The Macross and its Fold systems

jav6454 · Oct 31, 2010

Welcome to the Folding thread of The Macross
The Macross is my custom built computer. It was built for general computing, gaming and Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Analysis. The Macross is overclocked on most components like the GPUs, RAM and CPU. As of now, the Macross has fulfilled all duties in my engineering career and is always left with spare power and computing power; this is also the case when I game. As a result, I have decided to use this left over power to help a noble cause like Stanford's Folding@Home Distributed Computing Program.

This thread is merely a discussion for all interested in stats, components and other folding related queries I, or others, may have about Folding@Home on the Macross.

You can find the main thread about the Macross here and discuss future components or other computer hardware queries there.

Currently Folding @ Home General Status: Offline
CPU: Intel Core i7-930 @ 3.8GHz OC - Off
GPU: ATI HD 5850 @ 765MHz OC - Off
GPU: ATI HD 5850 @ 765MHz OC - Off

To view my current stats on Folding@Home: Click Here

SciFrog · Nov 1, 2010

Check in your FAH log what unit number you are running (usually a 4 digit number). If it starts with 26xx it is a bigadv. These units are bigger and take longer on a powerful machine running 24/7 to finish the unit on time for a bonus. This is the way to get the maximum number of points.

To get this bonus you need a passkey, and you need to have return succesfully 10 units.

On your machine, these units should take 40-50 mins to crunch 1%.

jav6454 · Nov 1, 2010

Last night my machine was doing 2500/6666, was that a bigadv? Also, at idle, the CPU was loaded to 26%

SciFrog · Nov 1, 2010

CPU usage should be 100%, you are not setup correctly.
You need to specify "-SMP 8".
What speed is your CPU? At default, you might be tight to reach the bigadv deadline...

jav6454 · Nov 1, 2010

SciFrog said:
CPU usage should be 100%, you are not setup correctly.
You need to specify "-SMP 8".
What speed is your CPU? At default, you might be tight to reach the bigadv deadline...

Like I said, I'm new to all this. Where exactly does the specification have to go?

If it helps, it's an i7-930 @ 3.8GHz OC. Currently, I'm running two clients (or at least trying), one is Macross, the other is my MacBook 2.4GHz (this one is running @ 100% load.)

SciFrog · Nov 1, 2010

When you launch the client you put some options:

"./fah -smp 8 -bigadv - local -verbose 9" is how I launch the application for example in the terminal.

If this is over your head, you might wnt to look at a program called InCrease to run the app, just switch team number to 3446 (MacRumors).

jav6454 · Nov 1, 2010

SciFrog said:
When you launch the client you put some options:

"./fah -smp 8 -bigadv - local -verbose 9" is how I launch the application for example in the terminal.

If this is over your head, you might wnt to look at a program called InCrease to run the app, just switch team number to 3446 (MacRumors).

I doubt it's the same as in Win7. I may have to brush up on some stuff then.

twoodcc · Nov 1, 2010

you can do it in windows 7. the first thing is to make sure you have the right client. follow this link, and download the 6.30 client at the bottom of the page. you might have to uninstall the one you have going now.

then all you have to do is put the client in a folder on your computer. you might want to rename the client "fah.exe"

then, start up cmd. (from start menu, just type cmd and press enter and it will start). you must move into the folder with the fah.exe file (just ask if you don't know how to do this)

once in the folder, i would start off by typing "fah -configonly". this will allow you to put in all your user info without actually starting anything. here you will put in your username, team number (3446), your passkey. the client will stop after this.

then, to start the client, you just type "fah -smp 8 -bigadv -verbosity 9 -local" and that will do it. if you don't want to run your computer at 100% load, you can run -smp 7 instead, and it will run around 90% or so.

if this doesn't make much sense, there are tons of guides to get you started. here is an example

here is link of passkey information.

jav6454 · Nov 1, 2010

twoodcc said:
you can do it in windows 7. the first thing is to make sure you have the right client. follow this link, and download the 6.30 client at the bottom of the page. you might have to uninstall the one you have going now.

then all you have to do is put the client in a folder on your computer. you might want to rename the client "fah.exe"

then, start up cmd. (from start menu, just type cmd and press enter and it will start). you must move into the folder with the fah.exe file (just ask if you don't know how to do this)

once in the folder, i would start off by typing "fah -configonly". this will allow you to put in all your user info without actually starting anything. here you will put in your username, team number (3446), your passkey. the client will stop after this.

then, to start the client, you just type "fah -smp 8 -bigadv -verbosity 9 -local" and that will do it. if you don't want to run your computer at 100% load, you can run -smp 7 instead, and it will run around 90% or so.

if this doesn't make much sense, there are tons of guides to get you started. here is an example

here is link of passkey information.

