Questions about folding.

[inflames988]

Maybe you guys can help me out on this one...

Ive got a couple rigs that could be useful for a little bit of folding...we have tons of computers around the house, but most are for work for my parents, dont wanna mess with those.

Anyway, my sister just got a new laptop to go off to colleger. i may fix up her dell pIII 866mhz taht has been kinda screwed up by a combination of windows ME and spyware. However my parents may still need to use this on occasion (despite the fact that they each have at least one computer lol), but i dont think f@h should be a problem there. This computer does have a wireless card, but isnt always on all that much. I guess since it runs automatically, it'd still help anyway. The box has 256 ram and a 40 gig HDD.

2nd, i have this box that has plagued me with problems for quite a while. It was given to me to fix, however the owner didnt have a valid keycode for windows (it was built by a friend of theirs ), and i couldnt do anything about it, so they got a new one n let me keep it. I installed mandrake 10.0 on it, which didnt work out so well...i had a spare 20 gig hdd that i have now got in my windows build, but i may not need this 20 gig in the windows anymore. for some reason though, i cant get mandrake to reinstall on any of my old hdd's (that seemed to all work before), i tried win 98 on them too but that didnt work either. maybe ill put the 20 back in when i get a chance, and get it back in working order. would it be better to use a linux distribution on it, or windows, or does that not really make a difference? its a pentium III katmai, somewhere in the 500mhz range i believe, with 384 ram. Im assuming hdd space doesnt affect F@H at all. The problem here is, i have a ethernet card in it, but no wireless.

i guess theres not really any way for me to use this 2nd one? does it have to be connected to the internet while folding? also just wanted to know which OS would be better to fold with.

those are the only working PC's in the house. we have two older dell laptops, and one newer one with a 2.8ghz HT p4. This machine is almost never on tho and im not supposed to use it or run any programs on it. IF i were to get permission to fold on it, would the program slow it down any? It is very slow as it is, even with the P4...go figure.

ok sry this thread is getting so long, but i also wanted to know--how long is a decent time for a frame? im running about 5 min 50 per frame. I know this isnt great or anything, my processor is fairly slow. Also, i just now put my proc up to 100% and its going up to 49, been stable there for about 30 mins. it wont go up any higher temp wise, will it? just wanna be sure its safe to go 100%. My programs seem to run fine as far as email, internet, AIM, doesnt slow them down at all. Is each frame a point, or a working unit? Also where can i check the progresss of PCM as a team for F@H?

Thanks!
muskie

[timbit]

wow, lotta questions.

1) you don't have to be connected all the time. there are some settings you can change. i'm not sure which ones though. you just need to be connected every once in a while to download new work units and report done units.

2) you can check our progress at Extreme Overclocking .

3) it shouldn't slow down the computer, as it only uses spare cpu cycles. if you start using a program that needs more cpu power, it slows itself down. however, on a laptop, i imagine that it would shorten battery life.

4) shouldn't make a difference which os you use, whichever you are more comfortable with (i think). maybe a little faster with linux, but not by a whole lot.

5) time per frame really depends on which protein is being folded and computer specs. it varies a lot. you get points for finished proteins (after all the frames are done). the larger the protein, or the longer it takes, the higher the points.

6) as for temp, i usually let it run for 24 hours nonstop before I decide that it's not going to move any further.

[inflames988]

thanks. i let it run a few more hours after my post, it went up a lttle more. ill keep messing with it to see if i want it to stay @100% or not. If i put it on any of the laptops, it wont be a big deal--they are allways plugged in. Since the old dell i was talking about has a little more cpu power (but less ram) ill try to get it up and folding when i can, however my family hates it when i leave computers running all the time. It needs a little work too first, the thing is just plain messed up. My plan was to get ME off of there and just plain wipe the thing, but it has some games on it that my mom wants to keep, and probably some documents too. ill put f@h on anyway when i get a chance...and maybe just clean up the spyware a bit, hopefully it can still help a little.

[enhanced08]

well i wish ya all the luck in getting those machine up and running and hope that your questions have been answered so far. if you have any more don't be afraid to ask!

Happy Folding!

[inflames988]

Thanks! i brought my load temp down to a solid 45 today. All it took was a day of tough (but fun) work, a dremel, and some better fan grilles/fans. No load im at 40c, so im down 4 degrees either way. im guessing it wont go above 50 even at load for a long time, its been 45-6-7 ish for a few hours of folding now at 100%. Even if it does go a little past it, im fine with that. i was worried before when it was getting up to 52 after just a few mins of folding. cleaned out all the dust and dead bugs too (apparently they get sucked in by my 80mm fans and....well die. at least now theyve got exhaust fans to push them back out.