Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Scotttheking · Oct 27, 2001, 08:43 PM

For those of you who don't know, out big race with Phlump, from ArsTechnica, starts on Nov 1st.
I'll be putting info on it here, and we can discuss it here.
We currently need 4-5X the power we have in order to beat him.
So start recruiting

The race will run from Nov 1 to Dec 31. More info to come.

--Scott

rstevens · Oct 30, 2001, 11:34 AM

i've got a dual 800, how do i join up?

tadd · Oct 30, 2001, 01:12 PM

Originally posted by rstevens:
i've got a dual 800, how do i join up?

rstevens, do you run OS X? or OS 9?

There are solutions for both. The OS X solution I'm familiar with runs completely hidden. It starts at boot time and even if you log off and in as another user it keeps running. It uses idle cycles. The only thing it does that is obtrusive is to make an internet connection and that can happen often or infrequently depending on your tastes.

So, what OS do you use? Do you want it hidden or obvious, what internet connection do you have?

Somebody on here will help you regardless of your answers but what your answers are will determine how to handle it.

I'll be checking back in here later this evening.
Tadd

malson · Oct 30, 2001, 01:55 PM

You can find complete installation and operating instructions at the Team MacNN web site (team.macnn.com) Just click on the RC5 link and read away. We hope everyone will join our effort to be a top RC5 producing team!

Avenir · Oct 30, 2001, 03:14 PM

hmmm... so I decided to help out, I have Ethernet 24/7 in my dorm and a Ti 500 with 640MB that sits idle quite a bit when I'm at class after all, so I might as well do what I can. However, I have to admit that this RC5 stuff has been absolutely nothing but a pain in the ass. I started up the program, registered, but before i could set any options, it just quit on me. Now I run it, it starts to crunch something, but I can't change any options at all (command+K is useless). I try to quit the program, and it just sits there (like it's doing right now) saying " *BREAK* Shutting down " and that's it. I had to restart the last time to even quit the program, because force quit doesn't work. Any suggestions? Thanks guys, I really wanna help out.

[ massive spelling errors ]

[ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: Avenir ]

Oct 30, 2001, 04:10 PM

The RC5 client does quit once you save your prefs. If you save them before you're done changing them, then you'll have to go back in to change them. If you're running the command line client, type ./dnetc --config I believe to change your prefs. The client is VERY stable, I have not seen one crash or bug in the 2-3 years that I've been running it (on many different computers and platforms, macosx, macos8-9, linux 2.2, linux 2.4, win2k, win95-2000).

Justin

Oct 30, 2001, 04:12 PM

PS I'll quit my other team for a little while to compete!

GK · Oct 30, 2001, 04:19 PM

count me in, it's just a Ti400, but I expect to add 1000packets per day.

G4ME · Oct 30, 2001, 06:11 PM

Make sure that we all turn it up to 9 on processor usage, to maximize our packets
A nice touch would be to change our names in RC5 from our emails to our screen names on Macnn to do this click on edit you information on the RC5 screen null here

[ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: G4ME ]

seanyepez · Oct 30, 2001, 06:27 PM

Should I stop running SETI and go RC5?

How long does the race last?

seanyepez · Oct 30, 2001, 06:31 PM

Oh, never mind, it ends December 31st. Stupid me.

Scotttheking · Oct 30, 2001, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by G4ME:
Make sure that we all turn it up to 9 on processor usage, to maximize our packets
[ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: G4ME ]

How about not.

Don't turn it to 9, it will slow your computer down a ton.
It's better to leave the priority at 0.

Edit: Don't stop running seti.

[ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: Scotttheking ]

rstevens · Oct 30, 2001, 07:18 PM

i'm in os x.1

i'll look into this later tonight when my brains are DEAD.

if you want to post this on my 'sweeties messageboards, i'll back you up. there are a good number of mac nerds on there...

l008com · Oct 30, 2001, 07:44 PM

Yes, I say screw Seti, there are already enough people doing that, and i'm sure that seti at best cuts your DNet rate in half, and probalby does alot worse to it when they are running on the same mac at the same time. Also, I assume thanks to altivec, but a single G4 processor is over 3X faster than an intel processor of the same MHz, and even about 3X faster than a G3 of teh same MHz. So especially those G4s out there you may really want to join and help out. If we only have 1/3 as many members, but most G4 and this guy were racing uses all pentiums, we can still smoke him.

