PCMech Team

[whubbard]

I just downloaded the program, and have joined the PCmech Team.
...Where can I look at the team progress? Is there a 'team' page?

[enhanced08]

Welcome to the team! There are a number of different websites that offer the team stats but probably the most popular is the one at Extremeoverclocking.

http://folding.extremeoverclocking.c...php?s=&t=13761

Nice system by the way, it should fold nicely!

[whubbard]

thanks
right now im just folding on my laptop
on friday i'll put it on my desktop...(boy will that fold'
and sometime tonight im going to put it on 2 other sonys, one desktop, one laptop

[Panama Red]

Make sure your laptops are set up to get plenty of ventilation/air flow. Running the cpu at 100% can cause a big heat build up on a lappy.

[whubbard]

Yeah...the ventilation is good.

and I also just noticed that Folding@Home sent me probably on of the biggest protiens...its not going to be done until 18th of Dec 2007. Its 20,000 frames, whatever that means. The thing that puzzles me is that in about 5 hours, I've done 200 frames, meaning it should be done in 20 days...but it says 412 days?!?!?!?

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by whubbard Yeah...the ventilation is good. and I also just noticed that Folding@Home sent me probably on of the biggest protiens...its not going to be done until 18th of Dec 2007. Its 20,000 frames, whatever that means. The thing that puzzles me is that in about 5 hours, I've done 200 frames, meaning it should be done in 20 days...but it says 412 days?!?!?!?

Interesting you say this: I just started foldiing this weekend, on my laptop, prepping for my Duo Core desktop coming this weekend, and noticed the first WU was rather manageable. It took my laptop only 24 hours to complete it. The second one, which the laptop is working on now, is showing an estimated completion date of this Friday night. It began on this WU on Monday night.

What I learned, though, the vets already know: the first coupld of hours of a new WU will show meaningless estimates of the completion time for the WU. After a while it has more data, based on the processing of that WU on your workstation, and it adjusts that time a fair bit.

So for now I would say " Don't pay any attention to the wizard behind the curtain "...

Wait for a few hours to see what the estimated completion time is: it won't be a month away, like it says now.

[whubbard]

how many frames are yours on average?

Also, i think the first 200 frames went quickly but now it has done only 4 frames in 2 hours. And i have it running on high (i dont care if it takes up a bit more CPU)

ps. on the other laptop I installed it on the first WU was only 500 frames. just for a point of compairison.

[TallTravel]

I just learned that the client I have been using on the laptop, the GUI client, uses the term FRAME to describe STEPS. Are you using the GUI client, or the console? Because if you are using the GUI client it incorrectly uses the term FRAME.

I am on only my second WU, so it is showing me 20,000 STEPS (called FRAMES on my GUI client) on this WU.

You?

[whubbard]

I'm using version 5.0.4...thats all i know

So i guess one laptop has 500 steps, the other laptop 20,000 steps.
How many days does it say it will be until you 20,000 steps one will be complete.
my 412 days is also on a Celeron.

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by whubbard I'm using version 5.0.4...thats all i know So i guess one laptop has 500 steps, the other laptop 20,000 steps. How many days does it say it will be until you 20,000 steps one will be complete. my 412 days is also on a Celeron.

I am guessing your 412 days estimate has to have changed by now, right? It has been there for a few hours using your processor? It ought to have recalculated by now. If you get a visual image on screen with balls attached to one another (the elements combined together to form proteins) then you are using the GUI client. In order to get anything else you have to actively install it in a much idfferent manner, so I am going to guess you are using the GUI client on your laptop.

The 20,000 steps on my laptop gave me some wild estimate at first, but for the past few days of processing it has said it will be complete by midnight Friday of this week. My laptop has an AMD Turion 64 chip.

[whubbard]

well...it still says 412 days. and yes im using the GUI client

[TallTravel]

Have you seen this forum for FAH users like us? Actually, it seems to be for people much more technical than us, but here it is.

http://forum.folding-community.org/s...cb106ea7c74d4c

This is for the folding community, us. This one, following, is by the same people but posted in Wikipedia:

http://fahwiki.net/index.php/Main_Page

[whubbard]

After looking it says that it is only 100 frames...so i guess the GUI is just having issues...i guess it will be done in a day or two then

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by whubbard After looking it says that it is only 100 frames...so i guess the GUI is just having issues...i guess it will be done in a day or two then

Yes, that sounds like what I was talking about. At first it gives an unreasonable estimate and soon after it gives a real estimate.

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by Panama Red Make sure your laptops are set up to get plenty of ventilation/air flow. Running the cpu at 100% can cause a big heat build up on a lappy.

Panama Red:

Since you said this I have been paying a lot of attention to my laptop running FAH 24/7, and it is HOT. Anything to do other than keep the base of the laptop clear, like setting it on an platform from which it can breathe underneath?

[Panama Red]

I Folded with my lappy for a while and had to elevate it about an inch off the table top using a couple of narrow wood strips. I also directed a small fan to blow on the back area to move the heat away from the unit. Even with these steps my 3 year old, desktop based Celeron, Toshiba laptop began shutting down. I've since stopped folding with that unit. I have enough other machines Folding that I don't miss it.

