I went with Lubuntu, as it uses LXDE, which is an easier Linux desktop variant for Windows users.
This guide would work for Ubuntu as Debian alike, is for future reference as it has many commands that need to be gathered all over the internet, and for helping out people transferring to Linux from Windows.
This guide is made for most systems with Nvidia graphics cards.
The order in which the commands are entered is important, to avoid installation errors.
- Download and install Lubuntu 18.04 ISO
Use the 64 bit version, even with only 2GB of RAM (can run on 1GB of RAM with Swap but 2GB or more of RAM is recommended)
https://lubuntu.net/downloads/ (1.1GB)
Lubuntu 18.04 is an LTS (Long Term Support) and considered most stable.
Alternatively you can download version 18.10 as well.
https://lubuntu.net/lubuntu-18-10-cosmi ... -released/ (1,6GB)
(19.04 and up currently doesn't support Python 2, a dependency for FAH).
- Write ISO to USB
- From Linux:
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sudo dd if=Downloads/lubuntu-18.04-alternate-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb
of= location of the USB flash drive. type 'df-h' to verify location by drive size, or use a gui program like 'gparted' or 'disks' to format a drive and find it's location.
do not use dd on partitions (like SDB1, SDB2, SDC1, ...). ISO files can only be extracted on the drive's root (SDB, SDC,...)
- From Windows, I would recommend to use one of the following programs, whichever does not give errors on your system:
Rufus, RMPrepUSB, YUMI, or UnetBootin
- Verify BIOS etc..
- Set bios to accept Legacy boots, (disable UEFI only)
- Dual Boot with Windows isn't recommended, but possible. Not explained here.
- Install ISO
Boot from USB FLASH drive, and select start Lubuntu or install.
From a live boot (start Lubuntu from Flash USB), it is best to install the OS without doing anything else in the background. Start live OS is great to get a feel for the operating system, but when you want to install the OS, try not to click on anything else, lest it would freeze up during installation.
Follow the prompts.
Best to install fresh on a clean SSD.
Installations on partitions are more difficult, and boot issues with dual booting can cause problems.
If a clean install isn't available, you can do a manual installation too.
Lubuntu will need a primary FAT32 boot partition of at least 300MB (preferably 500MB) mounted as '/boot/efi/', and best is an EXT4 drive of at least 15GB mounted as '/'
- Video drivers
Once installed and rebooted, start with downloading the nVidia .run file drivers from:
https://www.geforce.com/drivers
Prefer to download driver version 418.74 for now (Edit: 430.14 is available now, and should install the same).
The download will save a .run file on your downloads directory.
If you have trouble getting your wireless drivers to work, I would recommend to use wired LAN or use this $10 wifi dongle. It works out of the box on almost all Linux variants, without the need for special drivers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KV9TQXM
Then install needed dependencies from terminal (CTRL + ALT + T):
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sudo apt-get install gcc
sudo apt-get install make
if this is unsuccessful, you can also press CTRL + ALT + F2, and do things from there.
type the following commands:
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sudo service lightdm stop
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sudo lightdm stop
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sudo service sddm stop
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sudo init 3
Go to your Downloads directory usually /home/'YOURLOGINNAME'/Downloads, or type:
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cd Downloads
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chmod +x ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-418.74.run
Typing './NVID' and pressing the 'tab' button should reveal possible options.
This command allows you to execute the run file.
Install video driver:
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sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-418.74.run
Reboot, type:
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reboot
- Update linux
Next up, modify the sources list; type:
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sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
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Prompt=normal
Then update dependencies:
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sudo su
apt-get update
apt-get install ocl-icd-opencl-dev
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade
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reboot
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update-manager
Reboot. (from GUI or from terminal type: Reboot)
To verify the update from a terminal type:
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lsb_release -a
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Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 18.10
Release: 18.10
Codename: Cosmic
- Enable all GPUs
Once in GUI, you can enable overclocking and power adjustments on all graphics cards, by opening a terminal (CTRL + ALT + T) and typing:
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sudo su
nvidia-xconfig --enable-all-gpus
nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=28
reboot
- Install FAH
Go to:
https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/
and download the 2 deb files (FAHClient, and FAHControl). FahViewer is optional.