Scotttheking · Oct 30, 2001, 09:16 PM

Originally posted by l008com:
Yes, I say screw Seti, there are already enough people doing that, and i'm sure that seti at best cuts your DNet rate in half, and probalby does alot worse to it when they are running on the same mac at the same time. Also, I assume thanks to altivec, but a single G4 processor is over 3X faster than an intel processor of the same MHz, and even about 3X faster than a G3 of teh same MHz. So especially those G4s out there you may really want to join and help out. If we only have 1/3 as many members, but most G4 and this guy were racing uses all pentiums, we can still smoke him.

We? Does that mean you joined?

Don't quit SETI. We still need the power there too. I'm still doing SETI in addition to RC5.
It looks like we are ramping hard. We'll see

JustinHoMi · Oct 30, 2001, 09:45 PM

I dunno, looks like if we're gonna beat this guy we should all drop seti for the time being.It'd just be embarrassing to get beat.

Scotttheking · Oct 30, 2001, 10:45 PM

We can beat him, we just need to add a wee bit more power

rstevens · Oct 30, 2001, 11:07 PM

it's installed and just started cooking ...

l008com · Oct 31, 2001, 12:17 AM

No, I didn't join. But that doesn't mean I don't want TeamMacNN to win. I just choose to run alone. Free-lance. Solely. Exclusively. :-D OmniDictionary
Oh yeah, and i'm still goona beat you, but how do I get to that battle page thing? I can't find it!

(also, why don't you private message me with whatever it was you delete that got the guy all bent out of shape, i'd love to know what he said)

reader50 · Oct 31, 2001, 04:01 AM

Our Competitions page is linked to from all of the root level pages of Team MacNN. It is a root level page because it covers competitions from all of our projects.

JustinHoMi · Oct 31, 2001, 10:22 AM

PS Dunno if everyone knows this, but make sure you're running RC5 rather than OGR. By default it runs OGR, so you need to go to menu 2, option 9 and change the line to look like this:

DES,CSC,OGR:0,RC5

-Justin

chris v · Oct 31, 2001, 12:56 PM

My numbers will be a little low for today. I needed to unload a couple SETI work units I've been sitting on, so I could run RC5 uninterrupted for the next 2 months-- plus I set my work buffers to 36 hours just for today so that the next two days will show up on Nov. 1.

HERE WE GO!

CV

G4ME · Oct 31, 2001, 06:22 PM

Scott I have to disagree with you on setting the level to 9 because I an running it and it seems like its not even there, only when opening up apps but still that will only be a sec more, in OS X. so I could care less on my dual 500 so set it to 9 and let it run all night long, in console mode. thats why I got 3155 yesterday.

Scotttheking · Oct 31, 2001, 06:45 PM

The race has started.

IceEnclosure · Oct 31, 2001, 08:55 PM

I have the version that was suggested for G4 users in OS9... but I still get consistently lower(2.x Mkeys/second) avg in OS9 than OSX (4.x/Mkeys sec) what gives? if I stopped using the computer, would the OS9 score go up? say, overnight? thanks

reader50 · Oct 31, 2001, 11:02 PM

IceEnclosure,

Some other process could be absorbing CPU cycles in OS 9. Try our RC5 Software page, download PPCLoadWatcher and/or ProcessInfo, both are down in the General Utilities area. Either of them should be able to show if any other process is eating up your spare CPU cycles.

It is possible that the Multiprocessing folder has been removed from your OS 9 Extensions folder, or that the file inside called "Apple CPU Plugins" has been removed.

You could try setting RC5 to a higher priority in OS 9, to see if that does the trick.

fourstarcltv · Nov 1, 2001, 03:03 AM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
The race has started.

i've just directed my keys to team macnn.

my g4/450dp will be crunching around 7.8mk/s very shortly.

SkiBikeSki · Nov 1, 2001, 11:36 AM

In my dorm there are a lot of computers that I'm sure I can enlist to help me, and us in this comptetion. However I am the only one with power mac. There are a couple of iMac, and then mostly Athlons or P4's. I won't even waste my time asking the P4 people for help, but I'll enlist as many Athlons as I can.

