Newbie here questions

[MapTech]

Hey I just got involved a couple weeks ago and was wondering if folding on your PC at 100%
on the CPU will make your processor run hot all the time.
I am running 2 older PCs that I'm really not that worried about and was thinking of setting up my gaming PC also but didn't want to stress my system 24 / 7 and maybe burn my rig up.

Also I was wondering if anyone that games can see the effect on system perfomance while playing and folding at the same time.

I got a P3 500 Mhz 192 Mb Ram running win98 SE ( Folding very slowly )
AMD 1Ghz 384 Mb Ram running Fedora Core 4 ( Folding nicely )


But could also add a P4 3Ghz ( Mine ) and a P4 1.8 Ghz (My Son's)
Both running XP.

 

[[Spectre]]

Gaming can be affected dependingo n your setting's. There is an issue with the graphical and openGL that is bad news. Certain cores take large amounts of RAM that don't release them so that can be an issue also. What are your settings?

 

[184oz caffine a day]

I usually kill the folding client while I'm gaming then restart it a few hours later when I was done.. Every time I've tried to game while the folding client is running it caused nothing but headaches.

 

[chileman]

Be sure to check out http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=931380. There is a nice comparison showing a 3DMark run with folding (2 copies for HT) running and not running and really it doesn't show much difference. Let's not start the "benchmark vs real work gaming" issue please. But I hope that helps.

 

[unhappy_mage]

Every time I've tried to game while the folding client is running it caused nothing but headaches.

You, my friend, are playing the wrong games.

 

[KodiakStar]

Hey I just got involved a couple weeks ago

Welcome to the MADNESS

was wondering if folding on your PC at 100% on the CPU will make your processor run hot all the time.I am running 2 older PCs that I'm really not that worried about and was thinking of setting up my gaming PC also but didn't want to stress my system 24 / 7 and maybe burn my rig up.

With it set to use 100% of your CPU "idle" time, it will "run hot" as it normally would with 100% load. While no one has really done any benches.. you can set it at a lower % ie 75.. 50 etc if you feel that is the right thing to do
http://hardfolding.com/index.php?go=4
more hints/tips there on how it all works.

Also I was wondering if anyone that games can see the effect on system perfomance while playing and folding at the same time.

Depending on the game, what cpu% etc, it could have some effects.
For me, I let it run, and have had no real stability/performance problems. Others have developed .bat files to start/stop the service (if set up as such) for when they do gaming, or any other things like encoding etc that will eat up CPU cycles. (dont forget to turn it back on!).

That said, run it while playing games, if you dont like how your system runs, shut it down for a little while, no worries. What matters is getting the work done (before the deadlines which you can hit even at 50% on the two other rigs with no for-see-able problems

if you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

 

[Imitation]

I just got done playing some farcry and i had no issues with the console client running. Basically the client only uses "idle" cpu cycles, just like the system idle process does in XP, altho you can't see your idle cycles being taken up by the idle process. The F@H client is usually assigned to be an idle task, which will only run when nothing else is running. Even your mouse moving is a higher priority task than the client. so when you do something with the computer, the client takes a back seat to whatever you're doing. If you really want to know why some poeple see tiny performance losses in games and stuff google context switches in a cpu. If you still don't know how the whole scheduling process works and want to know how, there's plenty of good books out there to help you. Also if you're playing games without dumping to the desktop over a gaming session of 1+ hours then your comp should be fine folding 24/7 imo.

 

[Rich Tate]

Welcome aboard! We're all glad to have you! I personally kill my F@H stuff when playing BF2, call me crazy, but the maps seem to load a bit quicker without. The advice that was given to me i'll pass on: Try it both ways, maybe time it, and see if you notice a difference.

 

[Kvothe]

Welcome aboard! We're all glad to have you! I personally kill my F@H stuff when playing BF2, call me crazy, but the maps seem to load a bit quicker without. The advice that was given to me i'll pass on: Try it both ways, maybe time it, and see if you notice a difference.

That's really the way to do it. Although in my experience, BF2 is the only game I've ever had to kill F@H for. It's those obscene memory requirements. Everything else I play works just fine though, so the impact on gaming with running the console is very small.

