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Trying to decide

C

clownsarecreepy

n00b
Joined
Dec 11, 2010
Messages
39
Hi everyone. I am a newbie here but trying to find my way through a new forum.
I don't have a very impressive system comapred to the ones I see here so I myy be out of my league. But I just was wondering about this section and what all is involved in 'Distributive Computing". I already know the simple stuff, like you lend your computers CPU cycles to someone to do work for them. But what work is it you are doing, what are the different options for projects? How hard is it on your computer? Can someone hijack your computer if you allow access like this? What has been accomplished so far, what are the prospects for future breakthroughs? What kind of communication do we have with the people using our computers? Can we stop if we want too?
I have a lot more questions, but I guess that will be enough to start.
I use my computer mostly for basic stuff like email, word processing and internet, so I don't have and don't need a power computer. But it does run all the time since I am too lazy to turn it off at night and reboot in the morning.
Basic specs
680i SLI, E6850, 9800 GT, 300 GB HDD, 500 W PSU.
OK, stop laughing, when I built it 4 years ago it was state of the art.
 
First of all congrats for wanting to donate you spare computer cycles to science. It is for a great cause no matter how much or little computing power you have. As a matter of fact systems like yours make up the majority of the DC computers and makes this possible in the first place. Remember every little bit helps and is appreciated because thats what these projects rely on whether its four hours a day or 24 hours per day.

Two out of the three computers I use for DC are way less powerful than yours. (one laptop and one atom server)

clownsarecreepy said:
But what work is it you are doing, what are the different options for projects?
Click to expand...

There is many different projects you can do based on what interested you. There are really two main ways to get involved and that is BOINC and Folding at Home.

Folding at home (F@H) is the largest DC project in the world and it studies how proteins misfold which leads to debilitating such as Alzheimer's.

BOINC is a DC client software program that allows you to attach to various programs throughout the world. Here is a list of the major BOINC projects.

Really it comes down to you and what you want to do and a lot of people participate in both BOINC and F@H.

clownsarecreepy said:
How hard is it on your computer?
Click to expand...

These projects are can be very hard on your computer but as long as you are properly cooled and have a good power supply you should have no problem. Additionally, both BOINC and F@H have CPU/GPU percentages that they allow you to set. For instance I use BOINC on my laptop with the world community grid. If my laptop is set to 100% all the time I get super high temps that I rather not have so I set it to run at 70%.

clownsarecreepy said:
Can someone hijack your computer if you allow access like this?
Click to expand...

DC projects have been very very safe. They basically download a client to your computer, run the project and then upload it. Probably the part that could get you into trouble is you have to leave your computer on so if someone has access to it they could hack your computer by sitting in front of it.

clownsarecreepy said:
What has been accomplished so far, what are the prospects for future breakthroughs?
Click to expand...

For F@H there are a list of papers listed on the projects website. Other BOINC projects have the same thing on each of their individual websites.

clownsarecreepy said:
What kind of communication do we have with the people using our computers? Can we stop if we want too?
Click to expand...

Basically all the communication is based on what you want to allow. It is very user friendly. You are allowed to tell the client what sort of communication options you want with the server. A software client is basically installed on your computer and that allows the computer to access a server to fetch a work unit. Once your work unit is done it is sent back to another server. This is all done on a very secure network.

Hopefully this all helps. Everyone around here is glad to help you with any of your problems and get you started.
 
Last edited:
Welcome! Everyone is important here and nobody will belittle your contribution. In fact, shortly, you will probably get a warm welcome and assistance from someone who owns multiple SR-2's. Then you will be inspired, then addicted, and you will be purchasing SR-2's to feed your addiction! (or multiple GPUs to heat your home) :)
I was going to point you to the sticky Guide/FAQ, but I was shocked to see that it is not "stickied" at the top anymore. I'm sure that someone better at searching these threads will find it faster than me.....still searching..........
 
Nice of you to stop in clownsarecreepy! Looks like most of your questions have already been addressed, but feel free to ask about anything you need help with. No matter how much or how little you contribute, we're all appreciative of your contributions. This team is made up of a majority of users who aren't rolling out big points, so the bunch at the top are pretty much the exception and not the rule.

Regardless, welcome aboard, and thanks for your decision to help support DC with your efforts!

