The Folding@Home team updates thread

[acidfast7]

Thanks I'll try this till I find a better solution.

I have the mid 2007 model which was the first aluminum one and it is possible. Cheap too. I looked at chips up to the 09 models. I'd assume 2010 and 2011 are swappable also.

I saw your post an was wonder if I could but a quad-core Q9000 in my iMac 8,1 (late 2008 20" Alu)?

Any ideas?

 

[swordfish5736]

I saw your post an was wonder if I could but a quad-core Q9000 in my iMac 8,1 (late 2008 20" Alu)?

Any ideas?

physically yes it looks like it'd fit its a socket P chip which your's is and it looks like you can get them in lidless form which is what macs also need. I have a E8435 on the way which is from your same model just a 3.06ghz chip. It looks like there is a quad core version of the same chip from the imacs but instead of being around 50 bucks the cheapest prices i saw were close to $350-400 which i just cant justify on something im not even sure will work.

I'd check out ebay and see if you can find that chip for a good price. not sure where in europe you are but it looks like there are a few Q9100 chips on ebay shipping from london. I've been a bit weary on buying chips from ebay used but like i said before for something that may not even work properly i cant justify spending a few hundred dollars



here is the q9100 i was talking about:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-CORE-...ILE-CPU-processor-laptop-monkey-/130609763723

I've got no experience with that seller or this chip but it is a socket p and it has the same stepping of E0 as the chip that comes in your machine from apple

 

[techfreak85]

I thought I read somewhere that someone with a quad-core iMac was folding with 2 out of 4 cores because the temps were around 95C with all 4 cores folding. They didn't see a huge performance hit, maybe 15% or so (or so they said).

I think you can do this with the "-smp 2" switch.

IIRC, correctly, their temps dropped to around 70-75C from 90-95C.

Also, can one swap the processors in an iMac?

The number in the smp argument tells it how many cores to use. Smp 2 would only use half of the processor, so the hit would be more like 50%. I would do -smp 3.

 

[Peace]

what are you folding on under anonymous? and what client are you using?

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Folding @Home

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

The Intel version that's in system preferences

 

[techfreak85]

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Folding @Home

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

The Intel version that's in system preferences

Try getting a passkey and see if that helps.
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/getpasskey.py

 

[swordfish5736]

The number in the smp argument tells it how many cores to use. Smp 2 would only use half of the processor, so the hit would be more like 50%. I would do -smp 3.

I put the -smp 2 in before I left this morning and it is only using 2 physical cores. CPU usage has dropped from 800% to 200% so its not utilizing 2 virtual cores either.

My temps aren't much better but the fan is running at around 3000rpm

 

[techfreak85]

I put the -smp 2 in before I left this morning and it is only using 2 physical cores. CPU usage has dropped from 800% to 200% so its not utilizing 2 virtual cores either.

My temps aren't much better but the fan is running at around 3000rpm

Forgot how many cores we were dealing with for a second. 200% is two virtual cores tho.

 

[swordfish5736]

Forgot how many cores we were dealing with for a second. 200% is two virtual cores tho.

Is it? I have a floating activity monitor for CPU usage and it only shows 2 active cores of the 8 possible(4 physical and 4 virtual) I was thinking the -smp 2 command would make it work off of only two physical cores

 

[techfreak85]

Is it? I have a floating activity monitor for CPU usage and it only shows 2 active cores of the 8 possible(4 physical and 4 virtual) I was thinking the -smp 2 command would make it work off of only two physical cores

Smp goes off of virtual cores. In activity monitor, each virtual core is 100% of activity. When a 4 core/8 thread machine is running full blast, activity monitor will report a CPU usage of 800%.

 

[twoodcc]

how do you check the PPD?

The temp doesn't bother me that much its more the fan running between 5000and 5500pm which is its max. It looks like it pulls are in thru a tiny gap between that plastic bottom and the aluminum casing and then spits it out the back thru a small opening. Maybe pull the bottom off make some kind of stand that incorporates a PC fan pushing air up into the intake to try and force more cool air into it. just need to make it look nice to sit on my desk and probably incorporate some type of filter so it doesn't build up so much dust

best way is to use this link. just put in the core you are working and how it takes to complete 1% and it will calculate the PPD (points per day)

 

[swordfish5736]

best way is to use this link. just put in the core you are working and how it takes to complete 1% and it will calculate the PPD (points per day)

if i did my math right from the FAHlog file it looks like my PPD is 6142.27

 

[swordfish5736]

make that 7868.09 PPD does it fluctuate that much?