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by Panama Red I Folded with my lappy for a while and had to elevate it about an inch off the table top using a couple of narrow wood strips. I also directed a small fan to blow on the back area to move the heat away from the unit. Even with these steps my 3 year old, desktop based Celeron, Toshiba laptop began shutting down. I've since stopped folding with that unit. I have enough other machines Folding that I don't miss it.

OK, I think I will do the wood strips underneath the laptop for now. I have a desktop due core coming later this week I am going to use for folding. With this heat issue I may have to abandome my plans to use the laptop to fold as well.

I had the laptop shut down on me a couple of times yesterday but I did not realize until this morning the true cause. Unless I can set the laptop with a better system than wood strips for the short term it makes sense to let the laptop rest until I can get a system to keep it cool.

All this is new to me. I had no idea the laptop would over heat.

[enhanced08]

Originally Posted by whubbard After looking it says that it is only 100 frames...so i guess the GUI is just having issues...i guess it will be done in a day or two then

Another reason the console (text-only) clent is better than the GUI. I would switch to the console version and use a program such as EMIII to monitor it for more accurate data.


You will find mixed feelings about folding on laptops. Some say they will never do it because of the heat issues but yet others claim to fold 24/7 with no problems what so ever. I personally had folding installed on 3 laptops awhile back and had no problems with them but i also had folding set to only use something like 80% of the cpu rather than the default of 100%.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by enhanced08 .. but i also had folding set to only use something like 80% of the cpu rather than the default of 100%.

Excellent idea, Eric! I never gave that a thought. During setup, I just accept the default 100% option. May have to fire the lappy back up and only let it run at about 75%.

[enhanced08]

Originally Posted by Panama Red Excellent idea, Eric! I never gave that a thought. During setup, I just accept the default 100% option. May have to fire the lappy back up and only let it run at about 75%.

Wait, what??? I mean... uhhh....

*thinks to himself* Drats, now I'll need to get even MORE power to keep him from passing me up...

[TallTravel]

I just tooik Panama Red's advice and put the laptop running FAH GUI (Windows) on to a bit of a platform for a couple of hours of running time. I came back and for the first time in a few days it was still running. Other times since starting to fold I left it for some 20-30 minutes and it shut down on its own due to the extreme heat the 100% processing effort.

Based on the results today I won't even consider running the laptop FAH without proper ventilation.

Thanks, everyone.

[whubbard]

Well...my laptop has been folding for a day without problems...it hot...but its a pretty nice sony.
(then again, ive already fried my GPU in that computer once do too over heating)

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by whubbard Well...my laptop has been folding for a day without problems...it hot...but its a pretty nice sony. (then again, ive already fried my GPU in that computer once do too over heating)

Yes, my laptop is a high end laptop as well, but I really don't think the cost of the laptop has anything to do with whether it will overheat at 100% utilization. I think that is a given in most situations.

[Kov-Ice]

I've had an old Dell Inspiron with a Celery 2.4 folding almost non-stop for over two years. I did run into some heat issues after a while, but simply taking some compressed air to clear the airways returned things to normal.

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by Kov-Ice I've had an old Dell Inspiron with a Celery 2.4 folding almost non-stop for over two years. I did run into some heat issues after a while, but simply taking some compressed air to clear the airways returned things to normal.

May I ask if you had this laptop sitting up and away from a solid surface to allow it to breathe? That change, moving it from atop a solid surface to atop an open perch, where the bottom of the laptop can breathe and push away heat, made all the difference for my laptop.

It is running like a champ with the two strips of wood underneath the base of the laptop.

[Kov-Ice]

It sits on it's own four feet. When clean, temps aren't too far off from my P4s.

[TallTravel]

Originally Posted by Kov-Ice It sits on it's own four feet. When clean, temps aren't too far off from my P4s.

I don't know how to clean the inside of a laptop. I am not technical enough to brave taking apart a proprietary system like a laptop, although I will rip into a desktop any time I am in the mood.

Are you saying you clean your laptop by taking it apart?

[whubbard]

personally i just blow compressed air through it once in a while

[Panama Red]

Amazing what you find INSIDE your laptop! After reading these posts I decided to pull mine apart. The outside of the finned aluminum heat sink looked totally clean. But when I removed the heat sink, this is what I found all across the inside of the aluminum fins. They were totally blocked. Now I know why the fan was running full speed and it would crash running Folding at 100%! Blew it all out, cleaned the cpu and heatsink, reinstalled with some AS5 and it's as quiet as a church mouse. Now if I can just figure out how to increase the load back to 100% on the folding. Anyone know where this setting is located?

[enhanced08]

Originally Posted by Panama Red Now if I can just figure out how to increase the load back to 100% on the folding. Anyone know where this setting is located?

It should be in the config.cfg file in the folding directory. I'm pretty sure that the options you leave as default are not written to the config, only the ones that have been changed from default. So there should be a "new" option in your config since you have changed it to 75%, simply change it back to 100% and you should be good to go.

Another option is to create a shortcut to the folding-console.exe and add the flag -config to it. Stop the folding client, double click the shortcut and it will bring up the config options again. Change what you need and restart.