What is Folding@Home? Includes DIY FAQ and links to information about Folding@Home.

Bollocks · 24th May 2003, 6:34 PM

Its about time we had a FAQ for Folding@Home. I will start it off with a few of the obvious questions, but I would like this to be a Do It Yourself FAQ. So if you can think of a question that someone may ask post it along with the answer or a link to the answer and I will link to it in this post.

The Official OCAU Folding@Home FAQ.

FAH5 Setup Guide

What is Folding@Home?

I Want to know more about Folding!

Ok thats fine but tell me what folding is with out all the bullshit.

How Do I Join the Team?

Where is the Folding@Home home page?

Where is the OCAU Folding Page?

How do I check my stats and the team's stats. Official All Teams, Official OCAU, Official Individual.

Thats great but I want fancy stats with graphs and stuff
Extreme All Teams

How do I join the Folding Club?

What about the Milestone Clubs!

Why the hell doesn't 1 WU give me 1 point?

Where do I find out how many points a WU is worth?

Also where do I find out what servers are currently handing out work and their status.

How much Bandwidth does Folding@Home use?

Whats this EARLY_UNIT_END message all about with the P909 WU's?

What is a sub-team?

How do I change my folding details?

Do -forceasm & -advmethods work in Linux?

Hyperthreading Help!

I'm having trouble sending WU's!

There's a strange protein in my soup waiter!

Can I run F@H on multiple comps?

I have some computer bits that I dont need, can anyone use them?

What are other FAH commands (Switches or Flags) and What switches to use.

The Statometer Unplugged

P4 Hyperthreading results

Where can I see what other members are folding with?

I have the Gromac switches set but I still fold slower than a than a one handed origami novice, why?

Bollocks · 24th May 2003, 6:43 PM

Folding@Home the concise explanation...

Quote:

Originally posted by Tori Lee
This is the explanation I usually give:

"The Folding@Home project is a worldwide distributed computing effort to further cancer research by studying how proteins fold, or misfold. Tens of thousands of people participate simply by downloading a client which crunches data using spare CPU cycles, no harm to the PC or useability." ...at least, not to my knowledge or experience...

Oblong Cheese · 24th May 2003, 7:32 PM

Why the hell doesn't 1 WU give me 1 point?

Work units - WU's - are given a certain point value which is is dependant upon the time the WU takes to Fold (process). Basically, the longer the time taken for a WU to Fold, the higher the point value.

Bollocks · 25th May 2003, 2:57 PM

Whats this EARLY_UNIT_END message all about with the P909 WU's.

Quote:

Originally posted by Datsun 1600

Some proteins are released to a group of testers prior to being released to the general population. P909 happens to be one of those proteins. At the time that it was released, there was an announcement that some early ends could be expected. It also stated that the points for completed units, 38, had been scaled upward to compensate for the ones that ended early. Completed units probably shoud be worth about 33 points, but 38 points are credited to make up for the credit that is lost due to the early ends.

Donut · 26th May 2003, 8:15 AM

Q. What is a sub-team?

A. A sub-team is two or more individuals who agree to submit work units (WU) under a common username, forming a team, within a team. The output derived is a cummulative score of those team members points.

I only put this question here because it was one of the first questions I asked myself when I started

l00b3r · 11th June 2003, 7:52 PM

What script should i use for monitering stats on mIRC?

A.

Need to find the page again, but join there and ill help ya set it up

irc://waix.oz.org/FAH
and ask for Matthew or i286

-Matt

Bollocks · 20th July 2003, 2:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by z2177199
Hi

Just copy this from the OC.COM forums

=============================================
Originally posted by JCH
I'm giving this it's own thread, since it will be easier to find if other people are interested, plus it will give them a place to post their own results.

I promised in AtomicMoose's thread about "Intel upping the ante" that I'd post the results of folding with Hyperthreading turned on and off on my new server. Ok, here ya go.

Test platform:
- Dell Poweredge 1600SC server, BIOS ver. A00
- Single Intel Xeon 2.4 GHz CPU w/512K cache, 400 MHz FSB,
- 512 MB DDR SDRAM,
- Dell PERC3/SC SCSI RAID controller, three 18 GB 10K rpm SCSI drives, RAID 5
- Windows 2000 Server, SP3, all critical updates applied
- member server, not domain controller
- basic Win2K services running, plus Symantec Corporate Antivirus 8.0
- server isn't doing anything else, currently on my lab bench for *cough* burn-in before I move it into production.

I installed FAH3Console 3.14 in two separate folders. I ran each instance solo, and set up the config with different machine IDs. One instance got a p184 protein, the other got a p185, both 9-pointers.

