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krove · Jan 13, 2003, 03:26 AM

Been out for a while, but I figure I can reutilize all my unused CPU capacity at work. Be prepared, because I want to be back in the top 5 again!

And this is me poking you guys with a stick:

Shaktai · Jan 13, 2003, 03:49 AM

Welcome back! The more the merrier, especially with all those rowdy pups nipping at our heels.

Be sure to update your clients, and if any of your farm is PC's, don't forget to specify FAH preferred in the Advanced options.

krove · Jan 13, 2003, 12:14 PM

Thanks for the tips!

Shaktai · Jan 14, 2003, 01:51 PM

Nice production for the last 24 hours. Looks like you came back in style, and with plenty of power to spare.

krove · Jan 14, 2003, 02:32 PM

Originally posted by Shaktai:
Nice production for the last 24 hours. Looks like you came back in style, and with plenty of power to spare.

You haven't seen anything yet!

Shaktai · Jan 14, 2003, 09:46 PM

Originally posted by krove:
You haven't seen anything yet!

Hooo weee!!!

You keep going like that and I am going to have to keep my eyes peeled on the rearview mirror. Making the top 5 won't be any problem at all for you.

Now this is going to get fun. Some real inter-team competition, and LWD all at the same time. It looked like Scott was going to pass you real soon, but I don't think that is going to happen unless he turns it up a couple more notches. I might have to start saving my pennies for another box.

krove · Jan 14, 2003, 11:59 PM

Got some new 2.5 GHz P4s at work that sit idle, so I thought I might harness their unused potential. Add in some other machines and I have quite a growing arsenal...

passmaster16 · Jan 15, 2003, 01:20 AM

Originally posted by krove:
Got some new 2.5 GHz P4s at work that sit idle, so I thought I might harness their unused potential. Add in some other machines and I have quite a growing arsenal...

hmm, maybe i'll have to build that 1.6 and 2.4 P4 after all.

Scotttheking · Jan 15, 2003, 09:53 AM

Originally posted by passmaster16:
hmm, maybe i'll have to build that 1.6 and 2.4 P4 after all.

AMD!
Last time I checked, F@H really likes AMD.
/opinion

MMM, lots of computers. It'll be interesting to see what you all can do.
I hope someone answers my trading post

Shaktai · Jan 15, 2003, 01:56 PM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
AMD!
Last time I checked, F@H really likes AMD.
/opinion

Yep, you are right. Folding@Home really likes AMD's and Windows. That does seem to be the hot ticket for this project. I run a mix of WinXP, Linux and Mac OS, and still have room for about 3 more boxes, just not the dollars yet.

krove · Jan 15, 2003, 02:16 PM

So, what determines the power column in the stats (MHz and GHz ratings)?

Does F@H collect these stats? Or are they simply a reflection of current crunching speed?

reader50 · Jan 15, 2003, 02:52 PM

It checks the User Database section to see if you have entered real data for your system(s). Since the User Database section is not written yet, this never produces anything.

If it fails to get real data, it estimates Power based on your average crunch rate, which is weekly-based.

Scotttheking · Jan 15, 2003, 03:31 PM

Originally posted by Shaktai:
Yep, you are right. Folding@Home really likes AMD's and Windows. That does seem to be the hot ticket for this project. I run a mix of WinXP, Linux and Mac OS, and still have room for about 3 more boxes, just not the dollars yet.

So is F@H windows client running in linux on AMD the fastest?

I'll get that running tonight

Shaktai · Jan 16, 2003, 01:47 AM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
So is F@H windows client running in linux on AMD the fastest?
I'll get that running tonight

Hey now, cut me some slack here. I was suffering from oxygen deprivation. (Bronchitis on top of Asthma).

My Athlon 1900's running Win XP are about 10-12% faster then my Athlon 2200 running Linux. This seems to be the par for the course on this project.

Once the prices drop I want to pick up an Athlon 2800. I already have one mobo with a compatible 333mhz FSB, just need a chip that can take advantage of it. That will probably be my next upgrade. Then it will free up a 1900 to build another box with later on.

Scotttheking · 05:55 AM

Originally posted by Shaktai:
Hey now, cut me some slack here. I was suffering from oxygen deprivation. (Bronchitis on top of Asthma).

My Athlon 1900's running Win XP are about 10-12% faster then my Athlon 2200 running Linux. This seems to be the par for the course on this project.

Once the prices drop I want to pick up an Athlon 2800. I already have one mobo with a compatible 333mhz FSB, just need a chip that can take advantage of it. That will probably be my next upgrade. Then it will free up a 1900 to build another box with later on.