Ax
 
Thanks for the answers. I guess I have to look through all my options for projects. A few more questions.
First, on the folding at home, can I select to sign up for specific projects? Like can I say I want to dedicate my computer to looking into Parkinsons disease specifically?
And when I asked about communication, what I really meant was is there anything like email notifications I can sign up for to get feedback on what has happened so far, in common language, so I know my contributions have gone to something useful? I think it would be a lot more conducive to continuing to contrbute if Iknew there were positive results rather than having to go look and find a page with technical language I don't understand.
Do you have to join a team to fold? I'm not much of a joiner type person.
 
clownsarecreepy said:
Thanks for the answers. I guess I have to look through all my options for projects. A few more questions.
First, on the folding at home, can I select to sign up for specific projects? Like can I say I want to dedicate my computer to looking into Parkinsons disease specifically?
And when I asked about communication, what I really meant was is there anything like email notifications I can sign up for to get feedback on what has happened so far, in common language, so I know my contributions have gone to something useful? I think it would be a lot more conducive to continuing to contrbute if Iknew there were positive results rather than having to go look and find a page with technical language I don't understand.
Do you have to join a team to fold? I'm not much of a joiner type person.
Click to expand...

You can't pick and choose the WU you get (work units) What you get is what ya fold on with F@H.

Now bonic you can choose the project, but again not the detail part of it.

Most of these projects will publish papers on what they have found and what they are working on.

The nature of most of these problems however (because they are HUGE!) do no lend themselves to quick answers. It is often we will work on a single type of WU with F@H and only then get a discovery that then leads us to a whole new set of problems to work on. We have YEARS of work left.

On the team part.....

For folding we are team 33, the [H]orde. We help each other with our systems and configurations. There is also friendly competition between ourselves and other teams. It keeps things interesting when your working on projects that takes years to finish.


Welcome to the forum (and hopefully the team)!
 
actually on BOINC if you do World Community Grid you do choose which project to do......although as of now no WCG projects do Parkinsons research, that i know of(if there is let me know i would rather do research for that), but you can choose the project to help. I do only the Help Conquer Cancer and Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy ones only, and those are the only units sent to me.......dont know about other BOINC projects though.

Welcome to the Team :) try not to get lost in the chaos that is the [H]orde
 
Sorry for more questions. I posted these in another discussion but that got closed.
What is GenMay?
What is Rewards Program?
How can you buy your position in folding? Is it like some games you can buy things in like my son used to do for some of the games he played on X-Box? What advantages do you get if you do buy things?
 
clownsarecreepy said:
Sorry for more questions. I posted these in another discussion but that got closed.
What is GenMay?
What is Rewards Program?
How can you buy your position in folding? Is it like some games you can buy things in like my son used to do for some of the games he played on X-Box? What advantages do you get if you do buy things?
Click to expand...

No buying in folding, points are only earned for what work you turn in.

the Rewards program is basically free access to the Genmay forum on here - usually its paid subscription so this is a freebie once you have earned enough points.

Along with this there are other rewards that crop up from time to time.
Competitions to win hardware are the usual ones - there is one going at the moment to win a complete system, we have also done GTX460 giveaways this year, plus unwanted hardware from our team members can usually be bought at low prices in the Dc FS/FT sub forum.

Current giveaway thread
 
What is GenMay?

GenMay is a paid subscription sub forum here on the [H]ard forums. Shens a plenty in there.

What is Rewards Program?

For people who fold, Kyle, (the owner of [H] ) lets us have free sub to GenMay.

How can you buy your position in folding? Is it like some games you can buy things in like my son used to do for some of the games he played on X-Box? What advantages do you get if you do buy things?

You can buy more folding hardware, but that is about it. The points come from Stanford and they only way to get them is to return finished WU.
 
Thanks for those answers.
I am slowly sorting through all this. I was just confused about the buying stuff since someone in another discussion said some team had bought number one.
How do I get started with this?
 
clownsarecreepy said:
Thanks for those answers.
I am slowly sorting through all this. I was just confused about the buying stuff since someone in another discussion said some team had bought number one.
How do I get started with this?
Click to expand...

The buying refers to EVGA's corporate sponsorship of the evga folding team - suffice to say its a sore subject that just leads to trouble - i would suggest doing a quick search to get some idea of people's thoughts on it
 
Nathan_P said:
The buying refers to EVGA's corporate sponsorship of the evga folding team - suffice to say its a sore subject that just leads to trouble - i would suggest doing a quick search to get some idea of people's thoughts on it
Click to expand...

