folding@teamLFN

[Char Ell]

F@H seems to be having a problem with some completed WU's not showing up in stats. It may be related to the version 5 F@H migration for the collection and work servers that started last week I believe. I have a 511 points WU completed more than 12 hours ago and it has yet to show up on my stats page. FYI for those running the GPU client.

[Astrotoy7]

Is it just me or have users being banned gone up slightly? I saw 2 banned peepz in ahto today - Yar-Ell and a different dude

 

the conduct (and punishment of) forum rogues has no bearing on this grand project and all our collaborative efforts towards it

 

@Char - I havent noticed anything amiss here - but I admit I have not been looking much. I occasionally check the GPU client hasnt gotten stuck, but other than that, gladly let my 8800GTS continue to warm my study.... How I long for a GT300 and the delightful PPD numbers it will bring...

 

mtfbwya

[Miltiades]

Oops, haven't done a lot this last month (or more). It is really hot this time of the year, of course, and even hotter in my room. The GPU temp. is already sky high when playing a game, so I think I'll have to wait some more to start my folding again.

[Char Ell]

^^^

I think Astro might be the only team member located in the southern hemisphere and thus enjoying the heat output his graphics card generates while folding at this time of year. Of course come December we'll switch spots with him.

 

Astro,

Professor Pande posted on his Twitter account about a special stats update going through on 6/24, mostly for WU's turned in to server vsp07v. Stats show that you turned in 2,465 points and 6 WU's at the 18:00 UTC update on 2009-06-24. So unless your rig went into Super Duper Turbo Folding Mode™ from 15:00-18:00 yesterday then it looks like you were in the same boat I was. Fortunately the Pande Labs folks have gotten things back in order and all is well in folding-dom once again.

[Astrotoy7]

well spotted Char, seems like Im enjoying the warmth too much to notice the numbers

 

Also, a very hearty CONGRATULATIONS to STAR ADMIRAL for earning his folder's badge, having now surpassed 50 WU

 

A team of elite Ninja will be delivering this to you shortly

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

I wanted to offer a big congratulations to all members of folding@Team_LFN. We're coming up on the team's first anniversary and we have completed more than

[align=center]4,000,000 points[/align]

worth of folding to assist in the effort of understanding how protein folding causes diseases such as Alzheimer's and Hungtintin's. Let's keep up the great work!

[Astrotoy7]

wow! Thats a great milestone.

 

Im hoping I can bump my PPD as I have recently completed purchase of my new rig following a healthy tax return. I have mentioned that Shuttle SX58H7 before - the corei7 touting uber small form factor. Unfortunately, shuttle have NO AMD equivalent

 

Ive never been a fan of intel business policies, so as an 'intel offset' Im keeping my x2 6000+ rig for the time being. I also built an AMD based secondary htpc to keep the AMD dream alive

 

My new specs are:

*Shuttle SX58H7

*Corei7 920 2.6Ghz

*4GB DDR3 1333 Corsair XMS3

*EVGA GTX 285 1GB Superclocked (this arrives next week)

 

Im just about to chuck the smp client on , see what happens to temps n such

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

Very nice, Astro. How's the SMP folding working on the Core i7 920? I wonder if you can run the SMP and GPU clients on the rig, once you get the GTX 285 installed. That setup would crunch some serious WU's.

[Astrotoy7]

SMP + GPU works OK. I did have a little glitch but then realised you have to drop in the new 6.24 binary to get it going again.

 

Im not sure if its because of the i7 or something I havent set up properly, but basically the SMP client is taxing it at 50%. Its not that I want it to do any more (due to temps), but Im wondering why it wasnt any higher. Maybe the clients arent quaddie optimised. I remember running the SMP on my X2 6000 and getting a reported 100% CPU usage(and hence an almost non-responsive pc )

 

As far as WU are concerned, it doesnt get through as much. It does however make almost as much points as my 8800GTS.. ie. My GTS is capable of over 2000 PPD, and thats at the standard 511 P/WU.

 

The SMP gets assigned almost 2000 Pts for *one* WU, which takes a day to complete

 

Im looking forward to seeing what the 285 can do.... I'd say its simlar to chainz 280 given it has the same number of shaders(240), but just uses less juice on the 55nm Reports such as this one are indicating the 9200 PPD mark.

 

Here's a great PPD per GPU table I found at the folding forums. (courtesy of legoman666)

 

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c241/legoman666/nvidia_by_Card_then_PPD.gif

 

edit: The 285 arrived> heres some pics demosntrating its size compared to the 8800GTS, amazingly it fits into the new shuttle case, even though these x58 cases are actually smaller than the previous ones. Theyve just rearranged capacitors etc so that the long cards have room to stretch out at the back(just)

 

Looking at the PPD my 285 makes, Im deciding to retire the SMP client... all that power used/heat generated for 1 WU/day is not efficient in my book. Im better off having my 8800GTS whirring away on the other rig.

 

Tech advancements usually make things smaller....not so for graphics cards it seems. Though this thing is actually SMALLER than a 4870X2....

