Thinking of joining the Folding@Home project..

[Cuhulainn]

The whole distributed computing thing is new to me, but it is an incredible idea and folding seems like the best intentioned of all the projects (no disrespect to those hunting for aliens or whatever ), and I'd have to give my support to Team Anandtech, as I wouldn't have been able to get through my first build (see below) without the articles and forums here.

I'm just a little concerned about the long term effects on my system.. it is a 24/7 setup and having the processor run @ 100% all the time is a bit distressing to me. Can you have it run at lower levels? My temps are about 49-50c under full load, which (from what I understand) would lower the useful life of the processor greatly. The temps are under the max of 61c that Intel states, but much higher that what it would run at stock, idle. Can anyone comment on these concerns?

I'd appreciate any input!

I've got some time to think about it while I wait for my internet to get hooked up..

 

[smopoim86]

I have my prescott running 24/7...... it stays around 57, it should be good for 10 years at that temp

 

[FallenHero]

You can run at a lower cpu usage if you want. I run mine at 100% because 49C under load isn't anything. The problem with processors and their lifespans occur when there is not adaquete cooling and the temp jumps up above 60C+ for the new intel chips. Besides, its not gonna wear it out to the point where you would be FORCED to upgrade every 2 years. By the time the processor wears out, your computer would be so out of date I highly doubt you could stand it (looking at your current specs at least.) Try it out and put cpu usage at 50%, or only run it on one core at 100%...up to you. Every little bit helps.

 

[Spacehead]

I'm no CPU expert, but i ran SETI Classic for years on Celeron, Pentium, & AMD XP series CPUs with no problems.

If the temps worry you, with F@H you can set the percentage of CPU to run at... at least with the CLI service install anyway.

I'm sure others here will verify this with their own experiences.

Welcome to the TeAm!

8b) CPU usage requested (5-100)- Lets you allocate a percentage of your CPU to F@H, useful if you want to run two DC projects at the same time or want to try controlling heat output from your CPU.

From MDE's setup guide

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

Ditto. On a handful of my Folding systems, I am very concerned about the temps (some older P4's and such). I have some boxes running at 60% CPU on the most troublesome, and I actually only top out at 85%, probably just because I can. I did run Seti Classic on some boxes, and they ended up doing just fine after well over a year at 100%.

 

[Crazee]

I have run DC on a variety of processors and projects all at full CPU usage 24/7 for almost 6 years. In that time I have never had a processor end prematurely. They would all still be going if I hadn't decided to upgrade them due to performance.

 

[GLeeM]

Welcome to the TeAm

I have to agree with everyone else about a CPU going bad, it will be obsolete before it dies. Although everyone probably does a little better job cleaning case, fans, heatsinks more often when running DC.

Seems like power supplies and other things go before the CPU.

The F@H console client can easily be set to whatever percent usage you want. It is mostly used by people who notice a bit of a slowdown of their computer when running F@H. I read somewhere that you won't notice F@H running when it is set to 89% CPU usage.

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

Originally posted by: GLeeM
Seems like power supplies and other things go before the CPU.

I wholeheartedly second that. Just replaced a PSU on my work rig. The 12V rail just couldn't carry its weight anymore.

 

[petrusbroder]

Just my 2 cents:
I have now 20 comps doing DC. Not one of them has had a "fried" or failed CPU. I run them at 100% usage for 24/7, and the oldest is running for more than 6 years ...
The only problems I have had was 5 PSUs failing, one motherboard failing (and as a condequence the CPU and RAM was damaged), and 3 harddisk drives failing.
I perform maintenence at least twice a year: clean out all dust, clean the fans, reseat the cards.
Some of the comps are overclocked and I have had no problems with those either, OTOH that may be due to the fact that no computer is overclocked more than 25%, and most only 18 - 20%. I could of course push it more but then other problems occur (instability or crunching errors).