Folding Forum

Hi, I just started with Folding@Home after seeing an article online about the COVID-19 research. I want to contribute, and I do have a computer with a GPU. So far, the program is running great. The problem is, I'm using a laptop, and this thing gets HOT when I run the GPU, or even have the CPU seeing heavy use. For short periods of time, that's fine, but it's not something I want to have going constantly. I was wondering if there's a way to make the program take a break from time to time to let my computer cool off. The power converter also heats up when I use the program, and after running it all last night, I woke up to the smell of melting plastic. I imagine there must be settings for that somewhere in the advanced client control, but those settings are all Greek to me!

On Windows you can use tools like MSI Afterburner to limit GPU power usage. If it is still too hot then disable FAH CPU slot as GPU makes more work per watt.

A few things to try:

1. Get a can of compressed air and blow out the Laptop's fan vents. It's amazing how chocked full of dust they can get.

2. Get two books and set the laptop on top of them to get extra cooling underneath (making sure the fan intake is clear)

3. See if you can find the next step up in ac power adapter. I know a lot of Dell laptops have a 90W or 110W power bricks, but they also make 130W and 150W ones for beefier laptops. A lot of the times, the plug at the end is the same. The laptop won't actually draw any more power than it already is with a larger adapter, but the extra overhead (bigger wiring) in the adapter and more surface area will help it run cooler.

Oh, and I agree with the above...MSI Afterburner can be used to set the power limit of the GPU to something less than 100%. This produces a huge reduction of heat for not too much of a performance loss, and actually raises efficiency (PPD/Watt).

you can use tthrottle or throttle stop, throttle stop will let you underclock easily to further reduce heat.

Thanks for all the replies! I've downloaded MSI Afterburner, but I haven't figured out how to get it to limit core temperature. I can do a static underclock, but that's all I've managed so far, and not especially helpful. In the meantime, I'm manually starting and stopping FAH periodically.

How frequently is "periodically"

If you monitor the temperature, you'll probably find that the hardware heats up fairly rapidly and reaches a steady-state temperature within a few minutes. Either it works at that temperature or it doesn't. Starting and stopping adds the issue of thermal shock and that's generally more undesirable than just let it stay at whatever temperature it gets to.

Have you ever seen a lightbulb (or other electrical device) burn out? I'll be it was when it was first turned on.

I realize that you want to help but IMHO it is not a good idea to use a laptop for this kind of work. Laptops don't have the dutycycle that desktop computers do, or in other words you are going to be really stressing your laptop. Also what Bruce said about "thermal shock" is a really good warning. There are a few gaming hardware review channels on Youtube that have talked about this, it is a caution worth heeding.

Sorry to be a killjoy but I'd hate to see anyone lose a valuable piece of hardware that they might not be able to afford the loss of.

you can use tthrottle or throttle stop, throttle stop will let you underclock easily to further reduce heat.

bruce wrote:How frequently is "periodically"

If you monitor the temperature, you'll probably find that the hardware heats up fairly rapidly and reaches a steady-state temperature within a few minutes. Either it works at that temperature or it doesn't. Starting and stopping adds the issue of thermal shock and that's generally more undesirable than just let it stay at whatever temperature it gets to.

Have you ever seen a lightbulb (or other electrical device) burn out? I'll be it was when it was first turned on.

By "periodically" I mean after a few hours. My temperatures get up into the high 80's or low 90's, and this happens when I'm gaming, too.