Which version for Macbook Pro with 2 video cards and 2 cores

[quickmac]

I've used F@H in the past on older Windows PCs and have it running on a few older windows PCs and laptops (CPU versions).

I'm interested in running it on my Macbook Pro but the latest V6 does not seem to work, it'll show up in Activity Monitor but won't actually use any processing power. The console version also returns an error that it can't find work to do.

I've lurked these forums a bit and found some people recommending the V7 latest beta version but i don't know too much about it, would V7 be a viable option for my setup, does it use GPU or SMP, and are there ways to change the settings so it runs the best?

My mid-2009 Macbook Pro specs:

OS: Lion OS X 10.7.3
CPU: 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (2 cores)
Memory: 8GB 1067 MHz DDR3 RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (Integrated 256MB VRAM) and a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (Dedicated 512MB VRAM)
Additional Cooling: Aeolus metal cooling pad with 7 inch low speed cooling fan

I recently dabbled income BitCoin Mining and was able to use both graphics card independently to mine but obviously a laptop can't compete with dedicated huge desktop mining rigs with multiple high end cards and I'd like to instead dedicate my idle computing (ideally video GPU) to a more worthwhile cause such as Folding@Home.

All this said, what's the best version and settings to run on my setup? Thanks again!

[Joe_H]

First, no version of Folding currently uses the GPU's under OS X. Version 7 has latent support for GPU folding, but currently there are no processing cores to use them.

Some persons recommend against using V7 with Lion as it has some bugs that apparently are more of a problem in that OS. I can't say, as I am still using 10.6.8 on my Mac's and use both V6 and V7 without any major problem.

One thing that is important when folding using V6 and OS X is to add the parameter -advmethods to the extra parameters line under advanced settings in the Control Panel. You may also need to add -smp, I came across at least one of the V6 installs that did not set that by default. I do not know if that applies to the most recent version of V6. The same parameters would need to be used from the command line if you are running the console version.

Good luck, and hope this helps you get folding on your OS X laptop.

[quickmac]

First, no version of Folding currently uses the GPU's under OS X. Version 7 has latent support for GPU folding, but currently there are no processing cores to use them.

Some persons recommend against using V7 with Lion as it has some bugs that apparently are more of a problem in that OS. I can't say, as I am still using 10.6.8 on my Mac's and use both V6 and V7 without any major problem.

One thing that is important when folding using V6 and OS X is to add the parameter -advmethods to the extra parameters line under advanced settings in the Control Panel. You may also need to add -smp, I came across at least one of the V6 installs that did not set that by default. I do not know if that applies to the most recent version of V6. The same parameters would need to be used from the command line if you are running the console version.

Good luck, and hope this helps you get folding on your OS X laptop.

Thanks Joe. The add parameters, is this for V6 or V7 (I didn't see a control panel on V6). I'm testing out V7 and it seems to work great, except that it is making my Macbook Pro run very hot and pushing the fans to max when running. Do you know if there is any way to adjust settings for V7 to utilize less CPU to reduce heat or should I try to get V6 running again?

[Ravage7779]

v6 and v7 at their most basic function, operate exactly the same way. They suck up every available cpu cycle your processor has to offer. So you will generate equal amounts of heat regardless of the client you run. You are going to spin the fans no matter what you do.

FAHlimit can be used with v6 to throttle it back some. This is now even more counterproductive if you care about points. The quicker you return the unit, the more points. If you are throttling the client, you slow it down, and get fewer points. I have no idea if FAHlimit will work with v7. If you throttle it too much, you will miss the deadline and get no points at all.

Best bet is to make sure you have all the dust bunnies cleaned out of your lappy, elevate it on books, or bottle caps, or even a couple pens so the bottom can breath, or a laptop cooling pad with fans in it. Installing SMC Fancontrol to bump up the fan speeds to keep it cool is a good idea.

[quickmac]

v6 and v7 at their most basic function, operate exactly the same way. They suck up every available cpu cycle your processor has to offer. So you will generate equal amounts of heat regardless of the client you run. You are going to spin the fans no matter what you do.

FAHlimit can be used with v6 to throttle it back some. This is now even more counterproductive if you care about points. The quicker you return the unit, the more points. If you are throttling the client, you slow it down, and get fewer points. I have no idea if FAHlimit will work with v7. If you throttle it too much, you will miss the deadline and get no points at all.

