Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

billybob128 · Feb 17, 2008, 03:48 PM

Hey guys, i have recently aquired a new 8-core mac pro. And as at the moment im just a student on a computing course i cant see myself using nearly all the potential of the machine. Therefore i have decided to return to Folding.
I have 2 questions:

1: when i try to download the CLI version the redirect to the Stanford site tells me that the page cannot be found, am i just being a muppet or is the link broken? i am following (from google) Team MacNN - The single most amazing group of Mac users ever assembled for anything. Ever., Team MacNN - The single most amazing group of Mac users ever assembled for anything. Ever., Team MacNN - Folding@Home - Software, http://folding.stanford.edu/release/OSX-3.12.gz.

2: As im on an 8-core am i able to run multiple instances of the app, as i seem to remember when i was on my dual G5 i was running 2 instance, but cant remember how to set that up correctly.

Thanks in advance for your help (and i apologize for any eroors in my post - it has been a while since i last visited here.)

reader50 · Feb 17, 2008, 10:12 PM

Don't trust the resource links in the news section, I haven't vetted those in a long time. Download the client you want from here:

http://folding.stanford.edu/Download

When it asks for a team number, put in 16 for Team MacNN.

Welcome back.

SciFrog · Feb 18, 2008, 12:00 AM

Welcome back, we need all the power we can get. Your Mac Pro will make you one of the best crunchers rather fast!

Try to run 3 instances, create a folder for each and use the -local flag.

If you are running Leopard, don't close the terminal window, also the crontab doesn't work anymore for restarting.

Last, you will now use the intel client which doesn't like IP address changes and to be stopped and restarted.

macdude22 · Feb 18, 2008, 11:14 AM

More folding competition is always appreciated. Might motivate me to shore up the farm.

macdude22 · Feb 18, 2008, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by SciFrog

Last, you will now use the intel client which doesn't like IP address changes and to be stopped and restarted.

Tell me about it, I lost days of good folding because I made some networking changes and they didn't communicate until I noticed and rebooted the machines.

OneMacGuy · Feb 18, 2008, 10:01 PM

I am having problems with computers not being able to report their completed work units. One of the them has not 9 WU's waiting to report. Any ideas?

SciFrog · Feb 19, 2008, 11:37 AM

No idea on the sending of WU... Works here.

If anyone finds a way to have Folding start at reboot for the Intel client and Leopard, the crontab is not working...

billybob128 · Feb 19, 2008, 12:24 PM

Thanks guys i have 1 instance of it running at the moment, when i have seen that successfully finish a packet i will add another - and so on until i have 3 running. (No special reason just a preference thing hehe)

Also it has been a while since my last proper visit to the console. So forgive my foolish questions but how do i use the -local flag? (my lecturer that covers this doesnt go into the detail that id like him to, its more of a pentium architecture course in assembler - oh yay)

And thanks for the greeting - its good to be back!

legacyb4 · Feb 19, 2008, 04:08 PM

I'd happily commit my PS3 to the cause except that when running at that pace, the fans kick in BIG time...

subego · Feb 23, 2008, 10:19 AM

Nice rig ya got there.

subego · 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by legacyb4

I'd happily commit my PS3 to the cause except that when running at that pace, the fans kick in BIG time...

Are you running it in SD?

I know that sounds like a silly question, but if I run mine at 480 the fan gets turned up to 11.

I had only done that because it was brand new, and I wanted to get it updated and running ASAP, so I just used the composite cable that came with it. Once I switched over to the component cable and put it at 780p, it became whisper quiet.

I should note that it's a 40GB model. The fan on my 80GB generally runs one "level" faster.

legacyb4 · Feb 23, 2008, 11:40 AM

Sorry, I meant when my processors are running at speed (like in certain games). I'm downloading the client and will give it a try right now.

What's the team name to join?

I have a 60GB running over PS component cables.

Jeff

Originally Posted by subego

Are you running it in SD?

I know that sounds like a silly question, but if I run mine at 480 the fan gets turned up to 11.

I had only done that because it was brand new, and I wanted to get it updated and running ASAP, so I just used the composite cable that came with it. Once I switched over to the component cable and put it at 780p, it became whisper quiet.

I should note that it's a 40GB model. The fan on my 80GB generally runs one "level" faster.

subego · Feb 23, 2008, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by legacyb4

Sorry, I meant when my processors are running at speed (like in certain games). I'm downloading the client and will give it a try right now.

Oh. I thought you had tried it and it maxed out the fans for you. If everything is running properly, the client should only make the fans run at, or close to, their lowest setting.

Originally Posted by legacyb4

What's the team name to join?

The teams are by number. We be 16.

legacyb4 · Feb 23, 2008, 01:14 PM

Okay, running the client and will sign up for the team later today.

Cheers!

wulf · Feb 23, 2008, 02:03 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong (quite often the case!) but I'm pretty sure it's not recommended to run more than one client per (physical) processor, i.e. run two clients on your Mac Pro. That's not to say you won't get more performance by running three since each thread* runs at less than 100%, but the deadlines can sometimes be a bit tight on the SMP work units, so it may be worth running two for a bit, then experimenting with three to see how it affects productivity.

Alternatively has anyone done a good comparison on 2 vs. 3 client performance on the 8-core Mac Pros?

* I think the SMP client doesn't actually use "threads" in the technical sense, but I'm not sure what else to call them - processes?

billybob128 · 08:35 PM

I have just set up the second client to run - after a couple of days (i will moniter throughout) i will run 3 for a few days so that i can compare the difference between the two.

zombie67 · Feb 27, 2008, 01:54 AM

Originally Posted by wulf

Alternatively has anyone done a good comparison on 2 vs. 3 client performance on the 8-core Mac Pros?

Yep. I did. You can read about it here:

http://forums.macnn.com/72/team-macn...2/#post3352041

Unfortunately, all the detailed numbers were posted to the FAH forum, which has since died and been restarted from scratch. Still, you should get enough info in this that thread. The client has been updated since then, so maybe it needs to be re-measured.

SciFrog · Feb 28, 2008, 12:38 AM

Not totally unexpected but the MacBook air is not a great performer... 34mins for a frame where a 2.16Ghz Core Duo 2 takes 22 mins... More than clock speed can explain, I would have expected 28 mins...

Anyway every little bit helps.

OneMacGuy · Feb 29, 2008, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by SciFrog

Not totally unexpected but the MacBook air is not a great performer... 34mins for a frame where a 2.16Ghz Core Duo 2 takes 22 mins... More than clock speed can explain, I would have expected 28 mins...

Anyway every little bit helps.

The hard drive in it is SO slow, unless of course you get the solid state hard drive.