some questions about dist. computing.

[mwmorph]

i am really looking forward to dist computing(just joined 3 anandtech teams!). my gaming rig is listed in my rigs link in sig, but will running dist computing adversely affect gaming performance? amd64 2.4ghz 256k chache, 1gig ram

also, i plan to install boinc on a 466mhz 128kb chache celly with 256mb ram, win98 sitting around, but it's also my mother's main internet pc. will running rosetta and seti@H inversely affect typing and internet surfing on an already slow machine.

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
i am really looking forward to dist computing(just joined 3 anandtech teams!). my gaming rig is listed in my rigs link in sig, but will running dist computing adversely affect gaming performance? amd64 2.4ghz 256k chache, 1gig ram.

In most cases no.

what video card are you using?

I say no because most projects scale back a few moments after another app is started.
If you have a recent video card then that helps too.

Originally posted by: mwmorph
also, i plan to install boinc on a 466mhz 128kb chache celly with 256mb ram, win98 sitting around, but it's also my mother's main internet pc. will running rosetta and seti@H inversely affect typing and internet surfing on an already slow machine.

It may, depends on how much the cpu is utilized, but again, most projects scale back when an app is started. you can adjust most projects to "idle" and boinc can be set to run only during the hours you know you won't be on the computer.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Wolfsraider

Originally posted by: mwmorph
i am really looking forward to dist computing(just joined 3 anandtech teams!). my gaming rig is listed in my rigs link in sig, but will running dist computing adversely affect gaming performance? amd64 2.4ghz 256k chache, 1gig ram.

In most cases no.

what video card are you using?

I say no because most projects scale back a few moments after another app is started.
If you have a recent video card then that helps too.

Originally posted by: mwmorph
also, i plan to install boinc on a 466mhz 128kb chache celly with 256mb ram, win98 sitting around, but it's also my mother's main internet pc. will running rosetta and seti@H inversely affect typing and internet surfing on an already slow machine.

It may, depends on how much the cpu is utilized, but again, most projects scale back when an app is started. you can adjust most projects to "idle" and boinc can be set to run only during the hours you know you won't be on the computer.

i have a 9800xt.

can you answer why only 1 wil lrun? Seti is running but rosetta wont run. only seti is listed under work.

 

[Wolfsraider]

If I remember correctly you can set it to run more than one project but only one at a time. p4 with ht might be able to run more than one at a time though.

That 9800 will do fine. you should not see slowdowns. If you do you might make sure all drivers are up to date, and make sure the projects priority is set to idle.

 

[Wolfsraider]

Forgive my manners...

Welcome to the teAm mwmorph

 

[BlackMountainCow]

Welcome to the TeAm mwmorph!!

:beer::beer:

Got any more questions? Just ask!


BTW: In my opinion, the 466 MHz Celeron is a tough decision to even crunch on. As it is pretty slow and only has 256 MB of RAM, it won't give you much credit at all in the stats. If you want to do it for the pure science of the project, that's good. But also do have in mind the cost and benefit factor. I mean, the PC will consume electrical power but only give few results.

In addition to that, I think that it'll actually affect the computer. Some BOINC projects have a pretty significant memory footprint, up to 150 MB (rosetta@home) and more, so there isn't much left for your mother's applications. Though, some projects can be configured to be removed from RAM while suspended.

I guess some smaller projects like DPAD, F@H (without the big WUs) or even FaD are - in my opinion - more suitesd for that kind of PC than BOINC projects.

My two cents.

 

[mrwizer]

Einstein is also pretty easy on memory, only using under 10 megs. Although on the celey, it would take quite some time to finish a WU. On my 1.7 P4, it takes 15 hours...

Welcome to the team!

 

[mwmorph]

hmm...
alright then. my boinc for rosetta is still not working right though. it hangs on the daowloading phase under work. i changed the min to 0.0005 and then to 1 with no avail. work distribution is 5% for 1 and 50% for the other. F@H is also set at 50% cpu use max. Seti and F@H are crunching away well though F@H when it was working at 100% can slow own my pc somewhat.

 

[GLeeM]

Did you choose deadlineless WUs when you configured F@H?

A computer of that speed would need to do them even if F@H was running at 100%. Each WU has a deadline and if you do not meet it you will not get any points when it is sent in. (the deadline is necessary to keep the project moving along in a timely fashion). If you could look at the name of the protein and how long each frame (percent) is taking (from the fahlog.txt file) I could look up the deadline and we could see if you will finish it in time.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: GLeeM
Did you choose deadlineless WUs when you configured F@H?

A computer of that speed would need to do them even if F@H was running at 100%. Each WU has a deadline and if you do not meet it you will not get any points when it is sent in. (the deadline is necessary to keep the project moving along in a timely fashion). If you could look at the name of the protein and how long each frame (percent) is taking (from the fahlog.txt file) I could look up the deadline and we could see if you will finish it in time.

i got it to finally work. given up on doing it on a celly though. probably just do it on my home a64. work pc has HT but all i have is a a limited account.