Hmm.
I'm waiting for the price of 2400s to drop to $100 or lower.
I need to see if my server can even take a 2400 without a bios flash.
I'm hoping to replace my 2 1800s with 2400s, but they won't drop for a while.

Edit: Stupid procs went UP in price.

I'll run the windows client on one of the linux boxes, but I don't want any extraneous stuff like that on my server, so it stays linux client on the server.
I'll see how it goes. Should give a small boost.

krove · Jan 16, 2003, 11:57 AM

Woohoo! This is fun: 114 points in last day! Sweet...

In case some still haven't noticed:

Shaktai · Jan 16, 2003, 01:51 PM

Originally posted by krove:
Woohoo! This is fun: 114 points in last day! Sweet...

In case some still haven't noticed:

I noticed!!!!!

Scotttheking · Jan 16, 2003, 07:14 PM

how much more do you have left to add now?

krove · Jan 16, 2003, 11:57 PM

I think I've got just about every available machine at work and all my home Macs, so that about does it, I should start leveling off around tomorrow

Kinda weird seeing all the lines in the graphs just keep going up, up, up, huh?

Shaktai · Jan 17, 2003, 01:59 AM

Darned impressive, and you came back at a really good time. I am guessing that you decided to go for the #1 slot.

Guess I will just have to settle for getting there first, and keeping it warm for you, as my reign as folding king will surely be short lived.

krove · Jan 17, 2003, 01:46 PM

I think we'd need at least two or three more crunching at a rate similar to mine to ward off the dogs, unfortunately.

We just don't have the power, captain!

Osirisis · Jan 17, 2003, 02:12 PM

Originally posted by krove:
I think we'd need at least two or three more crunching at a rate similar to mine to ward off the dogs, unfortunately.

We just don't have the power, captain!

I can only justify so many PCs on my desk at work for testing purposes

Scotttheking · Jan 17, 2003, 03:57 PM

Originally posted by krove:
I think we'd need at least two or three more crunching at a rate similar to mine to ward off the dogs, unfortunately.

We just don't have the power, captain!

Just don't look at me, I'm broke.

The only thing I'm adding is that I start working at home, and work gave me a P2-400 (oh joy oh joy), so I put f@h on it

Shaktai · Jan 18, 2003, 04:07 AM

Hey, we aren't doing so bad. The dogs were as close as 11 days to catch us, and now they are back out to 13+, and we are still improving. Since the push we have passed one team and will pass another soon. First time we have really been headed back up the ranks in a long time. LWD doesn't have us beat yet. Still plenty of time to scrape up more CPU cycles.

Shaktai · Jan 28, 2003, 03:47 AM

krove, Looks like you definitely made the top 5 again. Congratulations on a quick reaching of your goal.

Now the big question is where can I scrape up 3 or 4 more boxes to keep you out of the #1 slot??

Scotttheking · Jan 28, 2003, 03:49 AM

I might be getting a slight power boost in like 3 weeks

People in front of me, watch out.

krove · Jan 28, 2003, 03:49 AM

[wipes forehead] whew...it wasn't easy. j/k

Thanks. I hope to see some more renewed interest from our dormant team members.

Scotttheking · Jan 28, 2003, 07:32 PM

http://teamstats.macnn.com/fold/stats.php?page=p1&UID=2

Note the recent production

krove · Jan 28, 2003, 07:51 PM

Nice! Now things are really heating up

Scotttheking · Jan 28, 2003, 08:17 PM

Mmm, all the parts I need to get an athlon xp 1700 system with 256MB ram up and running, for only about $210.
And that system can be OCed to 1850MHz or so

/me ponders
I really need a job

How much f@h production per day can I expect from that system, assuming it runs linux and the windows client?
Also, does f@h like memory bandwidth?

Shaktai · Jan 28, 2003, 10:21 PM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
How much f@h production per day can I expect from that system, assuming it runs linux and the windows client?
Also, does f@h like memory bandwidth?

Well my 1900's, not overclocked but running Windows will do about 24 points a day under WinXP. Under Linux it is more like 20. Of course mileage does vary with the Protein. I get by very well with 256 mb of RAM.

reader50 · Jan 28, 2003, 11:09 PM

Scott is referring to using WINE, a free linux/unix library that provides Windows APIs under linux. Naturally, it skips all the junk M$ puts into the real Windoze codebase, and does not try to call home to Redmond each time you do something unusual. End result: windows apps tend to be noticeably faster running under WINE on linux, than running under the real Windows on the same box. The site FAQ mentioned that a Mac OS X port was under consideration the last time I'd checked it, but I can't seem to find that reference now.