 

[twoodcc]

if i did my math right from the FAHlog file it looks like my PPD is 6142.27

make that 7868.09 PPD does it fluctuate that much?

it can fluctuate some. you can do an average time and put that in there for a more accurate number.

i'm kinda disappointed in those numbers though. a nice GPU can produce better numbers that than alone, so a rig with multiple GPUs would really beat it.

but are you running it at full blast? smp-8?

 

[swordfish5736]

it can fluctuate some. you can do an average time and put that in there for a more accurate number.

i'm kinda disappointed in those numbers though. a nice GPU can produce better numbers that than alone, so a rig with multiple GPUs would really beat it.

but are you running it at full blast? smp-8?

I've been running it at -smp 2 at night and just -smp when I'm home. The fan is pretty much running at its max when I'm running just -smp which is showing 800% CPU usage.

One thing I was thinking about last night is that companies are releasing or have released thunderbolt pci-e enclosures for gpu's. I'm wondering if we could stuff a decent GPU in one and use that for folding. You may even be able to do multiple.

 

[Louis Wu]

GPU Points

it can fluctuate some. you can do an average time and put that in there for a more accurate number.

i'm kinda disappointed in those numbers though. a nice GPU can produce better numbers that than alone, so a rig with multiple GPUs would really beat it.

but are you running it at full blast? smp-8?

I'd second that thought by twoodcc -- I'm not even aware of the OSX client being able to recognize GPUs -- my 285 GTX isn't recognized even though the client knows about the CUDA cores.

And, OK, I know we're a Mac forum here but I have to admit that for the money, a Windows box with a decent GPU can really pull in the points.

Case study:

2010 base Mac Pro 4-core gave me about 11 K PPD
2010 6-core Mac Pro nets about 27 K PPD
I take the Xeon chip out of the base Pro and build a Windows box with it... and I get about 11 K PPD. Now I add an EVGA 560 Ti GPU card (about $220) and that card alone pulls in 19 K PPD for a 30 K PPD total just on the Windows box.

Granted, it is crude and noisy and now lives in the (cool) basement.

Once the weather heats up here I'll have to stop folding on the Pro anyhow...

 

[twoodcc]

I've been running it at -smp 2 at night and just -smp when I'm home. The fan is pretty much running at its max when I'm running just -smp which is showing 800% CPU usage.

One thing I was thinking about last night is that companies are releasing or have released thunderbolt pci-e enclosures for gpu's. I'm wondering if we could stuff a decent GPU in one and use that for folding. You may even be able to do multiple.

could you tell me the PPD when just running -smp ?

that would work as long as windows would recognize the cards in the enclosure. it'd be expensive though probably

I'd second that thought by twoodcc -- I'm not even aware of the OSX client being able to recognize GPUs -- my 285 GTX isn't recognized even though the client knows about the CUDA cores.

And, OK, I know we're a Mac forum here but I have to admit that for the money, a Windows box with a decent GPU can really pull in the points.

Case study:

2010 base Mac Pro 4-core gave me about 11 K PPD
2010 6-core Mac Pro nets about 27 K PPD
I take the Xeon chip out of the base Pro and build a Windows box with it... and I get about 11 K PPD. Now I add an EVGA 560 Ti GPU card (about $220) and that card alone pulls in 19 K PPD for a 30 K PPD total just on the Windows box.

Granted, it is crude and noisy and now lives in the (cool) basement.

Once the weather heats up here I'll have to stop folding on the Pro anyhow...

yeah you can't GPU fold in OS X, only windows.

even though this is a mac forum, plenty fold in windows. right now i'm only folding in windows. i'm only folding with 4 GPUs right now.

as for the example you gave, you don't need a xeon chip. in fact, you want just an i7 that you can overclock. but if you're not into overclocking, get a cheap chip and put 2-3 GPUs in there! the only problem is that GPUs use a lot of power and produce a lot of heat.