Devlin · Nov 1, 2001, 12:32 PM

I'll throw my Ti400 into the mix.

Go Team MacNN!

[ 11-01-2001: Message edited by: Devlin ]

GK · Nov 1, 2001, 02:49 PM

how do you use rc5 inn console mode ?

i typed console in the terminal, but it asked for a password, my admin password didn.t work

Scotttheking · Nov 1, 2001, 03:11 PM

Originally posted by GK:
how do you use rc5 inn console mode ?

i typed console in the terminal, but it asked for a password, my admin password didn.t work

Log out of your computer.
Then type in >console for the user.
Log in, and run RC5.

Cooter · Nov 1, 2001, 11:17 PM

Alright, I'm in til its over, then its back to Evangelist.

I'm adding a PB2400c, Umax C600 with a G3 upgrade, 9600/233, a Celery 500, and a QS867.

I think that will be around 10-11Kkeys.

Cipher13 · Nov 2, 2001, 01:51 AM

I say ditch SETI. Honestly, its the only way we can win.

What are we at now? 2X the original power at best?

fourstarcltv · Nov 2, 2001, 04:44 AM

Originally posted by fourstarcltv:


i've just directed my keys to team macnn.

my g4/450dp will be crunching around 7.8mk/s very shortly.

i'll be giving my brand-new g4/733 quicksilver a workout when i pick it up tomorrow morning.... it'll be crunching for team macnn !!

that'll be three g4 processors (two 450's in the g4/450dp and a 733 in the quicksilver) crunching 16hrs/day. nice !

[ 11-02-2001: Message edited by: fourstarcltv ]

Scotttheking · Nov 2, 2001, 07:34 AM

Originally posted by Cipher13:
I say ditch SETI. Honestly, its the only way we can win.

What are we at now? 2X the original power at best?

We did 111000 blocks yesterday.
Phlump did 219000 yesterday.
We still need double the power

Keep joining people.
Make sure the client runs at bootup.

And if anyone knows who pulled the firealarm in my dorm at 6:10am, I will pay money to be the person to beat them to a pulp.

--Scott

Devlin · Nov 2, 2001, 09:10 AM

Anyone got a minute to answer some newbie questions? I just started running RC5 yesterday and I've got some questions based on the following output:

RC5: Summary: 165 packets (720.00 stats units)
0.17:53:14.62 - [3,001,392 keys/s]

1) Packet = block?
2) What are stats units?
3) Is 3 Kkeys/sec good for a Ti400? I did all the tweaks provided.

[ 11-02-2001: Message edited by: Devlin ]

GetSome681 · Nov 2, 2001, 11:14 AM

Originally posted by Devlin:
Anyone got a minute to answer some newbie questions? I just started running RC5 yesterday and I've got some questions based on the following output:

RC5: Summary: 165 packets (720.00 stats units)
0.17:53:14.62 - [3,001,392 keys/s]

1) Packet = block?
2) What are stats units?
3) Is 3 Kkeys/sec good for a Ti400? I did all the tweaks provided.

[ 11-02-2001: Message edited by: Devlin ]

1. No, I don't think packets are the same as blocks..usually there are a few blocks per packet of data they send you.

2. umm..i have no idea..i just run the faceless client..and leave it to its business..

3. Yes, that rate is about right for that computer..it always is going to depend on what else you are doing on the computer, but that's about right.

JustinHoMi · Nov 2, 2001, 11:53 AM

Stats units are how they measure how much your client has left before it's going to have to go back on the net and update it's buffers. If your client is crunching so fast that it is constantly updating on the net, then you can increase the buffer size and have it download more units everytime it goes on. I think it automatically adjusts based on your rate though.

I think I had a cube crunching at like 4kilokeys/sec, so you might want to see if something else is gobbling cpu. Are you running 9 or X?

Justin

Todd Madson · Nov 2, 2001, 12:56 PM

I just joined up. I'd been a member of Team BeOS for a while, and later
Ars Technica - I wasn't even aware you were having a race.

Here's my key generation farm:

Macs:
G4/400/1.2 gigs ram/20G HDs
G3/400/128 megs ram/13G HDs
603/180/80 megs ram/1.6 HDs

PCs:
800 Mhz PIII / 256 megs ram
350 Mhz PII / 128 megs ram
350 Mhz PII / 128 megs ram

Hope that helps.

