Crunching questions ????????????

[Abarbarian]

So me pc's stable and works just fine .

How will crunching affect me ?

I surf and download at the same time . Or I watch .avi files in power DVD .

Is the crunching software easy to set up .

How will it affect what I do .

Will it slow down me surfing .

Will it affect me movie watching.

Will it use up lots more electricity .

Can I just do it every now and again .

Will I get a free crunchers T-shirt (this is a very important Q )

 

[Ian]

How will crunching affect me ?

Your IQ will increase by 150%, the opposite sex will fall at your feet and you will win the lottery Thats what I've been told anyway

Seriously though, it shouldn't have an effect on your system as it only uses spare CPU cycles.

I surf and download at the same time . Or I watch .avi files in power DVD .

Loads of us here to tons at once and it doesn't slow anything down, if your system is busy the crunching software just won't kick in

Is the crunching software easy to set up .

Yup, really easy - there are 2 choices to use but we can guide you through either if needs be

How will it affect what I do .

It shouldn't have any effect on your system, the default WCG client limits the max CPU percentage that the client uses at something like 60%. For example, say you are browsing the internet and using 20% of your CPU, WCG will use an additional 40% to crunch. The limit at 60% means that you won't risk heating up your CPU (although that isn't really an issue with well built PCs).

Will it slow down me surfing .

Nope

Will it affect me movie watching.

Nope

Will it use up lots more electricity .

It will only really use more if you leave your PC on for an extra period of time.

Can I just do it every now and again .

Of course you can If you don't fancy having it running all the time you can install the default WCG client and make it only run as a screen saver. There's no-one pressuring to run it all the time, just whenever and however you want

Will I get a free crunchers T-shirt (this is a very important Q )

If I ever get crunchers T-Shirts done then yes I did look into it a while back (either that or mouse mats), but they came out quite expensive. If a company decides to sponsor the team or something, then yes

 

[V_R]

Mate, i spend hours playing Call of Duty 2 online, and i dont notice any different. I've even tried running 3Dmark06 with and without BOINC running....No different at all.

The main thing is just to make sure your pc's cooling is up to the job.

 

[muckshifter]

It is the pride you feel inside, that you are actually trying to do some good for your fellow Man (and Ladies)





A word on "cooling" the CPU ... because these type of programs WILL run your CPU @ 100%, if you allow it via Boinc, but I'll hasten to add has NO impact on whatever you do on your PC ... if you do not have effective cooling, then you can cause irreparable damage to your CPU

That "statement" is in no way intended to put you off the idea, I just need to be sure you are aware of the potential pitfall with this sort of program.

Now, having said all that crap ... If you bought a "retail" CPU that comes with its own HSF, we have found that it actually does a damn good job of keeping the CPU cool ... your temps will rise ... suffice to say, you need to keep an eye on temps for at least the first day.

Hope you give it a try-out at least.

 

[floppybootstomp]

The thing with crunching is that it's very much running as a secondary program.

It will only use any computing power, or 'cycles', that isn't being used by other programs. If your computer is being used 100% by things you're doing, the crunching software will just idle in the background.

One word of caution, some crunching programs can sometimes set off a small nuclear explosion, which won't make you at all popular with the neighbours.

 

[PotGuy]

Yeah well I can tell you that the first day I've been crunching (only started yesterday), aside from the outbreak of cholera, the EMP damage to my windows and the death of all my household pets...

It makes no difference at all. Zero.

 

[Abarbarian]

How will crunching affect me ?

Your IQ will increase by 150%, the opposite sex will fall at your feet and you will win the lottery Thats what I've been told anyway



How will it affect what I do .

It shouldn't have any effect on your system, the default WCG client limits the max CPU percentage that the client uses at something like 60%. For example, say you are browsing the internet and using 20% of your CPU, WCG will use an additional 40% to crunch. The limit at 60% means that you won't risk heating up your CPU (although that isn't really an issue with well built PCs).


Will I get a free crunchers T-shirt (this is a very important Q )

If I ever get crunchers T-Shirts done then yes I did look into it a while back (either that or mouse mats), but they came out quite expensive. If a company decides to sponsor the team or something, then yes

Guess the IQ could do with a boost , not sure about the falling at my feet , lottery win would boost the pocket change . so far so good .

Your saying 60% and muckshifter is saying 100% so I'm a bit here could someone clarify .

As to T-shirts and a sponsor . If you get one tell em to spend the money on a dedicated pc and electric costs .I'm positive a volounteer would step forward to house the project . In fact thats a really cheap way for someone to advertise their products , specialy if their stats were posted on some 24/7 forum or web site , every week or month .

 

[muckshifter]

Your saying 60% and muckshifter is saying 100% so I'm a bit here could someone clarify

Yep ...


There are 2 programs ...

UD, which can run @ 60% of the CPU used

or

Boinc, which WILL run @ 100% of your CPU


Just follow the Boinc instructions & load it up ... If we hear there was a big explosion in your part of the country, we will expect you to post the pictures when you come out of hospital ...

