Replies

Question:
I just read your post #10. I just completed my first work unit yesterday. (Yay! 93 pts.) However, I'm running the program so that it's not running as a service. I have the icon in the taskbar.
1) I should switch from that and download the "No-nonsense text-only console"? Will that speed processing?
2) To do that I should uninstall what I now have and then do a new install?
Would doing this make a difference?

My personal opinion so far is that running it as an icon in the system tray is just fine. Running as a service might start it a few seconds earlier when you boot the machine, but even in the systray, it consumes every available CPU cycle when nothing else is running. The other modes might get you a few more seconds of processing per day... it's not worth it. This goes the same for the console version (unless you have a multi-CPU machine, then you want to run two copies of the console.)

What consumes cycles needlessly is running it as a screen-saver or repeatedly clicking on the "display" option so you can watch it draw the proteins that are being folded. I have my screen saver set to "blank-screen".

Other's opinions may differ from mine, but I don't think it's worth switching to a different mode.

1) I should switch from that and download the "No-nonsense text-only console"? Will that speed processing?

Running F@H as a text-only service is slightly faster (according to the FAQs). When minimize I have not seen near the difference that prophetic is mentioning. I do have a fast video card and that offloads the work from the CPU when I leave it as a screen saver, which is almost never.

2) To do that I should uninstall what I now have and then do a new install?

Wait until a work units finished so that you don't waste processing work units. Uninstall, then reinstall according to directions. It is faster to run the console than to run the full program, but again, not much.

Clara, you do need to uninstall the previous graphical client. Next download the "No-nonsense" text-only console (with built-in Windows-service-install option) and save it in a folder (e.g. temp). Run the install from that folder and set the options to 1) start as a service, 2) low priority 30% and use Internet Explorer setting to get & send data; etc etc.

Very important!! Please disable ALL screen savers (windows screen savers, aquariums etc) since these eats up a lot of cpu cycles which may otherwise be utilized in crunching Folding@Home projects

I've seen whereby this is much more efficient in crunching data since unless you REALLY want to see the 'exciting' but meaningless display onscreen - it really does not help you in the work, which is what this project is all about imho.

So I would advise everyone in this thread to migrate over to the console version configured to start as a service because again:
1) it does not use any video processing
2) it does not conflict with any programs needing to use video usage
3) runs unobtrusively in the background at all times and
4) overall improvement in the amount of Work Units (WU) being processed.