New to folding

Most of you probably already noticed that i have started to fold recently. Just wanted to throw this up to say i am also adding, if able, my ps3 to the team.

Also, can someone point me to a site, or tell me easily, what all these numbers mean? How fast is good? How many points a day is decent? is there any set good or bad? etc,

any info is great, as i really am just starting out and understanding very little.

 

Hi blatherbeard,
Go to this site - http://folding.stanford.edu/English/Download#ntoc7 - scroll down to the bottom of the Other available clients listing.
There is a Playstation 3 client available for downloading. Click on the PS symbol to down load. The installation instructions and FAQs are also available for downloading.

What hardware are you using for the folding you are doing now? Operating system, CPU type and speed, amount of RAM, video card type and model.
Depending on these you may be able to run a different client to produce more points.
Which numbers are you referring to? PPD = Points per Day, WU numbers and types, etc?

Before my current set up was built, I was using 2 comps on a 24/7 basis at 100% usage on the CPU.
#1 - AMD Athlon 1.4 Ghz, XP SP2 and SP3, running the classic single core client running as a service. This did not require a user to be logged on, just the machine running.
#2 - Pentium P4 3.0 Ghz, same as above.
Between the 2, I was producing about 9600 points per Month or 300 PPD average.

 

Welcome blatherbeard. Your PS3 will be capped to 900 PPD or so I believe and as for the rest, follow lbmest's requests for info. We should be able to give you a ballpark figure with that info. However, if you have the proper specs then be prepared to learn some new stuff quickly to maximize PPD.

 

Aight, (cracks knuckles) here we go.

First, i am already folding with the ps3. Seems to be running great, already was built in to it, got it on the team easily.

Does anyone know if it goes on in the backround while you use it, or it just goes on when you actually have it running. It doesnt really say for the ps3.

Second here are my specs, ive gotten to know them well after getting here LOL

Windows Vista Basic
Dual core Pentium D E5400 processor(might be upgraded in a few weeks to an E8400 core 2 duo, if my money stops going to other things :/ )
4 Gig Ram
Ati 4850 1 gig Video card

and i do not overclock as of yet, but with the new processor i may delve into it lightly.


And yes by the "numbers" i mean like what the heck is a WU, (finally figured out ppd just before i came back lol), what do all the numbers on those graphs mean, how to read the graphs, pretty much anything that can be explained.

I try to read stuff like that and i get a headache sometimes. Im just an AC heat tech that happens to futz around with a pc LOL
(pretty well actually i think ;0) )

and as an aside, thanks for the compliment on my alias Augie. I kind of like it as well.

 

Crap!!! I really should learn how to use multi-quotes as I've only been here some 7.5 yrs.:-orolleyes :-D

First, no idea on the PS3 question.

Second, instead of getting another dual core with only an incremental increase in speed, can your motherboard support a quad instead? Way more power without hitting the wallet too much.

Third, you have a great video card and can run the GPU2 client here, Windows: V6 GPU2 (ATI 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx; nVidia) clients Windows XP/2003/Vista GPU System tray client (installer msi) Although your card is very good, it won't perform as well as the nVidias due to Stanford's software. However, it will still do better than CPU folding. This should change 'soon' according to Stanford, which could mean upto 6 months. I don't have ATI experience so I can't help you there. I could point you in the right direction though.:innocent

Don't worry about overclocking at all at this stage and considering that you're in Austin and an A/C tech, we folders call that 'heatware'!!! I'm in Canada and my two rigs throw off enough heat to keep my bedroom warm when it's cool, 32F ATM and I have my window cracked open abit ATM too! My electric heat doesn't even come on at this temperature.

A WU(work unit) is what you mentioned before, like for example 50/500. This means you have completed %10 of your WU so far, the complete WU being 500 and after it's sent, it will then be recorded properly.

I won't throw any more meat on your plate for now as you already have plenty to digest. Later.

 

By the way, you should run OCCT to check out your hardware's heat/power supply capacity first as folding to the max really pushes one's components to their top performance. I'm assuming that you didn't build your machine.

 

Downloaded and running.

