stealth1290
CAGiversary!
Since I know some CAGers out there have tons of computers running wicked speeds, why not start a folding team? I bring you the official Cheap Ass Gamer folding team #53337
After the first two months of the folding team running I will (out of my own pocket) be supplying prizes to the top folder, and the folder that excels the fastest. so what are you waiting for FOLD!
*UPDATE* (09/01/11) Wow, it's been 4 years since we've really hammered out some proteins, so I think it's time we got rolling again! Thinking about running another contest, who's interested? Lemme know by posting in this thread!
*UPDATE* (02/14/07) THE CONTEST IS OVER!!!! The top folder is.... PhrostByte... and the random draw is CSideGamer
PM me for your prizes, next contest will be a random draw after we get 15 active folders.
*UPDATE* (2/07/07)
This is the final week you have to complete one WU to be entered so hurry!
*UPDATE!* (1/2/07)
First, Happy New Year.
second, If you can beat Csidegamer to the number 1 spot instead of giving away a 20dollar prize... I'll double it and give away a 40dollar prize! plus I believe there is some sort of TRU prize included in the random drawing so GET FOLDING! remember contest ends when we have 10 active folders.
*UPDATE!* (12/21/06)
OK, just a little update here. The Prize to the Top folder will be your pick of any DVD on amazon,(This means if you live outside the U.S. you can still win!). Also I will be picking a name out of a hat, any folder who has completed one WU is eligible for this prize which will be you pick of.... Well I'm not sure why don't you tell me what the second prize should be (keep it reasonable I'm not rich)
So GET FOLDING!
P.S. Happy holidays to all the CAGers out there be safe!
Still not sure what folding is? here's a FAQ about folding:
Folding @ Home - What is it?:
Folding@Home is a distributed computing project which studies protein folding, misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases. We use novel computational methods and large scale distributed computing, to simulate timescales thousands to millions of times longer than previously achieved. This has allowed us to simulate folding for the first time, and to now direct our approach to examine folding related disease.
How do I get started?:
First, you'll need to download a client for your particular taste / operating system.
If you want to become a part of Team [CAG], be sure to enter 53337 as your team selection during install/config.
General Options:
Ensure you're configured to pull Folding@Home units (Configure -> Advanced -> Client type : Folding@home)
Add "-advmethods" (minus apostrophe's) to the end of your executable (i.e. shortcut will look like this: "C:\blah blah blah\folding@home\winFAH.exe" -advmethods). This will ensure the fahcore_xx.exe files are up-to-date and that you request new work units as they are introduced.
Add "-forceasm" - Forces the core to use SSE/3DNow assembly instructions (i.e. optimized) when possible, even if it has previously made the determination that the machine may not be handling this well.
Add "-forceSSE" - On machines with an AMD processor, Core_78 gives priority to 3DNow over SSE - this basically overrides that. SSE is faster but may not be 100% stable, though the new core appears to have finally resolved that. "ForceSSE" has no meaning on an Intel machine as they use SSE instructions by default. (Removed in the 5.00 and newer clients)
"-config" - Allows user to change their configuration information again. You will be prompted with the same series of questions as when you first installed the console client.
"-oneunit" - Forces the client to quit following the completion of one work unit.
"-queueinfo" - Diplays information on the currently queued work unit. Displayes the status (READY/FINISHED/EMPTY), unit type (Folding/Genome), originating server, and date when the unit was received (local time in GMT), as well as the deadline for the unit.
"-local" - Forces client to use configuration file from the local directory it was launched from; Vital if you're running multiple instances on one machine.
Console users:
If you ever have to reconfigure the clients, simply just rerun the folding executable with the -config option.
If you prefer more information from the client as it processes, add -verbosity x, where X ranges from 1 to 9 (default of 3). Increase this number for more information to be displayed as the work unit is processed.