I disabled Hyperthreading in the BIOS and ran the P185 instance for a while, saved the log, then ran the P184 instance and saved the log. I shut the system down, enabled Hyperthreading, and started both instances simultaneously. After it had run for a while, looked at the logs again and I manually calculated the frame times from the logs. Here are the results (times are minutes:seconds):

WITHOUT HYPERTHREADING (so only running one instance at a time):
p184 - 11:53 per frame average
p185 - 11:53 per frame average

WITH HYPERTHREADING (running two instances at the same time):
p184 - 15:38 per frame average
p185 - 15:38 per frame average

These proteins run on TINKER cores. No way to test GROMACS at the moment, since they aren't handing them out right now.

The result for these 9.0-point proteins is 10.91 points per day with Hyperthreading OFF and 16.58 points per day with Hyperthreading ON, so about a 52% increase in folding output per day.

This means that, in this specific case, enabling Hyperthreading is like adding another half of a CPU to your system.

Remember, this is on a 400 MHz FSB P4-based Xeon running in a server, not a regular P4, so you may or may not see similar behavior in a desktop system.

=========================

Based on this information P4 isn't that bad at folding after all but I would personally refer dual MPs.

Speaking about P4, there are quite a large crowd in the Intel section which have 3GHz+ P4 dont seem to fold at all (such as Chainy, Creative, Mjoll....). Just wonder if Bollocks can spread the FAH habit to them. That should be very good for 24.

Thread

ZeonX · 20th July 2003, 3:01 PM

Where can I show or see what other are folding with?

Goto the boxen database here: http://ocau.mega-reviews.com

Bollocks · 13th May 2004, 9:07 AM

Where is a list of all the Switches or Flags that can be used with the Folding client.

Stanford Console Guide

What switches to use.

Random_Ninja · 16th May 2004, 8:53 PM

btw whats the OCAU team number that i should join?

ezee · 16th May 2004, 8:57 PM

24

HaMMaHeD · 8th June 2004, 9:58 PM

Hi all, I am new to folding with my first unit under way.
Is it ok to disconnect from the net whilst folding?
and i have not had to enter many details, only a username and team no. (24) so is that it? will my efforts now be credited to OCAU?

ezee · 9th June 2004, 6:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by HaMMaHeD
Hi all, I am new to folding with my first unit under way.
Is it ok to disconnect from the net whilst folding?
and i have not had to enter many details, only a username and team no. (24) so is that it? will my efforts now be credited to OCAU?

Yes and yes.

Connection to net only required to download essential cores and a new work packet and again to upload a finished work unit. In between, there is no need.

So long as team 24 appears in your configuration, credits go toward OCAU total.

Welcome to the fold.

kevincooper · 13th June 2004, 1:27 PM

i joined up yesterday, i've set my user name to KevinCooper and team number to 24, but i can't find myself on the stats page or the new user page
do i have to complete a fold first before it registers me?

Bollocks · 13th June 2004, 9:34 PM

Hi Kevin

Yes you need to upload a Work Unit first before you show up on the Stanford stats pages.

Welcome to the team.

24th May 2003, 6:34 PM	#1
Bollocks Master of Folding Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Mandurah W.A. Posts: 7,719	Folding@Home DIY FAQ Its about time we had a FAQ for Folding@Home. I will start it off with a few of the obvious questions, but I would like this to be a Do It Yourself FAQ. So if you can think of a question that someone may ask post it along with the answer or a link to the answer and I will link to it in this post. The Official OCAU Folding@Home FAQ. FAH5 Setup Guide What is Folding@Home? I Want to know more about Folding! Ok thats fine but tell me what folding is with out all the bullshit. How Do I Join the Team? Where is the Folding@Home home page? Where is the OCAU Folding Page? How do I check my stats and the team's stats. Official All Teams, Official OCAU, Official Individual. Thats great but I want fancy stats with graphs and stuff Extreme All Teams How do I join the Folding Club? What about the Milestone Clubs! Why the hell doesn't 1 WU give me 1 point? Where do I find out how many points a WU is worth? Also where do I find out what servers are currently handing out work and their status. How much Bandwidth does Folding@Home use? Whats this EARLY_UNIT_END message all about with the P909 WU's? What is a sub-team? How do I change my folding details? Do -forceasm & -advmethods work in Linux? Hyperthreading Help! I'm having trouble sending WU's! There's a strange protein in my soup waiter! Can I run F@H on multiple comps? I have some computer bits that I dont need, can anyone use them? What are other FAH commands (Switches or Flags) and What switches to use. The Statometer Unplugged P4 Hyperthreading results Where can I see what other members are folding with? I have the Gromac switches set but I still fold slower than a than a one handed origami novice, why? __________________ "We shall Fold on the beaches. We shall Fold on the landing grounds. We shall Fold in the fields, and in the streets, we shall Fold in the hills. We shall never surrender!" The Official OCAU Folding Page Folding@Home 350,000 Club Folding@Home 21,000,000 Points Milestone Last edited by Bollocks; 31st January 2006 at 9:59 PM.