Edit: Welcome to the team!

 

[SmokeRngs]

If you are running the text only console client, about the only problem you may run into while gaming is the amount of RAM that some of the WU's can use up. While the client releases the CPU cycles when something else wants them, it does not release the RAM. Usually this is only a problem if you are running the bigpackets WU's. If you are just running the normal WU's you really shouldn't even have a problem with RAM. I run bigpackets and with a 600 pointer chewing up a good amount of RAM, I usually don't have any trouble with games. I will say that about the only games I play are C&C Generals and RTCW, though. So I may not be a very good indicator.

If you want to know why I don't play anything newer, take a look at my vid card.

 

[Imitation]

Yeah I'd say if you've got a gig of ram, aren't running QMD's, and aren't playing BF2, you should be ok. Phantom good call with the BF2, that game uses ram like no other game i've ever seen. HL2, D3, and farcy don't come close to maxing out my gig but BF2 was a different story.

 

[Kvothe]

Yeah I'd say if you've got a gig of ram, aren't running QMD's, and aren't playing BF2, you should be ok. Phantom good call with the BF2, that game uses ram like no other game i've ever seen. HL2, D3, and farcy don't come close to maxing out my gig but BF2 was a different story.

I just think its testament to either how much they are trying to do with BF2, or how crappily its coded. I've got a vast majority of new games and such, and not a single one has any problems. Now I can't say much for the QMD issue though, as my gaming rig is an AMD and therefor QMD exempt.

 

[towert7]

The processor will run a tad bit warmer then if it was at idle, that I'm sure of.

On my new system, my idle temps are about 32ºC, but with F@H at 100% all the time im around 36ºC (35ºC right now)........ so as you can see... not much of a diffrence.

I always thought there should be a "Myths vs Truths" thread sticked here, because that would have helped me when I first started Folding.

I thought it would really reduce the lifetime of the computer, or overheat it........ but boy was I wrong.

As for gaming, there is a glitch with the graphical client when playing some games, but to get around that I just never click on it. (I probably should just run the console version as a service). If it does become a problem with your particular games though, just close it while you game, and restart when your done...... pretty simple.

Lastly, although you did not ask, the diffrence between idle and folding in terms of power usage, are very small usually(depends on processor type).
My AMD Opteron 252 computer runs at 185watts at idle, and 200watts at 100% load (F@H). This is average. Some computers only see a 2 watt increase(PentiumM), while others see as much as 50watt increase (cheap P4's)...

~Hope this helps, and welcome to the Team

 

[Imitation]

I just think its testament to either how much they are trying to do with BF2, or how crappily its coded. I've got a vast majority of new games and such, and not a single one has any problems. Now I can't say much for the QMD issue though, as my gaming rig is an AMD and therefor QMD exempt.

Sadly I've been leaning toward it being crappily coded. I mean how many huge patches did they release for the original BF? They got it up all the way to like v1.6 or so didn't they? Now granted most of those were probly more for gameplay and not modifying the engine itself, but still, its disgusting the amount of ram it(BF2) uses. I personally have had this issue with other EA games as well, the James bond game "the world is not enough" was the buggiest most unstable game i've ever played. And suddenly this got very off topic, anyways I made the QMD comment after reading about all the problems they've had with them and the memory requirements of those wu's. Since he is running a P4, I thought he should be aware.

All BF2 fans can now flame me for hating on it until moose stops them.

 

[KodiakStar]

Sadly I've been leaning toward it being crappily coded. I mean how many huge patches did they release for the original BF? They got it up all the way to like v1.6 or so didn't they? Now granted most of those were probly more for gameplay and not modifying the engine itself, but still, its disgusting the amount of ram it(BF2) uses. I personally have had this issue with other EA games as well, the James bond game "the world is not enough" was the buggiest most unstable game i've ever played. And suddenly this got very off topic, anyways I made the QMD comment after reading about all the problems they've had with them and the memory requirements of those wu's. Since he is running a P4, I thought he should be aware.

All BF2 fans can now flame me for hating on it until moose stops them.

That is.. depending on how many people CHOOSE to play a game that STEALS folding cpu cycles!