Thanks! I will uninstall the one I have then! Don't worry, I know how to navigate the COMMAND PROMPT.

twoodcc · Nov 1, 2010

jav6454 said:
Thanks! I will uninstall the one I have then! Don't worry, I know how to navigate the COMMAND PROMPT.

alright sounds good. let me know if you run into any trouble. and don't forget, there's gpu folding as well!

jav6454 · Nov 5, 2010

twoodcc said:
alright sounds good. let me know if you run into any trouble. and don't forget, there's gpu folding as well!

How do I enable GPU folding? In this case for my pair of HD5850s.

twoodcc · Nov 5, 2010

jav6454 said:
How do I enable GPU folding? In this case for my pair of HD5850s.

you have to run a separate gpu client. are you running them in crossfire? i don't think it will work with crossfire.

and i'll warn you that the current gpu3 client is not optimized for ati cards. they will still work, but not near as good as nvidia cards

btw, how is the cpu client working for you? did you get a passkey?

jav6454 · Nov 5, 2010

twoodcc said:
you have to run a separate gpu client. are you running them in crossfire? i don't think it will work with crossfire.

and i'll warn you that the current gpu3 client is not optimized for ati cards. they will still work, but not near as good as nvidia cards

btw, how is the cpu client working for you? did you get a passkey?

I did not get a Passkey, I tried one, but it got rejected so I decided not to run one. Does it matter or is it recommended I have one?

Also, on the ATI cards, then I won't run it since if it isn't optimized I feel it would just be a waste and possibly not get any points. Yes, the cards are running on CrossFire.

twoodcc · Nov 5, 2010

jav6454 said:
I did not get a Passkey, I tried one, but it got rejected so I decided not to run one. Does it matter or is it recommended I have one?

Also, on the ATI cards, then I won't run it since if it isn't optimized I feel it would just be a waste and possibly not get any points. Yes, the cards are running on CrossFire.

if you want to run the -bigadv units, you must have a passkey. in fact, to get any bonus points for meeting deadlines, you must have a passkey. so i would highly recommend getting one if you can.

without any bonus, you won't get the real points.

are you running -bigadv units?

yeah i wouldn't worry with the gpu folding. i mean, you would get points, just you wouldn't be able to process the units as fast as nvidia cards

jav6454 · Nov 5, 2010

twoodcc said:
if you want to run the -bigadv units, you must have a passkey. in fact, to get any bonus points for meeting deadlines, you must have a passkey. so i would highly recommend getting one if you can.

without any bonus, you won't get the real points.

are you running -bigadv units?

yeah i wouldn't worry with the gpu folding. i mean, you would get points, just you wouldn't be able to process the units as fast as nvidia cards

Got the passkey now.

Yes, I am running -bigadv units...

I just hope the client gets ATI friendly sometime soon.I typed what you wrote above, with the exception of "-smp 8"; I used "-smp 7" since I don't want 100% load.

Quick question, how do I close the CMD prompt without exiting F@H?

twoodcc · Nov 5, 2010

jav6454 said:
Got the passkey now.

Yes, I am running -bigadv units...

I just hope the client gets ATI friendly sometime soon.I typed what you wrote above, with the exception of "-smp 8"; I used "-smp 7" since I don't want 100% load.

Quick question, how do I close the CMD prompt without exiting F@H?

ok good. -smp 7 should be fine. what kind of times per frame are you getting (the time it takes to complete 1% of the unit)

also, i just minimize the CMD prompt. i do not know of a way to close it and not exit fah. there may be a way to do it. you can try googling "run fah as a service". i never set it up this way b/c i didn't mind the CMD prompt. let us know if you get it work

jav6454 · Nov 5, 2010

twoodcc said:
ok good. -smp 7 should be fine. what kind of times per frame are you getting (the time it takes to complete 1% of the unit)

also, i just minimize the CMD prompt. i do not know of a way to close it and not exit fah. there may be a way to do it. you can try googling "run fah as a service". i never set it up this way b/c i didn't mind the CMD prompt. let us know if you get it work

I lower it at -smp 6 when I do stuff (like games) on the computer, and even at that rate I get ~4 minutes per frame; it finished a load of 500,000 with 96% of time left and at 5,000 intervals.

Right now, I upped it again to -smp 7 and it is doing it at 10 to 8 minutes... however, the total load is 2,000,000 and it is doing 20,000 at a time.

twoodcc · Nov 6, 2010

jav6454 said:
I lower it at -smp 6 when I do stuff (like games) on the computer, and even at that rate I get ~4 minutes per frame; it finished a load of 500,000 with 96% of time left and at 5,000 intervals.

