Just subscribed again to FAH

[nick.daum]

Hi all

I just subscribed again to FAH after several years of interruption. It works nice since I installed it yesterday and it's currently doing its second WU. I am happy my computer contributes again to the project.

Yet I am surprised to see in the System Info
GPUs: 0
CUDA: Not detected

Yet my build is:
System Version: OS X 10.11.5 (15F34)
Kernel Version: Darwin 15.5.0
CUDA Version: 7.5.30
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-H170-HD3 ATX Socket 1151
CPU: Intel Skylake Core i5-6600 / 3.3 GHz (Turbo Boost 3.9 GHz) 4 cores
GPU: MSI GTX 950 2GD5 OC

No big deal. Yet it's too bad if it's not taking advantage of this brand new GPU.

Regards
Nick

[Joe_H]

GPU folding is not supported on OS X, so unfortunately your GPU can not be utilized for FAH. It possibly will be usable if you install Windows using Boot Camp or Linux , however you then would not be running OS X on the hardware. GPU folding not being available on OS X is listed in the Installation Guide - http://folding.stanford.edu/home/guide#ntoc8 & http://folding.stanford.edu/home/guide/ ... ide/#ntoc4.

[nick.daum]

Hi Joe

Thanks for you quick reply. I had a look at some of those pages but usually most of this material is beyond my understanding.
Too bad if it's not supported on OS X. I guess the reason why is that so few Macs have a GPU in the first place and when they do the ones they use are not mainstream.
I don't plan to run Windows and if I do it'll be occasional.

Everything works fine: FAH is in the middle of its second WU.

Regards
Nick

[Joe_H]

Originally GPU folding was also meant to be available for OS X. But the developers ran into a bug in the implementation of OpenCL in OS X. Apple finally fixed that bug a bit over a year ago, there is a note on the OpenMM developers site about it. But when or if that will lead to an OS X GPU folding core being released I have no idea.

Also, the GPU's that Apple uses has shifted in the past few years as you have noted. Five years ago most were just variants of existing AMD-ATI or nVidia models, but many of the recent models are using integrated Intel graphics instead.

[nick.daum]

Originally GPU folding was also meant to be available for OS X. But the developers ran into a bug in the implementation of OpenCL in OS X. Apple finally fixed that bug a bit over a year ago, there is a note on the OpenMM developers site about it. But when or if that will lead to an OS X GPU folding core being released I have no idea.
Also, the GPU's that Apple uses has shifted in the past few years as you have noted. Five years ago most were just variants of existing AMD-ATI or nVidia models, but many of the recent models are using integrated Intel graphics instead.

All Apple's mainstream models: iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini, are made of portable components with integrated, low end, graphic chips. Only Mac Pros have GPUs that are, AFAIK, work station components, rather than the common nVidia or AMD stuff.
I made a hack**tosh, well… a PC on OS X, so I have a standard GPU.
Cheers
Nick

[Joe_H]

The higher end iMac's and MacBook Pro's do use AMD or nVidia graphics, so those potentially could fold. As for the workstation type GPU's used in the current Mac Pro's, the equivalent GPU's from AMD are supported on Windows and Linux. nVidia Quadros can also be used as well on the other OS's.

[nick.daum]

OK. Interesting. Thanks for the input.
In any case I am not concerned with my nVidia on OS X.
Cheers
Nick

[bruce]

It's p o s s i b l e that FAH could provide OpenMM support for those systems with standard NV/AMD GPUs, but I certainly wouldn't get my hopes up. The worldwide total of systems with those GPUs and with whatever version of OS-X incorporates the OpenCL fixes is going to be such a small number to make it not worth the development and support cost/effort. (Then, too, we'd get plenty of "but why isn't my system supported?")

[nick.daum]

It's p o s s i b l e that FAH could provide OpenMM support for those systems with standard NV/AMD GPUs, but I certainly wouldn't get my hopes up. The worldwide total of systems with those GPUs and with whatever version of OS-X incorporates the OpenCL fixes is going to be such a small number to make it not worth the development and support cost/effort. (Then, too, we'd get plenty of "but why isn't my system supported?")

That's right. Yet as Apple loose their focus on the desktop market something else is picking up steam: the hack**tosh, many of them with crazy GPU configuration.
But of course this may mean a very little base for FAH.

OK, folks, thanks for your input.
Nick