Not all Windows apps work under WINE yet. It may be because the full Windows API sets are not published, and have to be discovered by trial and error. DC clients tend to run under it ok, and in some cases (like Folding), the Win client seems to be better written than the native Linux client. So Scott is getting the maximum folding speed by running the Windows client under Linux.

The above link is to the development site, and has lots of info. You can find some more consumer-friendly (but limited) stuff here.

Scotttheking · Jan 28, 2003, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by reader50:
The site FAQ mentioned that a Mac OS X port was under consideration the last time I'd checked it, but I can't seem to find that reference now.

Can't happen.
WINE is a recursive acronym.
Wine Is Not Emulation
It can only run on x86 processors.
For the mac it's called virtual PC, and it's much slower then running the OSX version.

However, it can be quite fast.
I guess I can expect 27-30 points per day.

krove · Jan 29, 2003, 12:11 AM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
Mmm, all the parts I need to get an athlon xp 1700 system with 256MB ram up and running, for only about $210.
And that system can be OCed to 1850MHz or so
/me ponders
I really need a job

How much f@h production per day can I expect from that system, assuming it runs linux and the windows client?
Also, does f@h like memory bandwidth?

So if I put up $210, you could put together a machine?

Scotttheking · Jan 29, 2003, 12:15 AM

Originally posted by krove:
So if I put up $210, you could put together a machine?

Maybe, but it would not be very high quality, if I could do it at all.

That $210 covers motherboard with onboard NIC, HSF, processor, and ram.
I have the power supply, video, and HD (this box is going to have a HD, not netboot).
Now that I think about it, I'm going to have to add another switch, too.
Guess it's time to see if that 18 port one actually works.

reader50 · Jan 29, 2003, 12:24 AM

WINE has two parts. A binary executor, and an API translation library.

Currently, the binary execution is just passed through to the local CPU. For WINE to run on PPC, the bochs open source x86 emulator would have to be substituted here. The WINE project does not do code work on the hardware emulation side, hence the name.

The part they do work on is the API translation library. This remaps Win API calls to their Unix equivalents and back again, allowing the native OS to support the Windows program. Most programs consist largely of API calls, so an efficient library could prove very fast compared to full hardware emulation running full Windows - what VPC does today.

DC clients are an exception, they put most of the load on binary executables. Since WINE on x86 just passes binary execution to the processor, this works ok, and the Win compilers used for SETI/Folding were apparently more efficient than the Linux compilers used. Perhaps the project people spent more time optimizing the Win compile. For whatever reason, the Win clients run faster on those projects.

The WINE project does not lock itself into x86. This WINE Myths FAQ answer comes the closest to offering eventual support on other chip architectures. Their general FAQs did say OSX was being considered when I last checked a month ago. But that reference seems to have been removed.

krove · Jan 29, 2003, 12:28 AM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
Maybe, but it would not be very high quality, if I could do it at all.

That $210 covers motherboard with onboard NIC, HSF, processor, and ram.
I have the power supply, video, and HD (this box is going to have a HD, not netboot).
Now that I think about it, I'm going to have to add another switch, too.
Guess it's time to see if that 18 port one actually works.

I have an old 1 GB HD I could donate if you could use it.

Shaktai · Jan 29, 2003, 12:50 AM

Originally posted by reader50:
Scott is referring to using WINE, a free linux/unix library that provides Windows APIs under linux. Naturally, it skips all the junk M$ puts into the real Windoze codebase, and does not try to call home to Redmond each time you do something unusual. End result: windows apps tend to be noticeably faster running under WINE on linux, than running under the real Windows on the same box. The site FAQ mentioned that a Mac OS X port was under consideration the last time I'd checked it, but I can't seem to find that reference now.

Not all Windows apps work under WINE yet. It may be because the full Windows API sets are not published, and have to be discovered by trial and error. DC clients tend to run under it ok, and in some cases (like Folding), the Win client seems to be better written than the native Linux client. So Scott is getting the maximum folding speed by running the Windows client under Linux.

The above link is to the development site, and has lots of info. You can find some more consumer-friendly (but limited) stuff here.

This is all new to me. Sounds like I need to check this out for my Athlon 2200 that is running Linux. All it does is crunch, and if I could improve performance....... Have to see if there is a "dummy" version that I can make sense of.