Multi Processor:
For those running on dual or higher CPU systems or using HyperThreading, there's a little more work to get each process working properly. Although not as graphical, I think it's best to run two instances of the Console over 1 GUI and 1 console. You'll basically have to have a seperate directory for each instance you want to run (f@h1, f@h2, etc. - whatever you want to call the folders)
As you run the config for each instance, be sure to increase the Machine ID by one so that each will run seperately. This can be changed at a later time, if needed, by editing the client.cfg file.
Add the "-local" command to the end of your shorcut. This ensures that the client.cfg file will be loaded from the directory the executable is being run from, not where the registry (i.e. GUI was installed) points to.
Example batch file:
e:\f@h1\bindcpu.exe 1 fah.exe -local -advmethods
The above binds the instance to CPU 0 (which has a Mask of 1).
Download BindCPU - an applicaiton that will allow you to set Affinity (CPU #) to each instance of F@H you're running.
If you want to set Affinity manually, run your first instance of the console client. Go into the Processes tab of Task Manager and look for the FahCore_xx.exe entry. Right click on it and choose Set Affinity and bind it to CPU 0. Launch your next instance of the console client and repeat, except on the new FahCore_xx.exe file, bind it to CPU 1. Repeat this for however many processors are present in the machine.
Unit Types and Cores:
"To tell which type of unit you are running, you can simply look at your log file. When the client first starts the core, you'll find one of the following strings somewhere. "Gromacs Core" means it's a Gromacs unit. "Protein Design Core" is a Genome unit. Tinker simply says "Folding@Home Client Core" and then, farther down, "TINKER: Software Tools for Molecular Design".
If you look at the currently running processes under WinNT/2K/XP (in Task Manager) or Linux, you'll find one of these cores running (the most current version number is also listed):
*FAHCore_65.exe - Tinker - Version 2.50
*FAHCore_78.exe - Gromacs - Version 1.55 or 1.56
*FAHCore_79.exe - Gromacs - Same as FAHCore_78 but uses greater precision on calculations (uses doubles instead of floats)
*FAHCore_ca.exe - Genome - Version 2.06"
Questions/Issues:
Common client errors
Having issues with the client or a particular bug you'd like to report? Hit the forums!
After the first two months of the folding team running I will (out of my own pocket) be supplying prizes to the top folder, and the folder that excels the fastest. so what are you waiting for FOLD!
*UPDATE* (09/01/11) Wow, it's been 4 years since we've really hammered out some proteins, so I think it's time we got rolling again! Thinking about running another contest, who's interested? Lemme know by posting in this thread!
*UPDATE* (02/14/07) THE CONTEST IS OVER!!!! The top folder is.... PhrostByte... and the random draw is CSideGamer
PM me for your prizes, next contest will be a random draw after we get 15 active folders.
*UPDATE* (2/07/07)
This is the final week you have to complete one WU to be entered so hurry!
*UPDATE!* (1/2/07)
First, Happy New Year.
second, If you can beat Csidegamer to the number 1 spot instead of giving away a 20dollar prize... I'll double it and give away a 40dollar prize! plus I believe there is some sort of TRU prize included in the random drawing so GET FOLDING! remember contest ends when we have 10 active folders.
*UPDATE!* (12/21/06)
OK, just a little update here. The Prize to the Top folder will be your pick of any DVD on amazon,(This means if you live outside the U.S. you can still win!). Also I will be picking a name out of a hat, any folder who has completed one WU is eligible for this prize which will be you pick of.... Well I'm not sure why don't you tell me what the second prize should be (keep it reasonable I'm not rich)
So GET FOLDING!
P.S. Happy holidays to all the CAGers out there be safe!
Still not sure what folding is? here's a FAQ about folding:
Folding @ Home - What is it?:
Folding@Home is a distributed computing project which studies protein folding, misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases. We use novel computational methods and large scale distributed computing, to simulate timescales thousands to millions of times longer than previously achieved. This has allowed us to simulate folding for the first time, and to now direct our approach to examine folding related disease.
How do I get started?:
First, you'll need to download a client for your particular taste / operating system.