I know the football bowl games just get me incensed since they changed names due to sponsorships. Like the Tostitos Bowl, or the Chik-Fil-a bowl or the Capital One Bowl.
I still like to watch them. I guess it means more money for the schools though.
So, how do you go about getting a sponsor?
 
clownsarecreepy said:
I know the football bowl games just get me incensed since they changed names due to sponsorships. Like the Tostitos Bowl, or the Chik-Fil-a bowl or the Capital One Bowl.
I still like to watch them. I guess it means more money for the schools though.
So, how do you go about getting a sponsor?
Click to expand...

We don't - we haven't wanted one. the [H]orde has got where it is today by 10+ years of solid hard folding, evga only started folding 3 or 4 years ago. Sheer team effort, skill and friendship are what binds this team.
 
W.Feather said:
actually on BOINC if you do World Community Grid you do choose which project to do......although as of now no WCG projects do Parkinsons research, that i know of(if there is let me know i would rather do research for that), but you can choose the project to help. I do only the Help Conquer Cancer and Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy ones only, and those are the only units sent to me.......dont know about other BOINC projects though.

Welcome to the Team :) try not to get lost in the chaos that is the [H]orde
Click to expand...

How do you sign up for the muscular dystrophy folding? It seems as if you dedicate your resources to a single thing instead of just general stuff, you can accomplish more that way.
 
Nathan_P said:
We don't - we haven't wanted one. the [H]orde has got where it is today by 10+ years of solid hard folding, evga only started folding 3 or 4 years ago. Sheer team effort, skill and friendship are what binds this team.
Click to expand...

I've been doing a little reading here and still finds this sponsorship thing confusing. I'm sorry if this topic rubs some the wrong way, but it seems if you guys found a sponsor you could get a lot more work done for diseases. I don't know why you 'wouldn't want one'. It seems like the whole idea is to solve some major health problems and the more you do the more work gets done. Maybe I am naive about this. But if you were something like the Newegg [H]orde and they sponsored gear and stuff for folding, wouldn't that help the cause to find cures? Then you guys take number 1, find the cures and get cool stuff to boot.
 
clownsarecreepy said:
I've been doing a little reading here and still finds this sponsorship thing confusing. I'm sorry if this topic rubs some the wrong way, but it seems if you guys found a sponsor you could get a lot more work done for diseases. I don't know why you 'wouldn't want one'. It seems like the whole idea is to solve some major health problems and the more you do the more work gets done. Maybe I am naive about this. But if you were something like the Newegg [H]orde and they sponsored gear and stuff for folding, wouldn't that help the cause to find cures? Then you guys take number 1, find the cures and get cool stuff to boot.
Click to expand...

The whole concept of all DC projects is that it is the community at large that helps assist in finding a cure, all of the teams have started up on forum's like this one and grown and developed over the years, some stay purely with folding, others do some BOINC work as well, others even do every DC project there is. Whilst you are correct that being corporate sponsored would probably get more science done it goes against the spirit of DC.

Just for the record the [H]orde was number one for quite some time, one of the old timers will give you a better idea but just to give you a couple of idea's:-

We have folded more work units than any other team in the world
10 out of the top 100 producers in the world fold for 33 (the [H]orde)
16 out of the top 100 daily producers in the world fold for 33.

Being a member of the team as it is is cool enough for me, i'm sure a few of us would depart elsewhere should we ever become corporate sponsored.
 
Nathan_P said:
Whilst you are correct that being corporate sponsored would probably get more science done it goes against the spirit of DC.
Click to expand...
I have to laugh any time I hear people saying anything negative about increasing the amount of research being done.
 
Well I guess I'm getting distracted here. It is just that the other thread that closed raised a few questions. But back to the folding thing.
How do I fold for Muscular Dystrophy?
 
clownsarecreepy said:
How do you sign up for the muscular dystrophy folding? It seems as if you dedicate your resources to a single thing instead of just general stuff, you can accomplish more that way.
Click to expand...

its not necissarilly more being accomplished, just more in the one thing. I have my reasons for only doing those two projects on World Community Grid.