 

[swordfish5736]

could you tell me the PPD when just running -smp ?

that would work as long as windows would recognize the cards in the enclosure. it'd be expensive though probably



yeah you can't GPU fold in OS X, only windows.

even though this is a mac forum, plenty fold in windows. right now i'm only folding in windows. i'm only folding with 4 GPUs right now.

as for the example you gave, you don't need a xeon chip. in fact, you want just an i7 that you can overclock. but if you're not into overclocking, get a cheap chip and put 2-3 GPUs in there! the only problem is that GPUs use a lot of power and produce a lot of heat.

Those numbers were with -smp and -advmethods

The only one I saw with a price tag was a 3 slot enclosure for $900.00+

Sonnet will be releasing a single and double unit in April. Though if pricing is that high you could just build a windows box to run it.

 

[twoodcc]

Those numbers were with -smp and -advmethods

The only one I saw with a price tag was a 3 slot enclosure for $900.00+

Sonnet will be releasing a single and double unit in April. Though if pricing is that high you could just build a windows box to run it.

oh ok, thanks.

yeah that's kinda high. and would it run in windows?

 

[Louis Wu]

even though this is a mac forum, plenty fold in windows. right now i'm only folding in windows. i'm only folding with 4 GPUs right now.

as for the example you gave, you don't need a xeon chip. in fact, you want just an i7 that you can overclock. but if you're not into overclocking, get a cheap chip and put 2-3 GPUs in there! the only problem is that GPUs use a lot of power and produce a lot of heat.

You're getting great points for running GPUs only!

True enough that you don't need a Xeon CPU; I just had it left over after doing Philipma1957's chip swap on the Pro to get a 3.33 6-core...

...and, following your suggestion, I'll probably eventually add another GPU into the windows box once funds permit... (as you mentioned, there's more power involved and I'll need to upgrade my power supply!)

 

[swordfish5736]

oh ok, thanks.

yeah that's kinda high. and would it run in windows?

Who knows. I think os x is suppose to recognize a GPU hooked up to thunderbolt as if it were hooked into a pci-e slot but not sure if windows can.

 

[twoodcc]

You're getting great points for running GPUs only!

True enough that you don't need a Xeon CPU; I just had it left over after doing Philipma1957's chip swap on the Pro to get a 3.33 6-core...

...and, following your suggestion, I'll probably eventually add another GPU into the windows box once funds permit... (as you mentioned, there's more power involved and I'll need to upgrade my power supply!)

thanks! i have one more GPU i just haven't hooked up yet. got another, but no room in my 2 rigs right now.

oh yeah, if you already have the Xeon then of course use it.

yeah the newer GPUs seem to need even more power

Who knows. I think os x is suppose to recognize a GPU hooked up to thunderbolt as if it were hooked into a pci-e slot but not sure if windows can.

yeah, not something i want to buy and find out the hard way.

 

[swordfish5736]

thanks! i have one more GPU i just haven't hooked up yet. got another, but no room in my 2 rigs right now.

oh yeah, if you already have the Xeon then of course use it.

yeah the newer GPUs seem to need even more power



yeah, not something i want to buy and find out the hard way.

Especially not at that price. Hopefully once more are available prices will come down

 

[swordfish5736]

so i decided to calculate the PPD of my macbook pro that i run fah on occasionally. Its a late 2008 unibody with 8gb ram, ssd and the 2.53ghz c2d

The results were rather puzzling. Unless i'm doing something wrong with my math its PPD came out to be 6650.63 thats higher than my mini server the first time i checked it and not much lower the second time i checked it. This mini scored a geek bench of almost 10k where as my mbp can't break 4k something seems off to me

 

[twoodcc]

so i decided to calculate the PPD of my macbook pro that i run fah on occasionally. Its a late 2008 unibody with 8gb ram, ssd and the 2.53ghz c2d

The results were rather puzzling. Unless i'm doing something wrong with my math its PPD came out to be 6650.63 thats higher than my mini server the first time i checked it and not much lower the second time i checked it. This mini scored a geek bench of almost 10k where as my mbp can't break 4k something seems off to me

it depends on the work unit. you gotta compare the same work units. some work units give higher PPD than others

 

[Dwightwo]

Was very exciting but that finish put a damper on things mmastream.cc. Any word on fall out from it, or is it just passing by?