 

[Kvothe]

That is.. depending on how many people CHOOSE to play a game that STEALS folding cpu cycles!

*Ahem* and just whose farm was down for like a week while they were out borging of another sort?!?

 

[KodiakStar]

well after cleaning out all the hsf's etc etc, there was no point in putting it back-together for a night or two when i was going to make that sexy tower..

 

[AtomicMoose]

well after cleaning out all the hsf's etc etc, there was no point in putting it back-together for a night or two when i was going to make that sexy tower..

I am unable to follow this logic....

 

[KodiakStar]

I am unable to follow this logic....

It's ok. we all know you are a little slow

 

[AtomicMoose]

It's ok. we all know you are a little slow

QFT

 

[KodiakStar]

So MapTech

Now that we have welcomed you to the [H]orde by hijacking your thread...

hows the setup going?

 

[MapTech]

I havn't had time to check the forums untill now.
Thanks for all your help folks !!!
I think I will start to run it on my 3.0 Ghz and see how it goes.

745 points and 6 WU so far Woot !!!!

I already have visions of building a farm hehe
But probably have to wait untill my kids are out of school and out of thier own.

 

[Kvothe]

Well since you've got some points posting, make sure to get your [H]'s.

And remember, kids aren't a reason not to get boxen, every child should have at least 3, one to break, one to play on, and another for a file server!

 

[seapirate]

And remember, kids aren't a reason not to get boxen, every child should have at least 3, one to break, one to play on, and another for a file server!

Now if I could just convince the wife with that line of reasoning.

 

[unhappy_mage]

And remember, kids aren't a reason not to get boxen, every child should have at least 3, one to break, one to play on, and another for a file server!

I've said time and again I need another box. This one's the broken one, and I've got the file server, so when do I get to play?

Well, when rj leaves, I use his. What are brothers for?

 

[Imitation]

I've said time and again I need another box. This one's the broken one, and I've got the file server, so when do I get to play?

Well, when rj leaves, I use his. What are brothers for?

I use my bros for borgs! They don't even hook their compy's up during the summer since they're still living at home. So I "borrowed" their computers for "an experiment"

 

[MapTech]

Well since you've got some points posting, make sure to get your [H]'s.

And remember, kids aren't a reason not to get boxen, every child should have at least 3, one to break, one to play on, and another for a file server!

Hehe only reason is one boy 16 is still in high school.
Another boy 18 soon to be in college this fall.

2 kids = No Money

 

[unhappy_mage]

2 kids = No Money

Being a kid = No Money

Maybe we're on to something...

 

[Tormond]

Being a kid = No Money

Maybe we're on to something...

Being a compu junkie = no money as well
Between Computers and home theatre (have just over 1700 DVDs now) I could have paid for my house and car

 

[chileman]

While we're at it. College = No money, but somehow plenty of beer. Funny how that works.

 

[Imitation]

While we're at it. College = No money, but somehow plenty of beer. Funny how that works.

haHA! just made it thru that phase of life, now i just gotta hold out on single life until I upgrade next spring, must... resist... woman...

 

[chileman]

haHA! just made it thru that phase of life, now i just gotta hold out on single life until I upgrade next spring, must... resist... woman...

Go ahead and go for the girl, just don't be a pansy (*cough* K* *cough*) and shut off the farm when she comes over. Just tell her "love me? Love my farm!".

 

[Tormond]

Or if you have some prescotts you can go and whisper sweet nothings to her in front of the fire they produce

 

[Kvothe]

Go ahead and go for the girl, just don't be a pansy (*cough* K* *cough*) and shut off the farm when she comes over. Just tell her "love me? Love my farm!".

QFT

 

[SmokeRngs]

haHA! just made it thru that phase of life, now i just gotta hold out on single life until I upgrade next spring, must... resist... woman...

It's all good as long as you look for the women to b0rg. You may take that any way you want. I know me and K* do. I just don't turn my systems off for women. They stay on 24/7. Then again, it also helps that mine are at a friend's house. But, when they are moved over they will still stay on. No woman will tell me when I can and can't have my machines on. Besides, it will be helpful to have some background noise to cover up other noises. I'm surprised my neighbors haven't complained yet.