Devlin · Nov 2, 2001, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by JustinHoMi:

I think I had a cube crunching at like 4kilokeys/sec, so you might want to see if something else is gobbling cpu. Are you running 9 or X?

Justin

X.1 but it's the machine I do my work on all day, so I don't run it "nice"ly but I'm sure my work slows my crunching down. Also, I've noticed that my fan is ALWAYS running now, so my CPU is really getting a workout.

BTW Thanks to those who replied to my newbie questions.

malson · Nov 2, 2001, 01:34 PM

I've got my new Athlon box crunching for Team MacNN now. It's a Athlon XP 1800+ running at 1.53gHz. Preliminary runs show that it's getting 5.41MKeys/sec. I'm gonna try installing Linux and running from the command line and see if I get any increase in speed. Now, just with the three machines I have at home I'm getting about 19.9MKeys/sec. Not too shabby...

G4 Dual 800 - 14.1MKeys/sec
AMD Athlon XP - 5.4 MKeys/sec
PowerMac 8500/150 - 480KKeys/sec

cpatubo · Nov 2, 2001, 03:54 PM

Okay, I'm in... allow me to familiarize myself with all this greek...

IceEnclosure · Nov 2, 2001, 04:46 PM

14+Mkeys/sec is badass... i want a dual!!

anyhow, I'm finding OSX to produce better numbers for me as I also use the computer for other things... 4.5+/sec usually, so I'm happy

OS9, while using it for other things, i'm generally getting around 2.6Mkeys/sec upto 4.2ish/sec

how often does the stats page update on the team.macnn members page?

Nov 2, 2001, 05:48 PM

Originally posted by malson:
I've got my new Athlon box crunching for Team MacNN now. It's a Athlon XP 1800+ running at 1.53gHz. Preliminary runs show that it's getting 5.41MKeys/sec. I'm gonna try installing Linux and running from the command line and see if I get any increase in speed. Now, just with the three machines I have at home I'm getting about 19.9MKeys/sec. Not too shabby...

G4 Dual 800 - 14.1MKeys/sec
AMD Athlon XP - 5.4 MKeys/sec
PowerMac 8500/150 - 480KKeys/sec

Glad you got it working.
You did erase the hard drive and reinstall, right?

Ice: We update once per day, same as the RC5 stats themselves.
Reader will get back to you on when that is.

PatGmac · Nov 2, 2001, 06:26 PM

I'm in. Just joined about 2 days ago.

G4/500SP 1Gig
G4/400 320MB (work)
PIII/850 320MB (work)
Athlon 1Ghz if i ever put a hard drive in it.

cpatubo · Nov 2, 2001, 07:30 PM

okay, on my end, so far...

iMac/266/96 (work)
G4/400/256 (work)
G4/533/384 (work)
PBG4/400/384

more to come... we have over 25 macs in this office

IceEnclosure · Nov 2, 2001, 08:37 PM

way to go courtney!

and.. just wondering, what's this Phlump guy have? like 1000 athlons or somethin?

reader50 · Nov 2, 2001, 09:29 PM

Originally posted by IceEnclosure:
...how often does the stats page update on the team.macnn members page?

Currently, I do the stats updates around 9-10 AM California time (PST). Once we quit messing with the code to add features, the stats will run automatically, and probably a few hours earlier.

We hope to presently run the SETI member stats hourly, but that is not possible with RC5.

Scotttheking · Nov 2, 2001, 10:34 PM

Originally posted by IceEnclosure:
way to go courtney!

and.. just wondering, what's this Phlump guy have? like 1000 athlons or somethin?

Probably more then that

malson · Nov 2, 2001, 11:02 PM

Originally posted by <Scotttheking>:


Glad you got it working.
You did erase the hard drive and reinstall, right?

I have now. There was so much crap on there! It has been wiped clean and the only stuff is a minimum Win98 install, various drivers, and Dnet. Thanks again for the stuff. I now have a 60gig ATA/100 drive and a GForce 2MX 400 on there way here. Both for $100! Not a bad deal...

Edit: Stupid UBB code...

[ 11-03-2001: Message edited by: malson ]