You can't run both clients at the same time can you? Just wondering, since i would have lost what i had going already in the other one it looks like.

New client looks pretty impressive. More like the ps3 one i have.

Its nice to see that im making progress. Ive gone from 1745ish to over 2k just since downloading this and using the ps3.

Yeah, its a Dell with xtras LOL

Which is why i WANTED to go Quad core, but with many MANY discussions and a few threads, it was decided that it would prolly be better to go with an E8400 3.0 gig core 2 duo up from the E5400 2.7 gig dual core. With this specific chip and a decent cooler, i should get some serious performance gains according to a few ppl here, and a friend of mine who said he safely oc'ed it to 4gig and its stable. (i would never go that nutz OC'ing unless i REALLY knew what i was doing lol)

 

Looks like, from this tool its a tad underclocked ? (-0.2 overclock?)

Voltage is Vcore 1.23 ---3.3v 3.41 -------5v 5.05 -----12v 12.22(ocz 550 watt psu, self installed if you wanted to know)

Cpu1--49(50) Cpu2--48

Gpu 1 60(61)

 

Well, it's up to you but to pay for a %10(stock speed) increase in performance would not be worth it in my opinion. I have never moved up the ladder unless it was a large jump. Like when I replaced my single core with a dual because my motherboard was able to accept it, albeit with a BIOS update, and the difference was amazing!!! Like night and day, seriously that good!

When I built my quad machine, that was another big leap in performance. I could replace my current 2,4 GHz chip with a 3GHz but spending the money ain't worth for me. What would I do with the 'old' chip? Sell it for $50?

Nah, I'll keep my money to buy the next generation i7 CPU which is a big leap over the Q6600 quad. Just a case in point, my quad puts out 3.4K PPD tops(stock speed) whereas an i7 blows that out of the water with about 15K PPD(stock speed). So you would spend good money to just get a possible increase of %25 or at best %50? Hmm.

As I always say, affordable and frugal folding is the way to go. Let's see what your machine can do first after a bit of tweaking.

BTW, I don't believe the two clients would interfere with each other as long as one is CPU and the other is GPU and they get installed in different areas. Unless you received an error message saying that you had a conflict, then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Hmm... you guys have been busy.:-D
Here's some specs on the processor - http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=40478#specs

SLGTK Virtualization YES
SLB9V Virtualization NO

So depending on your processor and motherboard also you might be able to run a virtualization program. No hyper-threading so you have only the 2 physical cores available. Have to see what your PPD is for your processor before trying a different client under virtualization.

Do you have a 64-bit capable OS and motherboard to take advantage of all the RAM?

@ augie I never had problems running 4 notfreds under VMPlayer and folding on my ATI card. Had that before I switched to the 260. Also have you tried the HFM.net program for monitoring? That is sweet.

 

Ya man, you snooze, you lose.:-D

Yup, been using HFM since it came out. It's way better than FahMon, especially in a multi-machine environment.

I didn't want to lose you blatherbeard but they are both great monitoring tools to see what your machine is currently doing instead of waiting to see your posted results so you can be proactive to solve an issue. Here's what mine looks like and as you can see having all 353 pointers is a good thing as that's 20K PPD plus my 3.4K PPD from the CPU. It's not always this good as one gets different WUs all the time.

 

Me and the hardware guru's here on the site are pretty sure that because its a dell, the mobo is limited, at the very most, to an E8400. My original plan was actually to go to a quad, but most everyone here, and on my gaming site, said without talking to dell, (who would probably insist not to do it)the quad would probably not work.

Big problem is the mobo is a clone of a good mobo, but you cant get anywhere with Dells special model numbers.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=204197

original thread for my upgrade talks.

 

Better watch out, im creeping up on Y'all. Im creeping up on 6000 points already and up to 320 on the team. :grouphug

 

Go Go Go blatherbeard

Folding is fun

 

Ya, I forgot it's a Dell and not very upgradeable.(I've never owned one) I would personally put that $170 in my bank, save your pocket change and get/build a real rig while living with your Dell which is still a decent machine in all other regards.

You're getting into the specialty areas now which always costs more. Like I said before, it's your money.

