCs doing single or double precision floating point operations? Or does it matter?

There are many types of Folding@Home WUs for the PC. Some use double precision.

So far the PS3 client and the GPU client can only do one type of calculation. I don't know if they will eventually be able to all the types that the researchers at Stanford use. Some may only ever be done on PCs. So there is still need for PCs to keep folding.

 

[imported_Dekard]

now to convince my wife that I need a ps3... hrm...

 

[tatteredpotato]

The GPU client is still roughly twice as powerful as the PS3's. Also take into account many people use old PCs that aren't fast by todays standards. That kinda brings down the PC's average a bit.