F@H - Tale of the Tape!

Folding@Home Distributed Computing, Stanford University ^ | June 10, 2012 | Texas Booster

[texas booster]

It has been a while since our last Free Republic Folding@Home update.

The team has seen growth in the past couple of years as contributors have added high performance GPUs from NVidia and AMD/ATI, and same consoles such as the PS3.

The team started in 2001 with a few volunteers, and grew dramatically in 2005 as we started actually posting regular threads.

As we grew from a Top 2000 team to a Top 100 team, we attracted the attention of DU. After a couple of years of name calling, they realized that merely boasting that you can beat the opposition means nothing if you can't back it up. They float in the Top 300 due to the strength of two primary folders. Still, they have folded for nearly 8 years and we thank them for that.

Today the FR team 36120 folds about 330 individual computers, down from our peak of about 1,800 systems. However, the team is currently averaging 250,000 ppd, many times greater than we have ever accomplished.

If you have a computer running Windows, Linux or OS X, or a PS3, then you can start folding very quickly. Look here for starting instructions:

Folding@Home Downloads

Why would you fold? There are multiple distributed computing groups searching for everything from cryptography to SETI. I started folding after helping in the original Genome@Home project, as scientists worked to complete the first sequencing of the human genome.

Now I fold to advance the science of treating diseases. A partial list of diseases that the project has worked on include:

Alzheimer's Disease

Mad Cow (BSE)

CJD

ALS

Huntington's Disease

Parkinson's Disease

and many cancers

When I was younger I thought that I could help find a cure for my parents' diseases. Now I fold to find a cure for the diseases that currently or may inflict me, and one day may inflict my children.

Read the thread and PLEASE ask questions. I will try to answer all questions that are posted.

Tuesday I head over to InfoCOMM 2012, so if some of the other folders can help out I would really appreciate it.

If we could reach 100 active folders and 1000 systems, we would see our output double. While we fold to cure diseases, a race to the top is always fun.

[texas booster]

Folding@Home FAQ for new users:

What is Folding@Home? A Stanford University project to find out how proteins fold.

Why it's important: Proteins folding wrong causes all kinds of diseases, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and forms of cancer. Folding@Home uses novel computational methods and large scale distributed computing, to simulate timescales thousands to millions of times longer than previously achieved. Through Folding@home, scientists now have the horsepower to study the mechanics of protein folding. With its ability to share the workload among hundred of thousands of computers economically, Folding@home can help scientists understand how proteins snap, or don't, into their predestined shapes - and may help to explain the origins of diseases such as Alzheimer's and apparently unrelated diseases. We're fueling research that could end all that.

How does it work?: You download a safe, tested program (see link below) that is certified by Stanford University. It gets work from Stanford, runs calculations using your spare computer power, and sends the results back to the University.

Is it safe? Yes! Folding@Home rarely effects computer performance in any way and won't compromise your privacy in any way. It only uses the computing power you aren't using so it doesn't slow down other programs.

How do I get started folding for Team FreeRepublic?:
1.) Download the folding program from Stanford University's folding download page (Folding@home Client Download). Type in your desired user-name.
2.) Type in 36120 for the team number. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - if you get the number wrong, you won't be folding for team FreeRepublic!
3.) The third question asks, "Launch automatically at machine startup, installing this as a service?" - We recommend you answer YES. Otherwise you will have to manually start the program after every reboot.

How can my computer help? Even if they were given exclusive access to all of the world's supercomputers, Stanford still wouldn't have as much processing power as they get from the supercluster of people's desktop systems Folding@home relies on. Modern supercomputers are essentially a cluster of hundreds of processors linked by fast networking. But Stanford needed the power of hundreds of thousands of processors, not just hundreds.

There's no reason to not get involved! It's free, easy, and you can know you're helping every minute without lifting a finger.

*******************************************

List of Relevant Folding Links

The Inner Life of a Cell

Folding@home Client Download

FreeRepublic.com Folder Stats

Extreme Overclockers Stats for FreeRepublic

Folding@home New Forum

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Competition (Not!!) Dummies ..Daily Kos

Dummie Folding Threads #7 #8 #9#10#11 #12

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Other Useful Stuff - Links

How much are those work units worth? And what are they?
All Projects Listed

Point Summary for Workunits

Fahmon Third Party Monitoring Software

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Past FreeRepublic Folding threads

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #46 #47 #48 #49 #50 #51 #52

[texas booster]

Starting a new Folding@Home thread.

Please drop by and restart your folding on your new systems.

Thanks!

[texas booster]

Starting a new Folding@Home thread.

Please drop by and restart your folding on your new systems.

Thanks!

[texas booster]

Starting another Folding@Home thread.

Please come on over and restart your folding!

Thanks!

[texas booster]

Starting a new F@H thread.

Please drop by and tell us how you became our top folder.

15,000,000 points!

[martin_fierro]

Dude, you need to have an iPad/iPhone/android app.

[Bob]

Is there a way to “resurrect” a long-dormant account? It’s been about forever and I’ve forgotten my user name. (I do remember having been on the FR team.)