 

[Abarbarian]

When I'm ready to roll I think I'll err on the side of caution and use the standard prog . i'm a country yokle and don't think I could keep up with anything bionic . Mind you I do have a few screws holding me together so I guess that makes me bionic

I'm using a ZALMAN CNPS 7000B-AlCu so cooling should not be a problem .

 

[Spezi]

Yep ...


There are 2 programs ...

UD, which can run @ 60% of the CPU used

or

Boinc, which WILL run @ 100% of your CPU


Just follow the Boinc instructions & load it up ... If we hear there was a big explosion in your part of the country, we will expect you to post the pictures when you come out of hospital ...

Ummmm..........

If you go into "advanced" section under device profiles you can adjust the "weight" of the processor usage from the default 100 down to whatever you wish for the BOINC agent.

You can also design alternate profiles and assign them to computers that you may wish to run with different settings for whatever reason.

In my case for example since I prefer to focus on cancer projects but the system requirements are rather stringent I created one profile for all my computers that have over 1GB of memory and they are designated to run only cancer and genome comparison while the other profile I made for my lesser machines that have only 512MB-768MB of RAM has them working on FightAIDS@home since it will work on those machines thus making use of their lack of resources.

One has the option however of setting things like disk space, days of the week you want to run, network connection, and processor usage.

 

[V_R]

Well if you like you can use the UD throttle program to up the CPU to 100%.

Download this. Run it and set the throttle to 100% and click OK.

BOINC is the better program, and i would advise you use that when you get used to how things work.

 

[Spezi]

I agree with V_R of the two options BOINC is by far more efficient in that using the exact same resources it generates more points and results than the UD agent is capable of and at the end of the day zipping through these work units is what it's all about.

I've tested the theory on many machines and the results always favor BOINC.

 

[Adywebb]

Agree with both Spezi and V_R - Boinc is definately the way to go, its very easy to set up and you can throttle the CPU should you wish to do so - but to be honest I run all mine at 100% 24/7 without a problem, and with that Zalman you shouldn't have any either.

 

[Abarbarian]

If the cpu is running at 100% won't it wear out quicker and won't it use a lot more electric ???? I'm a bit like that bloke on Grand Designs last night , I can get to where I want to be but I don't have a plan or any technical know how . Thats why I keep asking what may seem like simple q's , I do reasearch on the web but when its thouroghly confused me and led me down 100's of dead ends I come and ask you guys .

 

[MattM]

I initially had some weird issues with Boinc and stuck with the Win client as it provided faster results and better points. I made some modifications and have since tried Boinc again and now get a much quicker return.
Although the points/project is lower for me with Boinc (yes even after the multiplier), because it completes the research quicker its a better option as the aim of the game here is results. Seems to take days sometimes for it to leave the 'pending validation' phase and regularly the points gained are heavily reduced to those claimed, but as i said the points dont really matter.
Its like a game of whose line, the points dont matter (its the results of making people laugh)

Welcome to the team Abarbarian

Hoe down...
I like crunching, crunchings all i do
I like seeing, my name come up in blue
Green is ok too, and points will always vary
And one day my points will be
the size of Drew Carey

 

[V_R]

Although the points/project is lower for me with Boinc (yes even after the multiplier), because it completes the research quicker its a better option as the aim of the game here is results. Seems to take days sometimes for it to leave the 'pending validation' phase and regularly the points gained are heavily reduced to those claimed, but as i said the points dont really matter.

Your not using an optimized client are you Matt?

WCG will cut your points in half if your points claim is in excess of the average for that WU...They call them statistical outliers.

You need to be running the Standard BOINC Client.

Read this - https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-2699682.php

DL here- http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php

 

[Abarbarian]

I can't get the poxy World Community Grid site to work properly in FireFox , I have the No Script add on but have given permission for the WCG site but it still don't work . Any ideas , I can't get pictures to show on the e-bay site either could that be a similar problem ??

Oh yeah I downloaded the software and am trying to join the team is why I'm asking . And I will use IE now but don't want to use it if I can use FF .

 

[Abarbarian]

Ok I seem to be up and running , however ??????????????????????

I don't have a lot of space on my C drive can I install this on another partition ???

The prog asks for 10GB of disk space do i realy need to alow it that much or should I cut this down ????????

I've set this to run at 80% whilst i see how it runs .

Now wheres me 6 winning lottery numbers

an me heads starting to hurt , is that the extra 150% intelligence kicking in

an if I trip over any girls who fall at my feet I'll be ok with that just so long as they don't fall on me head

 

[Anon_F]

I still have my PCReview fridge magnet, could become a collectable in a few years

 

[Adywebb]

I don't have a lot of space on my C drive can I install this on another partition ???

The prog asks for 10GB of disk space do i realy need to alow it that much or should I cut this down ????????

You can install it on any partition you wish - and regarding the 10GB disc space, it doesn't use anything like that - its just a setting in your WCG device profile saying you are allowing up to that, you can reduce it to whatever you wish, but 2GB would be fine - for example my quad is only using 104mb at the moment.