 

If its not a tight fit, its not a shuttle

 

Now, to watch those WUs pile on.... and not cause any house fires in the process

 

mtfbwya

[Star Admiral]

Man does that look good. I'm rather surprised it hasn't created heat problems in such a small case. At times I wish I got the GTX 285 instead of the GTS 250, but I don't like investing a lot in power supplies.

 

- Star Admiral

[Astrotoy7]

It does run warm compared to the average pc, but the shuttles are built for it(as are the evgas) This one is running no more or less warm than my P2Shuttle with the 8800GTS, and that has been folding a year with no glitches.

 

Of course I wont be running it when ambient/room temp is 42C, but that's not the case atm Using the evga precision app to raise the fan speed has allowed me to drop the temps whilst folding all teh way down to 65C(from 82C), which is somewhat amazing - but it is a noisy affair

 

Edit: Just a slight apology for those who may have noticed I havent clocked over any massive numbers since acquiring my new card. Ive been busy putting it through the paces, seeing how it holds up in various games. So far it is running Assassins Creed, Bioshock, Mass Effect at 2500 x 1600 with max effects at great framerates. (1600p displays at 60Hz cant display over 60fps anyway) I actually dont have my copy of crysis atm, so havent had a chance to give that a go, but will get around to it maybe after I am done with Assassin Creed 2 which comes out in November IIRC.

 

A word of warning for anyone thinking about a 200 series card. Apparently this is an issue which started appearing more prevalently since 8800GT and their AMD equivalent, and Im not sure if chainz ever noticed it with his 280. When these cards are under a high or irregular load, if they have the old fashioned coil capacitors, these capacitors can make a squealing sound. Its an unusual sound, sort of like a muffled digital watch beep is the best way I can describe it. Once you get attuned to this soundm you start noticing it in many electrical devices, the easiest to spot are fridges and TVs

 

If its this light squealing, and not a loud one, it apparently wont affect performance, though manufacturers do give the option to RMA. Right now, mine only makes the squeal/beep when its folding, so I dont notice it much as Im not around the pc when it does that. Ive run it on those aforementioned games for hours and never gotten a peep. As the card I have is factory OCd, if you dial it down to a reference clock speed (570MHz) it diminishes the beep even further. I was considering a RMA, but as long as its only when folding, can manage.

 

Some nvidia and ATI cards are now coming out with solid state capacitors, one of which is MSIs lightning series 260, which has eliminated this squeal. Lets only hope that these manufacturers have learned from it and implement the necessary changes in thenext gen of cards

I dont think its unreasonable to think that these companies should take care of the 'high performance' fans, who are mainly the ones who notice and report it. I also cant help but think some closer collaboration with nvidia and the designers of the f@H GPU client could sort this out.

 

The above problem has also been identified to affect those with PSUs that dont cut the mustard. So if anyone is thinking about such a card, make sure you have a decent PSU to match, not just from a wattage perspective but the amps on the 12V rails. As you can see from the pic, these cards need 2 of those pci-e power connectors, so you need a psu that can manage that rather than trying to convert old school 4 pin lines and finding it cant deliver the amps needed.

 

Now, back to Assassins Creed a little while longer, then more folding on the weekend I promise

 

mtfbwya

[Astrotoy7]

The 285 has been doing a bit more folding. I think I am becoming immune to that noise I did actually start an RMA on my card, but not sure whether to proceed, sell it, keep it, or get a 295.... who knows I'll decide in the next cpl of days.

 

Here's some actually useful/interesting stuff:

 

Some dude has built a folding farm with 23 GTX 295s, no less.. zOMG = Power Bills

(This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.)

 

FahMon has been misbehaving for me recently, Ive come across FahSpy(which I think tk102 may have mentioned earlier on).

 

Its pretty snazzy. I want to test it over a network(which was where Fahmon was giving me grief)

 

 

You can get it from the folding forums

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

Wow. So I guess it's a bit of a mixed bag for the GTX 285 when it comes to folding performance then. I had no idea about the sound issue from coil capacitor versus solid state. Is there any possibility that EVGA will follow MSI's lead and switch the current cards to solid state before too long?

[Astrotoy7]

The EVGA 295 Single PCB 295 has got solid state capacitors.

 

Im in the very rare position ofhaving the cash to get one. I think I'll go for it, and RMA the 285, then sell it. Im also likely to sell off the 8800GTS eventually.

 

Edit: got one.

Noise:

That coil whine is not there. Its not dead silent - but I dont think youre going to get that from the 295, shuttle case or not

 

 

Interestingly enough - the 295 single PCB runs cooler than the 285 when folding. Currently its at 54C \o/ in that case. I was initially flabbergasted, but looking at the size of the centrally located fan on the 295 PCB.... this isnt a surprise at all actually...

 

 

Now I need to find out how to fold with both GPUs.... but want to test gaming. Ive already had a quick play of Bioshock, Mass Effect and Assassins Creed... wow! I thought it looked good on the 285. In the interim the 285 is being trialled by a friend(who doesnt fold). He'll probably buy it off me, otherwise it gets fleabayed.

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

LOL. You don't waste any time, do you Astro? Looking forward to your future posts about how folding on the GTX 295 works. And at least now you don't have to worry about the extra noise from the coiled capacitors.