If your interested in World Community Grid you can find information on the projects they offer here:
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/research/research.do?fiterCategory=2_0

the projects are:
Available Projects
Participate in All Projects
Computing for Clean Water
The Clean Energy Project - Phase 2
Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy - Phase 2
Help Fight Childhood Cancer
Help Conquer Cancer
Human Proteome Folding - Phase 2
FightAIDS@Home

Intermittent Projects
Discovering Dengue Drugs - Together - Phase 2
Influenza Antiviral Drug Search
The Clean Energy Project
Discovering Dengue Drugs - Together
Click to expand...

the 1st grouping, the Available ones, have work now, the second group, the Intermittent ones, sometimes have work, sometimes do not. In World Community Grid you can choose which projects you receive work for on their site when you log into your account you choose which projects.

the Horde has a team there as well.
 
I think I worded myself wrong. I missed the part about it being a negative thing. Is it wrong for sponsorship? Maybe that isn't even the right way to ask the question. Why would sponsorship be a negative thing?
 
W.Feather said:
its not necissarilly more being accomplished, just more in the one thing. I have my reasons for only doing those two projects on World Community Grid.


If your interested in World Community Grid you can find information on the projects they offer here:
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/research/research.do?fiterCategory=2_0

the projects are:


the 1st grouping, the Available ones, have work now, the second group, the Intermittent ones, sometimes have work, sometimes do not. In World Community Grid you can choose which projects you receive work for on their site when you log into your account you choose which projects.

the Horde has a team there as well.
Click to expand...

I downloaded the Muscular Dystrophy program. I didn't install it yet. I looked at the install directions, but I didn't see how to join any team there. So before I install it I thought I would ask one more question. How do you join a team?
And can you run more than one thing at once. Like if I want to do the Muscular Dystrophy thing to be specific and to run the folding at home for more genreral results?
 
There's some good instructions on joining WCG in the "Christmas Challenge" thread here. That's how I got set up. You can choose your projects and team when signing up your user name.
 
clownsarecreepy said:
I downloaded the Muscular Dystrophy program. I didn't install it yet. I looked at the install directions, but I didn't see how to join any team there. So before I install it I thought I would ask one more question. How do you join a team?
And can you run more than one thing at once. Like if I want to do the Muscular Dystrophy thing to be specific and to run the folding at home for more genreral results?
Click to expand...

there isnt a program for just Muscular Dystrophy, the program is called: BOINC

after installing it do the "select project" and choose the one labeled "World Community Grid" . after hitting next, you should have the option to create an account. After that simply logging into: worldcommunitygrid.org , will allow you to have access over your account, the "My Team" tab is where you can search for the team we have here, HardOCP, the "My Projects" tab is where you can check which projects you would like to receive work for.
 
W.Feather said:
there isnt a program for just Muscular Dystrophy, the program is called: BOINC

after installing it do the "select project" and choose the one labeled "World Community Grid" . after hitting next, you should have the option to create an account. After that simply logging into: worldcommunitygrid.org , will allow you to have access over your account, the "My Team" tab is where you can search for the team we have here, HardOCP, the "My Projects" tab is where you can check which projects you would like to receive work for.
Click to expand...

OK, that's weird. I guess I am doing something backward then. When I went to the download page I had to select there what projects I wanted to run when I downloaded it. And I had to sign up for an account before I downloaded it.
I guess I'll just go ahead and install it then see what happens.
 
clownsarecreepy said:
OK, that's weird. I guess I am doing something backward then. When I went to the download page I had to select there what projects I wanted to run when I downloaded it. And I had to sign up for an account before I downloaded it.
I guess I'll just go ahead and install it then see what happens.
Click to expand...


ok ill make it way easier for you to do boinc..

go to http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/index.jsp create an account. login, under the tab my grid, go to my projects. uncheck the projects you do not want to work on. after that go to http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/viewTeamInfo.do?teamId=BP5XNJBR9N1 and join our team.

download the boinc software and install it.

after creating your account on the WCG site. you need to add WCG to your boinc client. there will be a list of boinc protects. look for the one that says world community grid. select it then click next. put in your account info and your done. it will then start downloading everything you need to run the project and your done.

next in boinc go to advanced/preferences/processor info where it says when processor use is less than 25% change that to 0.

if you play games you can go to the project tab and suspend the project while your playing then click resume project when your done.(only time you really need to do this is if you play BFBC2. most games arent effected by the boinc client except that one.





as far as your 9800GT i suggest running the gpu2 or gpu3 client. your card will run cooler with the gpu3 client and should make about the same ppd. if this is something you want to do. heres the instructions for that.

go to http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadWinOther download either the gpu2 or gpu3 system tray client.

install the client. run it setup your name and our team number is 33. you do not need a passkey.

i suggest installing HFM.net (google HFM.net) monitoring software for your F@H client.

once installed go to client/add client. first line is the name of the client. you can call it 9800GT or what ever you want. client processor mhz leave at 1. then under log folder press the ... button. and select your folding@home-gpu folder it should be located at program files/folding@home/folding@home-gpu.

thats pretty much it.
 