Scotttheking · Jan 31, 2003, 03:02 AM

Originally posted by krove:
I have an old 1 GB HD I could donate if you could use it.

Naw, I'm good.
Just got a 20GB HD in today, new 60GB HD should be here early next week. Netboot covers the rest.
Thx for the offer though.

Originally posted by Shaktai:
This is all new to me. Sounds like I need to check this out for my Athlon 2200 that is running Linux. All it does is crunch, and if I could improve performance....... Have to see if there is a "dummy" version that I can make sense of.

I'm not very good with WINE, but I'd be happy to try and help if you need it.

Shaktai · Jan 31, 2003, 03:14 AM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
I'm not very good with WINE, but I'd be happy to try and help if you need it.

I'll keep that in mind once I get the Linux box back up and running. But it is down hard for now.

Scotttheking · Feb 1, 2003, 12:39 AM

Ten days until AMD's barton CPU is released.
With luck, in 10 days there will be some nice price drops along the rest of the line.
With luck, in 10 days there will be enough money in my bank account that I will be able to take advantage of those lower prices to outcrunch krove.

HEY KROVE, I'M CALLING YOU OUT

krove · Feb 1, 2003, 12:41 AM

Maybe I'll just have to build my own machines out of those cheaper components. So whose bank account is bigger?

Shaktai · Feb 1, 2003, 01:06 AM

Okay you two, before you get too rowdy, I am not completly out of the running yet. Just got my new DSL provider up and running, and it is saving me mucho dollars. Enough that I should be able to get my other box back up before long and add a 7th box within a couple of months. Hey maybe I will just forget about the 1900 and drop in a 2700 or 2800. After all the dead box does have a 333 FSB mobo. Just need a new drive and video card for it.

Also got my wireless network back up and running again too. (nice to not have to fight with MSN), and I now have plenty of room to grow. I could fit another 6 or so boxes.

krove · Feb 1, 2003, 01:10 AM

What do your setups look like? Where do you put all of your boxes?

Shaktai · Feb 1, 2003, 01:56 AM

Originally posted by krove:
What do your setups look like? Where do you put all of your boxes?

The boxes all go in the dining room, and I have another wall just completly empty there.

My iBook roams wherever (I really like airport) even outside when the weather is good. Of course then if I connected them wireless, I guess I could always sqeeze another four boxes along the empty wall in the living room. If I had the money, I guess I could probably comfortably fit about 16 boxes in my apartment, and never have any of them in the bedroom. That and still have room to move and live comfortably. Maybe I'll take some photo's one of these days.

jarling · Feb 1, 2003, 03:37 AM

Its like you've got your own baseboard heater in the dining room.

Shaktai · Feb 1, 2003, 03:41 AM

Originally posted by jarling:
Its like you've got your own baseboard heater in the dining room.

Hey you don't think I could afford to run all the boxes if I had to pay for heat too do you?

Scotttheking · Feb 1, 2003, 04:56 AM

Originally posted by Shaktai:
Hey maybe I will just forget about the 1900 and drop in a 2700 or 2800.

Don't even bother, it's not worth the cash.

Grab an xp2100 from newegg and overclock it to 166MHz FSB.

Scotttheking · Feb 1, 2003, 05:10 AM

Originally posted by krove:
Maybe I'll just have to build my own machines out of those cheaper components. So whose bank account is bigger?

Yours

The question is, will I let that stop me?

Originally posted by Shaktai:
Hey maybe I will just forget about the 1900 and drop in a 2700 or 2800. After all the dead box does have a 333 FSB mobo.

Don't bother spending the money on that.
Get an xp 2100 from newegg and OC it to 166MHz FSB. It's much cheaper then buying either a 2700 or 2800. Take that saved cash and put it towards the next box

Originally posted by krove:
What do your setups look like? Where do you put all of your boxes?

I commandeered a section of the basement. I've got a long counter with 4 towers on it, and then 2 machines on the floor right next to it. G4 is in the office, imac is in the sister's room.
Work laptop is on a computer desk in the basement.
If I ever get access to a digicam I'll take some pictures.

Shaktai · 07:42 AM

Originally posted by Scotttheking:
Grab an xp2100 from newegg and overclock it to 166MHz FSB.

Now if only I knew something about overclocking. Any good tutorials that speak simple non techno english?

UPDATE: Haven't a clue what I did, but I just fussed with the Linux box until somehow I got it working. Pretty much just unplugged and plugged back in everything on the inside, and now it is back up.
Would still like to learn about overclocking though.