If you want to become a part of Team [CAG], be sure to enter 53337 as your team selection during install/config.
General Options:
Ensure you're configured to pull Folding@Home units (Configure -> Advanced -> Client type : Folding@home)
Add "-advmethods" (minus apostrophe's) to the end of your executable (i.e. shortcut will look like this: "C:\blah blah blah\folding@home\winFAH.exe" -advmethods). This will ensure the fahcore_xx.exe files are up-to-date and that you request new work units as they are introduced.
Add "-forceasm" - Forces the core to use SSE/3DNow assembly instructions (i.e. optimized) when possible, even if it has previously made the determination that the machine may not be handling this well.
Add "-forceSSE" - On machines with an AMD processor, Core_78 gives priority to 3DNow over SSE - this basically overrides that. SSE is faster but may not be 100% stable, though the new core appears to have finally resolved that. "ForceSSE" has no meaning on an Intel machine as they use SSE instructions by default. (Removed in the 5.00 and newer clients)
"-config" - Allows user to change their configuration information again. You will be prompted with the same series of questions as when you first installed the console client.
"-oneunit" - Forces the client to quit following the completion of one work unit.
"-queueinfo" - Diplays information on the currently queued work unit. Displayes the status (READY/FINISHED/EMPTY), unit type (Folding/Genome), originating server, and date when the unit was received (local time in GMT), as well as the deadline for the unit.
"-local" - Forces client to use configuration file from the local directory it was launched from; Vital if you're running multiple instances on one machine.
Console users:
If you ever have to reconfigure the clients, simply just rerun the folding executable with the -config option.
If you prefer more information from the client as it processes, add -verbosity x, where X ranges from 1 to 9 (default of 3). Increase this number for more information to be displayed as the work unit is processed.
Multi Processor:
For those running on dual or higher CPU systems or using HyperThreading, there's a little more work to get each process working properly. Although not as graphical, I think it's best to run two instances of the Console over 1 GUI and 1 console. You'll basically have to have a seperate directory for each instance you want to run (f@h1, f@h2, etc. - whatever you want to call the folders)
As you run the config for each instance, be sure to increase the Machine ID by one so that each will run seperately. This can be changed at a later time, if needed, by editing the client.cfg file.
Add the "-local" command to the end of your shorcut. This ensures that the client.cfg file will be loaded from the directory the executable is being run from, not where the registry (i.e. GUI was installed) points to.
Example batch file:
e:\f@h1\bindcpu.exe 1 fah.exe -local -advmethods
The above binds the instance to CPU 0 (which has a Mask of 1).
Download BindCPU - an applicaiton that will allow you to set Affinity (CPU #) to each instance of F@H you're running.
If you want to set Affinity manually, run your first instance of the console client. Go into the Processes tab of Task Manager and look for the FahCore_xx.exe entry. Right click on it and choose Set Affinity and bind it to CPU 0. Launch your next instance of the console client and repeat, except on the new FahCore_xx.exe file, bind it to CPU 1. Repeat this for however many processors are present in the machine.
Unit Types and Cores:
"To tell which type of unit you are running, you can simply look at your log file. When the client first starts the core, you'll find one of the following strings somewhere. "Gromacs Core" means it's a Gromacs unit. "Protein Design Core" is a Genome unit. Tinker simply says "Folding@Home Client Core" and then, farther down, "TINKER: Software Tools for Molecular Design".
If you look at the currently running processes under WinNT/2K/XP (in Task Manager) or Linux, you'll find one of these cores running (the most current version number is also listed):
*FAHCore_65.exe - Tinker - Version 2.50
*FAHCore_78.exe - Gromacs - Version 1.55 or 1.56
*FAHCore_79.exe - Gromacs - Same as FAHCore_78 but uses greater precision on calculations (uses doubles instead of floats)
*FAHCore_ca.exe - Genome - Version 2.06"
Questions/Issues:
Common client errors
Having issues with the client or a particular bug you'd like to report? Hit the forums!
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