Right now, I upped it again to -smp 7 and it is doing it at 10 to 8 minutes... however, the total load is 2,000,000 and it is doing 20,000 at a time.

oh ok thanks. even though you have the -bigadv flag in your command, you don't always get -bigadv units. with your system, they will take over 30 min per frame. if they still even have them (i have stopped with the -bigadv units for now b/c of heat. i'm doing straight gpu folding at this point)

jav6454 · Nov 6, 2010

twoodcc said:
oh ok thanks. even though you have the -bigadv flag in your command, you don't always get -bigadv units. with your system, they will take over 30 min per frame. if they still even have them (i have stopped with the -bigadv units for now b/c of heat. i'm doing straight gpu folding at this point)

I'm not worried about my temps, they keep in the mid-high 60s *C, so not much to worry there.

I won't be able to GPU fold, until nVidia comes up with a better kind of chip, I refuse to buy a Fermi chip.

twoodcc · Nov 6, 2010

jav6454 said:
I'm not worried about my temps, they keep in the mid-high 60s *C, so not much to worry there.

I won't be able to GPU fold, until nVidia comes up with a better kind of chip, I refuse to buy a Fermi chip.

yeah under 70 C is great.

what's wrong with the Fermi chips? they are great for folding, even though they are power hogs.

btw, what is your name for folding? and let us know when you get a big unit (over 30 min a frame)

jav6454 · Nov 6, 2010

twoodcc said:
yeah under 70 C is great.

what's wrong with the Fermi chips? they are great for folding, even though they are power hogs.

btw, what is your name for folding? and let us know when you get a big unit (over 30 min a frame)

my name under Folding follows my same MacRumors name: jav6454

Fermi chips like you said are too power hungry and produce too much heat for my liking. Until nVidia better designs Fermi, I won't even touch em with a ten foot pole.

twoodcc · Nov 6, 2010

jav6454 said:
my name under Folding follows my same MacRumors name: jav6454

Fermi chips like you said are too power hungry and produce too much heat for my liking. Until nVidia better designs Fermi, I won't even touch em with a ten foot pole.

oh ok. i'll look out for you on our team.

yeah they are power hungry, and with power comes heat. but i personally wouldn't say that about them. i mean, it's personal preference, all cards produce heat. both ati and nvidia make good cards, but with folding, the client is optimized for nvidia cards, so that's why i went with them.

jav6454 · Nov 6, 2010

twoodcc said:
oh ok. i'll look out for you on our team.

yeah they are power hungry, and with power comes heat. but i personally wouldn't say that about them. i mean, it's personal preference, all cards produce heat. both ati and nvidia make good cards, but with folding, the client is optimized for nvidia cards, so that's why i went with them.

Thing is I am very critical of things like Fermi. nVidia should flat out say they suck in efficiency, but they try to pass it out as consuming more watts is better. Meanwhile, ATI is touting similar performance on a 8+ month older than Fermi GPU with way less watt consumption. That's what gets me. I don't hate nVidia, but I will be vocal when a company does something that equals *****.

My first GPU was an nVidia GeForce 6800 GT OC by BFG. That thing still runs and powered my old machine for 6 years before I decommissioned the entire thing as main computer. Perhaps the GTX600 series will be nVidia's redemption?

twoodcc · Nov 6, 2010

jav6454 said:
Thing is I am very critical of things like Fermi. nVidia should flat out say they suck in efficiency, but they try to pass it out as consuming more watts is better. Meanwhile, ATI is touting similar performance on a 8+ month older than Fermi GPU with way less watt consumption. That's what gets me. I don't hate nVidia, but I will be vocal when a company does something that equals *****.

My first GPU was an nVidia GeForce 6800 GT OC by BFG. That thing still runs and powered my old machine for 6 years before I decommissioned the entire thing as main computer. Perhaps the GTX600 series will be nVidia's redemption?

well i'm not trying to get into any "nvidia vs ati" wars. all i know is that when it comes to folding, nvidia wins right now. and that's b/c of the folding client, not the cards themselves.

but enough of that. i'm glad you are folding on the team. the more machines that we have running -bigadv units, the better. once you start getting the big units, and after you complete 10 units with your passkey, you'll start getting bonus points

jav6454 · Nov 6, 2010

twoodcc said:
well i'm not trying to get into any "nvidia vs ati" wars. all i know is that when it comes to folding, nvidia wins right now. and that's b/c of the folding client, not the cards themselves.

but enough of that. i'm glad you are folding on the team. the more machines that we have running -bigadv units, the better. once you start getting the big units, and after you complete 10 units with your passkey, you'll start getting bonus points

Agreed. Now, if I can only start getting some -bigadv units...

The Macross and its Fold systems

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