- Dec 11, 1999
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While I've got you interested in the results of the year's first race, I'd like to discuss strategy for the rest of the year. :sneaky: Here are my thoughts on each race left:
15 March: Ides of March Challenge (PSP Sieve):
The single most important day of the year for the PrimeGrid challenge series. This year, single-day challenges more important than their length would indicate. If you crunch PrimeGrid only one day this year, get a 64-bit OS and crunch on this day! If you're stuck with a 32-bit OS, it looks like you can run 64-bit Ubuntu in VMWare!
22-30 April: Earth Day Challenge (321 LLR):
A long slog with long WUs. Each takes over a day. Let me know if you want me to remind you about these long slogs. Otherwise I might or might not do them myself, and will post stats only if I see someone else join too. The name is ironic, considering we're wasting so much electricity on finding primes.
16-21 June: PrimeGrid's Birthday/Summer Solstice Challenge (TRP Sieve):
Updated: A nice, calm sieve to kick off the summer. Very much like 321 Sieve below, but the WUs are a bit longer.
25 July: Full Moon Challenge (PPSE LLR):
The second-most important day of the year, and the second-best chance to find a prime. 64-bit OSes won't help here, but it's still a good chance to get ahead.
20-22 August: Dog Days of Summer Challenge (321 Sieve):
Alot like the Ides of March Challenge, but two days long, so less credit per day. 'Twould be nice if all the same people joined, for the duration, all with 64-bit OSes.
24 Sept-7 Oct: Calendula (PSP LLR):
A longer slog, if you can believe it, with longer WUs too. Same rules as with the Earth Day Challenge apply.
17 November: Leonids (SGS LLR):
The third-most important day of the year, and the third-best chance to find a prime. Almost identical to the Full Moon Challenge, but the WUs are a little longer and less likely to be prime.
18-21 December: Winter Solstice Challenge (PPSE Sieve):
This one's going to be interesting. And not just because I'm the main developer for the project. 32-bit OSes will get about 3/4 as much done as 64-bit OSes (assuming someone can compile BOINC on a 32-bit OS by then). Plus I may have one or more GPU apps by then. Hard to predict how this is going to go. But I'll keep you updated.
So my immediate goal is to get everyone who is running a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit processor to try installing a 64-bit OS, either directly, with Wubi, or in a VM.
But what do you all think? Are you more interested in multi-day-long WUs than I anticipated? Would you rather focus on 32-bit challenges? Let me know!
15 March: Ides of March Challenge (PSP Sieve):
The single most important day of the year for the PrimeGrid challenge series. This year, single-day challenges more important than their length would indicate. If you crunch PrimeGrid only one day this year, get a 64-bit OS and crunch on this day! If you're stuck with a 32-bit OS, it looks like you can run 64-bit Ubuntu in VMWare!
22-30 April: Earth Day Challenge (321 LLR):
A long slog with long WUs. Each takes over a day. Let me know if you want me to remind you about these long slogs. Otherwise I might or might not do them myself, and will post stats only if I see someone else join too. The name is ironic, considering we're wasting so much electricity on finding primes.
16-21 June: PrimeGrid's Birthday/Summer Solstice Challenge (TRP Sieve):
Updated: A nice, calm sieve to kick off the summer. Very much like 321 Sieve below, but the WUs are a bit longer.
25 July: Full Moon Challenge (PPSE LLR):
The second-most important day of the year, and the second-best chance to find a prime. 64-bit OSes won't help here, but it's still a good chance to get ahead.
20-22 August: Dog Days of Summer Challenge (321 Sieve):
Alot like the Ides of March Challenge, but two days long, so less credit per day. 'Twould be nice if all the same people joined, for the duration, all with 64-bit OSes.
24 Sept-7 Oct: Calendula (PSP LLR):
A longer slog, if you can believe it, with longer WUs too. Same rules as with the Earth Day Challenge apply.
17 November: Leonids (SGS LLR):
The third-most important day of the year, and the third-best chance to find a prime. Almost identical to the Full Moon Challenge, but the WUs are a little longer and less likely to be prime.
18-21 December: Winter Solstice Challenge (PPSE Sieve):
This one's going to be interesting. And not just because I'm the main developer for the project. 32-bit OSes will get about 3/4 as much done as 64-bit OSes (assuming someone can compile BOINC on a 32-bit OS by then). Plus I may have one or more GPU apps by then. Hard to predict how this is going to go. But I'll keep you updated.
So my immediate goal is to get everyone who is running a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit processor to try installing a 64-bit OS, either directly, with Wubi, or in a VM.
But what do you all think? Are you more interested in multi-day-long WUs than I anticipated? Would you rather focus on 32-bit challenges? Let me know!
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