Fah Client Recommendation

[Neosymbio]

I'm at an impass as to what type of client to run on two of my PCs. I'm interested in running one of the high performance versions.

The first, and primary computer:

Intel Quad Core Processor ~2.5Ghz
8 GB RAM
Nvidia 9800 GT Video Card
Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit


The second, is a mediocre one:

Intel Dual Core Processor ~1.6 GHz
2 GB RAM
Nvidia 7300 LE Video Card
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit


So, can I get a suggestion on which one of the smp/gpu2 clients to run?

Any other advice and information is welcome.


EDIT: Also, aside from using a HP client, what are some methods to increase the efficiency and workload of FAH? I've heard raising the Process Priority helps.

[the animal]

Linux SMP (notfred) + GPU2 on the first, with GPU set to low instead of idle priority in config.
2x CPU on the second.

[Neosymbio]

Well, I don't have Linux on the first, but I'll go ahead and put the Nvidia gpu2 on the primary.

What do you mean by CPU, the normal FAH clients? You're saying to run two instances of it?

[the animal]

Well, I don't have Linux on the first

Run it in a VM.

What do you mean by CPU, the normal FAH clients? You're saying to run two instances of it?

Yes.

[Neosymbio]

VM, as in en.wikipedia . org/wiki/Virtual_machine ?

At this time I don't think I'm going to delve into running another OS through VM, it just sounds too complicated.

Thanks for your advice. If anyone else has anything to add, please do.


By the way, to whomever moved the topic to General FAH topics, the Hardware subforum's guidelines say it's for "...how to get the most Folding performance from your hardware", which is why I purposely put it there.

[toTOW]

VM are not something for beginners imho.

Stick with the Windows SMP client first ... you might consider upgrading to more complex things when you'll get used with the clients

[Neosymbio]

Indeed. I just set my new PS3 up with the supported client as well

[jrweiss]

SMP + GPU on the primary; 2xCPU on the secondary.

[Neosymbio]

SMP + GPU on the primary; 2xCPU on the secondary.

GPU2 and "6.23 beta for MPICH (32-bit or 64-bit)"?

[John Naylor]

Personally I would not recommend the WinSMP client to a beginner... it is full of potential pitfalls. I would say use four CPU clients on the quad + a GPU client, until you are used to the clients and feel confident enough to try linux SMP in a VM (it's much easier than it sounds).

However if you are set on WinSMP, the MPICH version is the one you want

[Neosymbio]

I set my primary up with the gpu2 with the enhanced nvidia display. I have heard overloading the computer with too much F@H work could damage the video card, is this true? If so, I will only run the gpu2, and not 4 other CPU's as well. If I do use CPU's, should I set each one up to a single core, or all of them on all 4?

Edit: After reading the installation instructions for the SMP, I think I can handle it if you guys would suggest it be good to run in conjunction with the GPU2, or alone. I've been using computers for a long time, I'm just not experience with F@H or with VM. Is it so much better to run a SMP off of linux than windows?

[bruce]

I set my primary up with the gpu2 with the enhanced nvidia display. I have heard overloading the computer with too much F@H work could damage the video card, is this true? If so, I will only run the gpu2, and not 4 other CPU's as well.

Overheating can damage either the GPU or the CPU though they're both designed to protect themselves by shutting down or reducing the speed. Many, many folks have run both GPUs and CPUs at full load for many years without damage.

If you're concerned about damaging the video card, then running only the GPU2 client isn't going to help very much. The folks that have had GPU stability problems have generally been the ones who have install many (4 or maybe even 8) GPUs in the same case and have not upgraded the cooling appropriately.

If your computer was designed for the GPU, then the cooling should have also been designed to handle the GPU active in heavy gaming use, which generally produces more heat than FAH. Similarly, a computer designed for a Quad is expected to be designed to handle the highest thermal dissipation that the Quad can put out, so four classic clients or one SMP client shouldn't bother it.

Just to be sure the cooling of your computer was properly designed, however, it wouldn't hurt to monitor the temperatures until you're confident they stay in a reasonable range.

[Neosymbio]

Cooling is one thing I'm not very learned in. I know my graphics card has a fan on it. I haven't been able to open my PC's case because it's under bestbuy warranty. It's a Gateway FX gaming PC, so hopefully it's properly cooled.

How would I go about monitoring my temp, and what's an acceptable range? I figured this out from another thread, I'm using CoreTemp. What's the maximum safe temp I should look for?

[MtM]

Use Evga precision for the gpu, and Realtemp to monitor the cpu.

There are programs like everest which can monitor both at the same time but everest is not free. The above two programs are, and they work good. Precision also allows overclocking the gpu.

Btw you don't need precision on the second rig, that gpu can not fold anyway.

My 9600gso's are oc'd and have the fan at 85% which keeps them usually around the 65c to 75c range which for my feelings is good enough. They can take up to 105c afaik before throttling back.
My q6600@3g never exceeds 55c in the worst case scenaria but it's watercooled. The e6600 in the second rig get's about 65c with an ArticFreezer64/pro ( lol I'm not sure which one it is, the one for lga775 ) and the 9600gt in that system is mostly running cooler then the gso's in the other. For me these are easilly acceptable temps but I wouldn't be surprised if some find I'm aiming to low, and some will say I'm aiming to high.

It's not just facts, acceptable temps are also a personal preference. If you mean acceptable with longlivety in mind I mean, if you're talking about stability influenced by heat it's a different issue but you shouldn't have to worry about that if you got good case ventilation and proper cooling ( and don't oc those components to much unless you buy even more adequate cooling ).

.2cents

[Neosymbio]

Thankyou, that was insightful. I'm installing evga, but I'm using coretemp because it does the same thing, but I like how it displays the temps in my task bar nicely.