Folding@Home FAQ

[Rower_CPU]

Q: What is the Folding@Home (F@H) project all about?
A: The F@H home page has some great information about the project. http://folding.stanford.edu/

Q: Where do I download the client?
A: http://folding.stanford.edu/English/download

Q: Is there an OS 9 client?
A: At this time, there are no plans to make an OS 9 client.

Q: Which client should I download?
A: It depends on your level of comfort with Terminal.app. The graphical and screensaver clients are easy to set up and monitor, but the added overhead of the graphic display wastes precious CPU cycles. We highly recommend using the text console version.

Q: What is MacRumors.com - Team Folding's team number?
A: We are team 3446.

Q: How do I set up the console version?
A: Follow the directions on the F@H site here http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandeg...X.html#console

Q: Do I need to be connected to the Internet to have F@H running?
A: No, F@H only needs to be connected when it sends and receives work units. It processes the proteins offline.

Q: Where can I find statistics for my contribution to the team and our position relative to other F@H teams?
A: There are several places you can find statistics:
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/...e&teamnum=3446
Extreme Overclocking
MacNN Stats

Please allow some time for your work units (WUs) to register in the Stanford server.

Q: How long does it take to complete a WU?
A: The amount of time needed to complete a WU varies by WU and by machine. There are two factors that affect how long it takes: WU size and computing power. A large WU will require more processing time than a smaller one. Your computer speed and available processor time are also key in determining how long each WU will take. Obviously, a 1GHz G4 should be twice as fast as 500MHz one, but if the 1GHz only works half the time, or at 50% of its capacity it is equal to the 500MHz machine running full-time at 100% capacity.

Q: How many points do I get for each WU?
A: It depends on the WU. See Stanford's Project Summary page for point information.

Q: What if a WU takes longer than the deadline to complete? Will I not get the points for it?
A: You will still get credit for the WU, but the Stanford group will not be able to use your work for their project. In other words, there is no computer too slow for F@H.

Q: What if a WU quits prematurely?
A: You will receive partial credit for partial WUs.

Q: Will F@H slow down my computer?
A: F@H uses your idle CPU cycles, scaling up and down depending on what you're doing on your computer. If you're playing a game, editing video, or doing some other CPU intentive task, F@H will drop down to a fraction of your CPU power. F@H will then scale back up to use more CPU time when it becomes available.

Q: Will F@H preempt other tasks?
A: F@H should take the lowest priority of all tasks on your machine. Applications you run, even when in the background, will have higher priority for CPU time that F@H. F@H only uses idle CPU time that is not being used by other programs.

Q: Will F@H damage my computer or shorten its lifespan?
A: Only if you do not have adequate cooling. As with any CPU intensive task you need to make sure that your machine stays cool and doesn't overheat. Other than that, F@H is just like any other application.

Q: How can I see my current progress?
A: The graphical and screensaver clients have built-in displays of your current progress. In order to see what's going on with the console version, you can check this file in your F@H directory:
work/logfile_0x.txt - x will be some number from 0-9 that matches the number in all the files named "wudata_0x.*".

Beginning with version 3.25 of F@H, Mac unitinfo.txt files are updated accurately. You can open the file directly from your F@H directory, or view it through your MyFolding.html page, also located in your F@H directory.

Q: Where can I find info about the protein I'm working on?
A: http://vspx27.stanford.edu/psummary.html

Q: Does F@H take advantage of Altivec and/or SSE?
A: As of May 19th, 2003, F@H can use the Gromacs core on Altivec and SSE enabled machines for substantial performance gains. You can find more discussion of Gromacs here.

Q: How can I spread awareness of F@H and advertise for the team?
A: Most F@H participants add some text to their signatures to indicate their participation in the project. Here is some sample code from Vlade that you can copy/paste and use (replace the !ABC! with your actual point count).

Alternately, you may copy and paste something like this into your sig:

Join MacRumors.com - Team Folding, and be a part of the Folding team!

You can also use the avatar below to show support:



Please post questions regarding the FAQ here.

Happy Folding and welcome to the team!