[Adywebb]

Please carefully read the following announcement from WCG regarding a new system of Boinc Points calculation that will be introduced in the near future.

The jist of it is that anyone using any form of 'optimised client' will end up being penalised by having their points earned per unit cut by 50% - so please if anybody here is using the optimised boinc client, please stop now and download the latest recognised client from the WCG site.

The good news is that Linux users should see a nice increase in points earned

There have been many discussions in the forums about the way that points are awarded in BOINC. We have been reviewing them and in order to validate what the members have been observing and to collect better data, we sent out the same workunit 800 times.

The purpose of points is to award an equal number of points to different members for accomplishing the same amount of scientific work. By sending out 800 copies of the same workkunit we are able compare the points claimed by different computers for the same work.

We have been evaluating this data. There are two key observations that match what the members have found.

1) Linux earns fewer points per workunit then the other platforms.
2) About 5% of results claim points significantly in excess of the average for their platform.

In order to address issue #1 we have sent our findings to Dr David Anderson at BOINC. He said that they will be compiling the Linux agent in the 5.8 release with optimizations that are comparable to the optimizations used on the other platforms. This should allow the credit claimed by Linux to match the other platforms. This new version should be available with 6 weeks or so.

In order to address issue #2 we are going to implementing a new algorithim for awarding credit granted. In the new algorithim we will no longer automatically discard the high and low values during validation in order to compute the credit granted. Instead we will exclude any claimed credits that are statistical outliers and then average the remaining values. Additionally, in cases where the claimed credit is significantly higher then the granted credit, the member will only be awarded half of the granted credit. Finally, invalid results will only be granted half credit as well.

We are about to launch beta tests of new graphics for FightAIDS@Home and Help Defeat Cancer. During these beta tests we will be running the new algorithim for points awarded to ensure that they work correctly.

http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/fo...ad?thread=9545

[Ian]

Thanks Ady, will make the switch now

[muckshifter]

ars ols

So we are "cheaters" then ...

As my Linux boxes have never had any "enhancements" I will leave them as is ... as for windows, time for a rest me thinks.

Can we go back to Find-a-Drug ... even re-do all the work again ...

[V_R]

Well i never bothered with the optimised client on my new rig, they dont make any difference....

[TriplexDread]

It makes me wonder if this is just another way of admitting by them that they cant deal with the amount of returns they are recieving

[Adywebb]

Originally Posted by muckshifter

ars ols

So we are "cheaters" then ...

As my Linux boxes have never had any "enhancements" I will leave them as is ... as for windows, time for a rest me thinks.

Can we go back to Find-a-Drug ... even re-do all the work again ...

Mucks - they are not saying folks are cheating, they are equalising the anolamy where Linux users get less points per unit than windows users, and ensuring everyone gets a fair return for the work compared to everyone else.

One thing it will also hopefully do is make all the mud slingers STFU...

[V_R]

Originally Posted by Adywebb

One thing it will also hopefully do is make all the mud slingers STFU...

I do hope so, its starting to bore me a bit now.....

[CaptHook]

Originally Posted by V_R

I do hope so, its starting to bore me a bit now.....

Well hitch up boy, BEEP BEEP, I am on your tail.....



BTW the new system looking at the beta units has yielded more points per unit that under the old system. So far based on 5 units.

I am runnig an Intel 805 o/c to 3.5 and an Intel 915 stock.

Will review tonight what the difference is on 15 units, but so far nothing to complain about.

[muckshifter]

OK, I will shut-up and sit in the corner ... where's the hat?

[AbsoluteKevster]

No desire to upset folk... but this is the version I was running anyway