[Astrotoy7]

lolz... it might look like fun, but it hasnt been. Once everything settles down and I start playing and folding properly, things will be better.

 

I must admit , Im not having much luck getting both GPUs to fold, but there is much reading to be done... If only F@H wrote a multi gpu optimised client rather than forcing us into workarounds...

 

Anyway, Im hoping this 295 will last me a year. Im quite certain the second the GT300 comes out theyll be worth less than half the kings ransom I paid today

 

mtfbwya

[Astrotoy7]

A quick update re- folding on the GTX 295 >> so far Ive been really impresssed with temps. Running the fan at 65% load, my folding temps have not gone over 60C ! \o/

 

I am still on single GPU - and gathered alot of info about multi GPU setups. Its not as easy on mine because I dont have an analogue (component) out and I actually havent encountered anyone that is doing it on an EVGA co-op yet (though I havent looked strenously)

 

I have managed to set up two clients simultaneously but the second core keeps getting an EUE

 

Im also very please about the lack of coil whine, even when I dial up clocks

 

Ive come across some info about advanced flags that address this type of thing and will give them a go on the weekend. I'd be handy to have for teamLFN to get that 13-14000+ PPD that other people are getting with this card

 

My friend has bought my 285. He doesnt fold so coil whine isnt an issue for him). Hence, I now have a GTX 275 sitting unopened in my cupboard (he was originally going to use that) - not sure what to do with it....

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

So the multi-GPU instructions here aren't working for you? Maybe they only work for two GPU cards as opposed to two GPU's on one card?

[Astrotoy7]

Ive had noluck with those instructions... I have found one report of someone who has successfully done this. There is an attached screenie so it could be credible. I think Im going to have to go register at that joint at pester him

 

mtfbwya

[Astrotoy7]

Just an update re-the 295(co-op) for anyone interested :

 

Fiddling around with shader clocks Ive managed to get the 295 up to 7500 PPD - still on one core though Im pretty sure the reason my card has proven trickier to setup is because unlike other 295s, the co-op doesnt have an analogue input, which makes it hard to get the card to decide which GPU does what. Even plugging in two monitors, one via vga analogue converter doesnt do the trick atm There must be something specific to the co-op edition that Im missing. Im still reading up on it, but Im not hugely fussed. Right now I am doing more gaming on it than anything else

 

I have left it on for long spells on the weekends with fan at 70% - at this the temps reached 65-70, which was pretty good considering the case its in

 

Interesting to read that nvidia has plans to implement SLI technology on the folding @home client - this was stated as far back as November last year - but still hasnt come to fruition(as far as I can tell). In F@H, multi GPU folding requires you switch SLI off in the nvidia control panel, which is a pain as you need to remember to switch it back on if you want to play a game or do some modelling/editing etc.

 

The BOINC project(another distributed computing client developed by Berkeley) have recently implemented SLI support into their client, so hopefully f@h wont be too far behind. Until then, 7500 PPD might have to do...unless I come across some instructions that actually work for me and my 295.

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

That is disappointing news. I have zero experience with dual-GPU cards but I didn't think there would be much difference to the OS and applications between a card with two PCB's and one where both GPU's are on one PCB. Hopefully F@H will get the GPU client to work with SLI in the near future though and make this a moot issue for you.

[Astrotoy7]

lolz.... its most likely that Im doing something wrong Ive come across a couple of folks now multi gpu folding with the co-op. Still, itd be better if nvidia and stanford enable SLI support >> edit: 190.38 drivers by nvidia have tweaked CUDA support over multi-gpu, which means that a multi-gpu setup doesnt need SLI off, which is handy if youre a gamer

 

Despite this, FAH actually still isnt utilising SLI properly, which according to folding forum, theyre still working on. Its a bit of a two edged sword really, even if I get two cores going, things will definitely heat up in the shuttle breadbox There is a new experimental core that cycles GPUs to deal with heat issues.

 

I'll leave it mix around in my brain a couple of days and revisit. Im working on a friends m-atx build atm which has proved a PITA of epic proportions >> but I wont bore you about that here

 

mtfbwya

[Canderis]

Hi guys, just thought Id join in:thmbup1:

[Astrotoy7]

welcome canderis! glad to have you on board

 

mtfbwya

[Char Ell]

Yes, welcome Canderis. It's always great to get a new team member.

 

What name will you be folding under?

 

Astro,

Looking forward to hearing how folding on both GPU's of your GTX 295 turns out. I was reading bit-tech's guide for setting up multiple GPU clients and it doesn't mention any differences in setting up multiple GPU clients for dual GPU cards and multiple GPU cards.

 

One thing I recently discovered was that in order to run multiple GPU clients all GPU's must have the same number of stream processors. I know that isn't a problem for you but I was planning on keeping my current 9800 GTX+ whenever I buy a new graphics card and using the 9800 GTX+ as a physics processor for games and for folding. As I'm sure my next graphics card will have more stream processors than my 9800 GTX+ it looks like the folding aspect of my plan isn't going to work out unless NVIDIA and/or F@H come up with something to fix this.