 

I hear ya man. I started this foray with a pitiful pc just to get the motherboard (i used to have agp slots instead of pcie) and knew i was going at least as far as the vid card and psu. Now that that's over, i was just entertaining the processor, but then again i just got a ps3 that will play the game i wanted to specifically upgrade the processor for, and all the other games i want to play do not take as much processor, so i think i just may heed that advice.

 

should be hitting 8k tonight, only a hundred or so away.

 

9300+ and number 289 on the team.

that new client running, the old client running and my PS3. WOOT!

 

Looking good there man! WTF!!!!! (That's 'Way To Fold', just a small hint, don't use that outside of this forum).:-D

 

That's great work blatherbeard. Pretty soon we'll have the borg farm kicking in from the basement.

 

WTF Blatherbeard!

I have a couple of errant borgs I plan on setting back up This weekend. :-D

 

Get going man! What are you waiting for, summer?:-D

 

LOL. waiting for time Augie! I work retail sales, little thing called xmas and New Years just happened.... When you make 30% of your yearly profits in one month, it leaves little time for borging...

Got the heating pad on my lower back, the icepack on my shoulder.... :-D

I think my points speak for themselves..

Have a Happy New Year Folders! Keep it up! 'Fold 'em like you stole 'em.'

 

Only %30? I would have thought more. Anyways, you running a 8800GTX or some such? It's not shabby PPD at all though I know you used to do a lot better. Anyways, I'll stop hijacking the OP's thread. Sorry blatherbeard.:-o

 

I love getting hijacked! ....well at least in a thread! IRL...not so much

btw, just got back from seeing the Texans beat the Patriots, and got back to


20k points and broke the top 200 on our team.

yeah, i rock :cool

 

Just hopped over Major Attitude's folding score.

I just found that funny for some reason.

 

So do I.:innocent:-D You should have me beat in about a month.

 

Only 73000 or so points til i catch you Augie, better get to folding!

ps, got my passkey as well,so we know im me now!

just got to add it to the ps3 now

 

The passkey is a good idea, I was probably too lazy to get one when they first came out, I believe some FAH clients need it now. I'll have to read up on it again.

 

Cant add the number to the ps3 yet, and its really not "needed" yet, but it will be needed for bonus points and stuff from what ive read. Eventually youll need one, but its not necessary, YET. But if you can get one, why not.

 

You better get some more hi-powered equipment blatherbeard.
augie's points here are just a test case on some new set ups. He's over 5,500,000 points on his regular team.:cool
I'm just about ready to get some more powah on my comp. Need to configure my secret weapon and open the windows just a tad.

You need a passkey if you want the -bigadv units. You have to have at least 10 WUs done under the passkey before you can get the bonus points.

 

yeah but his points on HERE are the only ones that really matter.

he he

 

Arrgh!!! The wife shut down the ps3! ah well, one day of less productivity. But at least im over 42k

 

I do believe blatherbeard has been bitten by the folding bug.:-D

Keep repeating - More Power...More Power... PPD is supreme...PPD is supreme.

 

I do believe blatherbeard will spend every waking moment looking for ways to increase the points.

 

You're chugging along quite nicely there Mr. Blatherbeard. Just don't obsess about folding. I certainly don't.:innocent :-D

 

I was at first, and it still bums me out when i want to play a game that i cant leave it going in the backround. (well some games i can, like Torchlight, but not Star Trek Online Beta...which when i play, i play for a LOOOOONG stretch, thankfully its a beta and will end soon lol)

 

Augie you should be struck by lightning for that remark http://bestsmileys.com/weather/3.gif

 

Huh, wut??? :-D

 

Woot, broke through to 80k finally!

In the top 100!! =)

 

Even playing STO almost every day i hit 100k finally. =)

 

I know it doesnt mean much, i know its not your main folding account but i just jumped over you augie, and i mean JUST lol, 107k+

 

LOL, ya I looked at the stats just before I added a post to Halo's thread. Congrats man as you went up the ranks pretty quickly! WTF!(Way To Fold!):-D This is the only forum where this works eh? Crap, I had a smiley somewhere with that, I guess I'll make a new one.