[wastedyears]

I usually turn off my computer and PS3 when I’m not using them; due to where I live having been built a while ago, I also don’t trust that I could get enough power to run a small computer, PS3, small TV, and air conditioner in my room when I’m also on the same breaker as the living room, which has a big A/C, big TV, and a computer.

Would Folding@Home get screwed up when I unplug either system? I unplug one when I want to use the other so I don’t draw too much power.

[dglang]

I just added my AMD 1090 BE 6 core processor to the task.

My machine is now showing ALL 6 cores running at 100%

I once had 10 computers runnung the United Devices cancer research program a few years ago and I was considering rtying another Disributed processing type task.

[texas booster]

Ain't that the truth?

I would imagine that the new chips would support a decent amount of folding.

Thanks for folding the regular way.

[texas booster]

yes. Look at the links that show the 50+ previous threads, or look at the F@H stats and see if you recognize your name.

You take up where you left off.

[texas booster]

The PS3 uses the least power to fold. Turn it on, load it from the Sony store and enter Team 36120.

Please use your FReep name, so I have a chance to track you and help out.

Let it run 24/7 when you are gone and watch the results pile up. The PS3 will use about 2.3 amps per hour when running at full blast.

Check your electric bill and see if you even notice the difference.

[RebelTex]

‘bout time we had a FAH thread, LOL.

I’ve managed to move up the team ranks:
Rank: 89
Name: RebelTex
Points: 299558
Work Units: 1117

My system is currently working on: Project: 10722 (Run 0, Clone 7075, Gen 20), point value 2244 (this will take me over 300,000 points - YEAH!), 79% completed.

I thought I’d never break into the top 100, but eventually it happened. Keep the faith.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks texas booster, long time no hear from.

[texas booster]

Thank you very much!

I have joined a few DC projects but keep coming back to F@H.

I run an Intel i7-920 with an NVidia GTS450. The GPU only folds part time but it provides the most points per kWh.

I think that I have either 3 cores or 7 cores folding, with the other feeding the GPU.

[texas booster]

Did you ever get a new video card from NVidia or ATI?

Those really blow the doors off CPU folding. Most of our highest point members use multiple GPUs to push a lot of projects through the pipeline.

I still fold many CPU units, since they handle a broad spectrum of projects that are broader than current GPU programming will allow.

[texas booster]

Work and our first granddaughter have provided plenty of excuses to postpone new threads.

I just decided to spend a couple of hours updating F@H threads, and did it tonight.

[texas booster]

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userpage&teamnum=36120&username=martin_fierro

Hey, toss one of your CPUs at F@H.

You get all your old points back ... ;)

[brityank]

Greetings, TB -

Still plugging away, but like me the system has slowed down some. I still leave my XP system running 24/7 so it's helping out. Thanks for keeping us focused on the prize - assisting in the creation of the scientific research necessary to any resultant cure for some very destructive diseases. Cheers!

[A.Hun]

Thanks for the ping. I haven’t run FAH for a couple of years...just downloaded it and installed it on my current computer.

Was able to sign up on my old screen name and the FR team with no problem.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[laker_dad]

I recently broke into the top 100 list of the group! My HP desktop running Windows 7 folds 24/7, and I just starting folding on the wife’s old laptop with Ubuntu Linux.

[Clara Lou]

Actually, I just found my forgotten name on this list: http://vspx27.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=36120

[Clara Lou]

OK, I’m back up and running under my FR name. However, my system has changed: I’m now Win 7 (x86 version) instead of XP. I find that FAH is bogging down Firefox (so I assume it’s bogging down everything) because it’s not bogged down when I pause FAH. What setting do you think I need to diddle with?

[ken in texas]

Thanks for the update. I stopped a while back when a new version of the client started acting up. Maybe it’s about time to check the latest version and see how it works out.

[HangThemHigh]

Texas, thanks for taking your time posting this, I’ve been Folding steadily, but I was starting to think about deleting FAH from my machines.

I have never gotten the GPU Folder to work, my video cards just aren’t powerful enough to make a real difference and I never could get the GPU Folder to run as a service.

I’ve still managed to accumulate 5M+ points using the CPU Folders on 3 machines. The last time I looked at my score, it was somewhere over 2M.

I probably should look to see if there have been improvements or changes to the setup that I should incorporate.

[HangThemHigh]

I’ve never had F@H bog down even the slowest machine. There may be some other settings to check. I have had a couple of machines that would overheat at 100% of CPU that required some limits.

In general, in setup you can limit the percentage of CPU time or the number of cores to use on a multicore machine.

Its been a while since I did it, maybe others could chime in with more help. If we knew a little about your setup, it would be easier to give precise answers.

[FrogMom]

I’m still folding! Have moved up from 127 to 86 in our team.

[UB355]

It’s kind of fun to participate as I did in SETI at home. Other then wasting electricity anybody document any of these projects accomplishing anything worhwhile?