24th May 2003, 7:32 PM	#3
Oblong Cheese Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,979	Why the hell doesn't 1 WU give me 1 point? Work units - WU's - are given a certain point value which is is dependant upon the time the WU takes to Fold (process). Basically, the longer the time taken for a WU to Fold, the higher the point value. __________________ My Website \| Ubuntu Linux - It's better than Windows & OS X \| On my... LAP: Dell XPS M1330 (Ubuntu 9.10) DESK: i7 920, P6T-D, 6Gb G.Skill, GTX285, Xonar DX in a P182 (Vista Home Ultimate 64-bit) \| Why Windows Causes Stupidity

26th May 2003, 8:15 AM	#5
Donut Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Toowoomba, Australia Posts: 454	Q. What is a sub-team? A. A sub-team is two or more individuals who agree to submit work units (WU) under a common username, forming a team, within a team. The output derived is a cummulative score of those team members points. I only put this question here because it was one of the first questions I asked myself when I started __________________ "You have enemies? Good! It means you've stood up for something at least once in your life." -Winston Churchill Last edited by Donut; 26th May 2003 at 8:18 AM.

11th June 2003, 7:52 PM	#6
l00b3r (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Somewhere Urban..... Bris Posts: 8,358	What script should i use for monitering stats on mIRC? A. Need to find the page again, but join there and ill help ya set it up irc://waix.oz.org/FAH and ask for Matthew or i286 -Matt Last edited by l00b3r; 25th June 2005 at 1:40 PM.

20th July 2003, 3:01 PM	#8
ZeonX Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Vic Posts: 1,582	Where can I show or see what other are folding with? Goto the boxen database here: http://ocau.mega-reviews.com __________________ Got Boxen in a Distributed Computing project? Is it in the OCAU Boxen Database? Current System: JasJam - 2GB microSD - 200mb Telstra Datapack - ThinkOutside BT Keyboard & Mouse. Successful Trades

13th May 2004, 9:07 AM	#9
Bollocks Master of Folding Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Mandurah W.A. Posts: 7,719	Where is a list of all the Switches or Flags that can be used with the Folding client. Stanford Console Guide What switches to use. __________________ "We shall Fold on the beaches. We shall Fold on the landing grounds. We shall Fold in the fields, and in the streets, we shall Fold in the hills. We shall never surrender!" The Official OCAU Folding Page Folding@Home 350,000 Club Folding@Home 21,000,000 Points Milestone

16th May 2004, 8:53 PM	#10
Random_Ninja Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,212	btw whats the OCAU team number that i should join?

16th May 2004, 8:57 PM	#11
ezee Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Clareville NSW Posts: 1,403	24 __________________ GrumpyOldMen, OCAU Addicted to Folding Club, Member #69 Remember the Battle of Brisbane! I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. O Lord! Please don't let me be misunderstood

8th June 2004, 9:58 PM	#12
HaMMaHeD Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hobart Posts: 280	Hi all, I am new to folding with my first unit under way. Is it ok to disconnect from the net whilst folding? and i have not had to enter many details, only a username and team no. (24) so is that it? will my efforts now be credited to OCAU? __________________ HaMMaHeD Member Subaru Club - "Imprezza RV MY06 & Outback MY98" " Member #68 OCAU Photographers Club # 58 Addicted to folding Club # 58 Folding@Home 8000 Club Folding@Home 300000 Points Milestone Successful Trades: AERO; ANTH101; l\|\|l\|l\|-BaRc0dE; Predder; llama boi; chunksoul; mr_nguyen

13th June 2004, 1:27 PM	#14
kevincooper Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Penrith Posts: 952	i joined up yesterday, i've set my user name to KevinCooper and team number to 24, but i can't find myself on the stats page or the new user page do i have to complete a fold first before it registers me? __________________ Successful Trades: Sky95

13th June 2004, 9:34 PM	#15
Bollocks Master of Folding Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Mandurah W.A. Posts: 7,719	Hi Kevin Yes you need to upload a Work Unit first before you show up on the Stanford stats pages. Welcome to the team. __________________ "We shall Fold on the beaches. We shall Fold on the landing grounds. We shall Fold in the fields, and in the streets, we shall Fold in the hills. We shall never surrender!" The Official OCAU Folding Page Folding@Home 350,000 Club Folding@Home 21,000,000 Points Milestone