Best bet is to make sure you have all the dust bunnies cleaned out of your lappy, elevate it on books, or bottle caps, or even a couple pens so the bottom can breath, or a laptop cooling pad with fans in it. Installing SMC Fancontrol to bump up the fan speeds to keep it cool is a good idea.

Yeah I have the MBP sitting on top of a cooling pad with a 7 inch fan (unfortunately the fan doesn't spin fast enough to really make a difference but the raised off the desk aspect seems to help a bit). I may look into SMC fan control, I'm just wondering if its a good idea to be folding most of the time on a laptop at high temps?

I assume it'll shut down if it gets too hot to protect itself but still, anyone have any experience running v6 or v7 on a Macbook Pro laptop most of the time?

[Joe_H]

Thanks Joe. The add parameters, is this for V6 or V7 (I didn't see a control panel on V6). I'm testing out V7 and it seems to work great, except that it is making my Macbook Pro run very hot and pushing the fans to max when running. Do you know if there is any way to adjust settings for V7 to utilize less CPU to reduce heat or should I try to get V6 running again?

The additional parameters are for V6. The console only installer download does not install a Control Panel, the one named Mac OS X 10.5+ Intel 32/64-bit SMP Installer does place one in your System Preferences. For the console only version you would add those parameters to the command entered in the Terminal app such as:

./fah6 -smp -advmethods

But if V7 is working for you, no need to go back to V6. If you do want to go to V6, it would be best to use Finish and complete the current WU and then quit. V7 does have an option under Advanced for configuring the folding slot to adjust the CPU percentage. It is a slider, the default value is 100%. I have not used it, so do not have any idea how well it works in OS X. Also under Configure you can edit other slot settings such as client-type advanced, see this page that describes the options, https://fah-web.stanford.edu/projects/F ... FahControl.

P.S. I have my MacBook running F@H at full blast for days at a time. It is over 3 years old and so far no problems with the fans or cooling. YMMV, one son recently had to replace one fan in his 4 year old MacBook Pro, but he doesn't fold on it anyways.

[quickmac]

Thanks Joe. The add parameters, is this for V6 or V7 (I didn't see a control panel on V6). I'm testing out V7 and it seems to work great, except that it is making my Macbook Pro run very hot and pushing the fans to max when running. Do you know if there is any way to adjust settings for V7 to utilize less CPU to reduce heat or should I try to get V6 running again?

The additional parameters are for V6. The console only installer download does not install a Control Panel, the one named Mac OS X 10.5+ Intel 32/64-bit SMP Installer does place one in your System Preferences. For the console only version you would add those parameters to the command entered in the Terminal app such as:

./fah6 -smp -advmethods

But if V7 is working for you, no need to go back to V6. If you do want to go to V6, it would be best to use Finish and complete the current WU and then quit. V7 does have an option under Advanced for configuring the folding slot to adjust the CPU percentage. It is a slider, the default value is 100%. I have not used it, so do not have any idea how well it works in OS X. Also under Configure you can edit other slot settings such as client-type advanced, see this page that describes the options, https://fah-web.stanford.edu/projects/F ... FahControl.

P.S. I have my MacBook running F@H at full blast for days at a time. It is over 3 years old and so far no problems with the fans or cooling. YMMV, one son recently had to replace one fan in his 4 year old MacBook Pro, but he doesn't fold on it anyways.

Thanks I tried the parameters and it worked! But then I went back to V7 because I really like the graphical interface and the sweet visual interface. I figure I can pause it during some times during the day and run it overnight (when its cooler, energy is cheaper, and I'm not using it at all).

I really hope that they get it out of beta AND figure out a way for Mac OS X to use the GPU instead of the CPU!

That's good to hear yours is older and running for days at full fans and full F&H processing with no problems. I may consider upgrading my cooling pad but we'll see.

Thank you also for your help!

[bruce]

I really hope that they get it out of beta AND figure out a way for Mac OS X to use the GPU instead of the CPU!

My personal predictions:
1) It will be out of beta quite soon and there will be worthwhile changes for MacOS and other platforms over the version you''re running.
2) Support for the GPU will take longer.

[Joe_H]

... V7 does have an option under Advanced for configuring the folding slot to adjust the CPU percentage. It is a slider, the default value is 100%. I have not used it, so do not have any idea how well it works in OS X...

Well, I tried out the slider, and can give one warning - don't change the setting while folding is active! It looked OK and the core was still folding when I went to sleep, but it died and stopped sometime after that. I restarted folding this morning after waking and got the message the work files were missing, so the WU was dumped.