[Clara Lou]

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor

From FAH’s “System Info” tab
Memory: 2.00 GiB
Free memory: 901.86MiB

Opened programs are quite bogged down until I pause FAH. Then, everything returns to normal.

[RebelTex]

“Did you ever get a new video card from NVidia or ATI?”

Nope, last time I tried, (a couple of years ago), the card fried the motherboard (or CPU, don’t know which). Had to get a new system which is folding fine - not gonna try messin’ with it, lol.

Haven’t seen you on the state board in a long time. Maybe you could get a few more folders there.

FReegards,
RT

[Clara Lou]

I forgot:
My video card is NVidia GeForce 9500 GT

[texas booster]

Thank you!

The F@H team is working to rewrite the code to make it faster. I stuck a cheaper NVidia into an old system and it pumps out a few hundred points per day.

Wait about 4 months and you may get to reinstall it all, for a decent speed boost.

[texas booster]

http://folding.stanford.edu/English/Science

While SETI was fun, the goals of F@H are more modest - push the boundaries of biomedical science in a real and tangible way.

The link above has a list of the 96 currently published peer-reviewed papers.

At some point, each person makes their choice about the balance between their electric bill and folding.

I will gladly donate $10 per month in power if one day I know that my efforts helped save someone’s loved one.

[texas booster]

It's amazing the number of older systems that you can resurrect with Linux. Hardware is perfectly fine, once dusted, but it just won't handle modern bloatware.

[texas booster]

Which version of F@H?

Try lowering the utilization percentage for F@H to 70% or so.

I now run only the console version. It hides itself and I don't even notice it - and I am running 7 independent F@H cores.

The only time I ever see a conflict is when I play certain old games that need a DOSbox. Then I pause the GPU folding.

[brityank]

Hi UB =

If you go to F@H's site you'll find more info, such as the following:

Why to fold

• About the Science of Folding@home
• Diseases Being Studied
• Achievements and Awards
• Project Results and Publications

Go browse around - you can also grab the latest client for your system at the site.

Happy Folding!

... ... Free Republic Folders - A Tribute to Ronald Reagan ... ...

[brityank]

Thanks for the info.

I try to hit the Folding Forum every so often, but can get lost there digging through the voluminous info they’ve culled from around the world. It truly is a world-wide undertaking. Cheers.

[Excellence]

I was under the impression that gamers had solved the folding conundrum. No?

[Clara Lou]

I’m using FAH version 7.1.52 that I just downloaded.

Strange: After running 20%+ of the units on both cores, everything is suddenly now normal. No lag. Crazy. Problem solved, I guess. I hope.

[HangThemHigh]

I’ve never got the GPU folder to work, so I am probably not the best source of advice.

[zeugma]

It’s kind of fun to participate as I did in SETI at home. Other then wasting electricity anybody document any of these projects accomplishing anything worhwhile?

While I'm not sure exactly how "worthwhile" one might say it is, if you look at the FAH homepage, they have links to peer reviewed papers that are based on the results of the FAH work.

[RebelTex]

Thanks for posting that image of your stats. I didn't know that was available.

[RikaStrom]

for home

[LonePalm]

Bonjour, y'all.

I have been folding about four years. I am currently #5 on the FR F@H list and #2226 overall folders. I went over 13,000,000 points yesterday afternoon. With continued folding I will be #2 by mid-October.

I am folding one NVIDIA GTX-470 GPU for 16-20K ppd.
I also have 13 CPU consoles spread over three computers.
I have one PS3 that just sits and folds.
My current average ppd is 22,080. It floats up and down a bit.

If you are thinking about folding, come on in. The water's fine.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[colinhester]

#2 by October!?!? I take that as a personal threat :) OK....One video card back up. Broken one sent in for warranty repair, 3 ‘puters will be loaded with SMP by end of day - don’t need to run Prime95 anymore. By the way....how are you getting 16k with a GTX470? I have the EVGA version and only getting 10k.....thanks, Colin

[LonePalm]

That's what is showing on my ExtremeOverclocking page says.

Points for the GPU depend on which work unit is folding. It is showing 13,707 ppd in FAHMon right now. I get somewhere between there and 21K ppd depending on the WU.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[FourtySeven]

Sweet, I think I got my network issues finally resolved. I’m up to 129 (rank) now.

So I got an XBox 360 a while ago. Can I fold on that?

[grey_whiskers]

Just contributed in my own way: did the C.H. Robinson MS 150 bike ride from Duluth MN to Minneapolis.

Self-ping for later when my legs recover.

Cheers!

[Fire_on_High]

Mine’s been pluggin away in the same config for several years, since my last big hardware change. Never actually had 6 cores on it like it says, though...it simply decided after a major power outage downed all of our machines that I was running different stuff.

Anyone who’s getting lag....stick with it. I frequently get a brief lag spike on WU uploads, particularly from one certain machine. If nothing goes awry, it never lasts more than a minute. The only issues show up if their server isn’t actually receiving the unit and mine starts to get aggressive trying to upload til it takes.