Welcome!!! Looks like everyone has provided you with a wealth of knowledge :D

 
sirmonkey1985 said:
ok ill make it way easier for you to do boinc..

go to http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/index.jsp create an account. login, under the tab my grid, go to my projects. uncheck the projects you do not want to work on. after that go to http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/viewTeamInfo.do?teamId=BP5XNJBR9N1 and join our team.

download the boinc software and install it.

after creating your account on the WCG site. you need to add WCG to your boinc client. there will be a list of boinc protects. look for the one that says world community grid. select it then click next. put in your account info and your done. it will then start downloading everything you need to run the project and your done.

next in boinc go to advanced/preferences/processor info where it says when processor use is less than 25% change that to 0.

if you play games you can go to the project tab and suspend the project while your playing then click resume project when your done.(only time you really need to do this is if you play BFBC2. most games arent effected by the boinc client except that one.





as far as your 9800GT i suggest running the gpu2 or gpu3 client. your card will run cooler with the gpu3 client and should make about the same ppd. if this is something you want to do. heres the instructions for that.

go to http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadWinOther download either the gpu2 or gpu3 system tray client.

install the client. run it setup your name and our team number is 33. you do not need a passkey.

i suggest installing HFM.net (google HFM.net) monitoring software for your F@H client.

once installed go to client/add client. first line is the name of the client. you can call it 9800GT or what ever you want. client processor mhz leave at 1. then under log folder press the ... button. and select your folding@home-gpu folder it should be located at program files/folding@home/folding@home-gpu.

thats pretty much it.
Click to expand...

This was helpful. I had to reboot after the installation to get it to start, but when it did, the Muscular Dystrophy project started to run. So I guess I at least did that right.I went to the link you provided to join the team and I guess I am now an official member.
So, how can I monitor my contribution on that project?
 
you can monitor 2 ways. either on WCG's site in your statistic's page under "my grid". or in the boinc software switch to advanced view which allows you to watch exactly what your computer is doing, what work units are running, what are in queue, and how many are finished.
 
Thanks everybody for the help. I am up to 8.8% on my first project.
I know it isn't much, but hopefully my little contribution will help stop the fall in the chart in that other thread.
 
As someone stated above there is no way to fold for a specifc disease. Unless there is a prpject specifically for it in BOINC. Folding@Home is about protein folding which helps fid the cause of the diseases through the analysis of misfolded proteins.
 
itsrickjames said:
As someone stated above there is no way to fold for a specifc disease. Unless there is a prpject specifically for it in BOINC. Folding@Home is about protein folding which helps fid the cause of the diseases through the analysis of misfolded proteins.
Click to expand...


little late on this one arent ya? lol..


clownsarecreepy said:
Thanks everybody for the help. I am up to 8.8% on my first project.
I know it isn't much, but hopefully my little contribution will help stop the fall in the chart in that other thread.
Click to expand...

btw you should get that 9800GT folding.. if ya havent yet the directions are in the last half of my instructions post above.
 
I am worried now. I went to bed and everything looked good. I was at 8% and 4 hours left on the first project. I get up this mornging and still everything looks good. It is at 54% and 4 hours 15 minutes left. SO I figure I must have done at least oneproject while I was sleeping. But when I went to the WCG site and looked at my grid stuff it says I haven't done anything. Same thing for my advanced view. Does that sound right? It sounds like something is wrong to me.
 
ignore the times for now. it takes 15-20 WU's before the times are correct.

but if your worried check and make sure your cpu is under full load and make sure the cpu isnt downclocking due to temps or anything.
 
How long does it usually take to finish a project? This one has been going for at least 12 hours and is a little over half done. Is that normal?
 
depends on the processor. those WU's take 5 hours for me on my phenom II x4 940 @ 3.4ghz but my processor is a lot faster then your E6850.

but make sure your processor is running at full speed(if you have speedstep turned on). make sure its not overheating and downclocking. check and see if anything else is running in the background taking up cpu cycles. also do you have 1 or 2 WU's running? since its a dual core you should have 2 projects running.
 
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