Go to your download folder, and install the deb files with the included installer (GDebi Package installer, or Discover, by double clicking the files).
Start with FAHClient, then FAHControl
Follow the screen, make sure you enter your user name, team, and key (key can be requested here, in case you don't have one)
Save the key in a special place, like in your email inbox. You might need it again.
- Configure FAH
Open the start-bar > education > FAHControl
click 'configure', 'expert'.
Change 'GPU=false' to GPU=true
Enter,
Save.
Open a terminal (CTRL + ALT + T)
Type:
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sudo /etc/init.d/FAHClient restart
Remove CPU slot (preferably if you have GPUs, but optional)
Add one GPU slot for each GPU card you have installed or want to use for FAH
They should now be accepted.
If not, try restarting the service again in terminal:
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sudo /etc/init.d/FAHClient restart
- Control performance and Power limitations
Once FAH works fine on GPU, one can use following commands:
- To view all cards, power consumption, temperature and fan control (update every 1 second):
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watch -n 1 nvidia-smi
Example:
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sudo nvidia-smi -i 0 -pl 150
sudo nvidia-smi -i 1 -pl 130
click: Start-bar > Preferences > NVidia X Server Settings
You can also see how adjusting the power in nvidia-smi on the terminal window, affects GPU frequency in Nvidia X Server Settings.
- Tips
- Use fan control to keep GPU temperatures below decimal values, eg: below 80C, 70C, 60C, or 50C. Performance is usually lowered at these thresholds. Meaning, it's better to run a card at 68C than at 72C; or at 59C vs 61C. But running them at 54C vs 58, or 62C vs 66C does not change GPU frequency.
- Lower power values for saving energy, and running cards cooler; allows higher overclock too.
- Place your case air intake and exhaust fan strategically, for optimal cooling, or use an open style mining rack.
- Don't fold over 83C on RTX and GTX cards. Performance suffers and errors occur when cards run too hot, or are running slightly too high overclocks.
- Disable screen saver.
- Geforce RTX tuning for Folding
- Run them from a cold start, at their highest power rating (usually max power levels of RTX cards run from 170W on the 2060s, to 300W on the 2080 ti).
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sudo nvidia-smi -i 0 -pl 300
- Write down the stock GPU boost frequency (1.800-2.025Mhz) at highest power levels when the card is cold (within the first minute of folding).
This is the frequency you will want to aim to overclock to.
- Lower card consumption to ~135W for base overclocking
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sudo nvidia-smi -i 0 -pl 135
This procedure usually takes a few days to get it right.
Once you know your max GPU overclock (eg: 110Mhz) before WUs will go bad,
- Increase power levels by 5 or 10 Watt (sudo nvidia-smi -i 0 -pl 140; sudo nvidia-smi -i 0 -pl 145) to where you'll reach near to the specific boost frequency (1.800-2.025Mhz) of the card when it was cold.
You'll notice that increasing power consumption from 135W to higher, will also increase boost frequency.
Don't go over the stock boost frequency (not the one that's stated on the box, or sales site, but the boost frequency the card was running on at full power levels).
You'll also notice that once you'll reach the optimal power setting, the GPU boost frequency doesn't really increase much anymore with each additional watt, and it nets nearly no more additional PPDs. Meaning, you'll be consuming a lot more electricity for only little more PPD; and in most cases,the tradeoff isn't worth it.
Increasing the power consumption of the cards, will make them run hotter. Overclocking doesn't.
Fan speed needs to be readjusted after each power level change. Fan speeds are best kept between 50-80% when folding 24/7 (not obnoxiously loud, but enough to keep the cards running in the 60-70C range).
- If any error (BAD STATE) occurs, lower GPU overclock by 5Mhz decrements.
It is preferred to run the card at as low power usage as possible, and as high GPU frequency as is stable.
Take in consideration weather or temperature changes, that can affect performance.