Brony@Home (TL;DR: Use your CPU cycles to cure cancer)

[Jeolf 2]

And it's really easy get one too. Just enter an email adress, and it's mailed it to you.

In fact, I wonder if it's not just a hash of it and some secret values.

 

Anyways, I also wanted to brony@home discussion thread at neoseeker, doesn't require registration in order to post. Could be handy in case you need advice or just get in touch with pony folders not on this forum.

[Sellyme 20]

First off, for users folding on nVidia GPUs, this is important. If you're not using nVidia hardware, skip past this quote:

If you are folding an nVidia GTX400 series or better video card, make sure you have your client set up to receive the quick return bonus (QRB) work units now in beta. You mainly need two things (3 with the v7 client):

 

1. A passkey - this is the same passkey you use for SMP work. I assume most of you have one already. If not, there is a link in Tobit's sticky'ed info thread.

 

2. You need to set the beta flag. For the version 6.xx client, you just add -betateam to your shortcut to start the client. In v7, it is under the Configure button - Slots tab - Extra slot options. Add a new option, Name is client-type, Value is beta.

 

3. (v7 only) add another Extra slot option, Name is next-unit-percentage, Value is 100.

 

If you have any issues setting this up, please ask. The point value on these units (8057s) is very high, and other teams have taken advantage of them. We need to as well.

 

A v7 setup pic showing where all of the setup is done:

(Thanks to murky from [H]ard|OCP for creating the guide)

 

And now that's taken care, of here's an announcement:

 

The Brony@Home folding competition is set to start on January 1, 2013.

 

For those who don't know of the folding competition, it's basically this: you fold for 2 months, and then get prizes. We haven't worked out exactly how we're going to distribute the prizes yet, but generally the biggest returners get a third of the prizes, people who folded consistently get a third of the prizes*, and then random participants get a third of the prizes. The second is a bit different from the third in that getting more points gives you more of a chance, but people who don't have powerful rigs still have a chance of winning.

 

The prizes are actually really good, in our last folding competition we had several high quality plushies, over $150 of Steam games, a $50 WeLoveFine voucher, engraved Zippo lighters, and custom artwork from very high-quality artists. The plushies were particularly awesome:

 

 

The problem is that we need prizes for the upcoming competition. If you have some spare cash, or have some talent or skill that you could use to create a prize for the folding competition, that would be IMMENSELY appreciated. If you're interested in donating a prize for the competition, just contact me via some method (PM, email (sellyme@anypony.com), reply in this thread, #broniesau IRC, or #foldingismagic on the Canternet IRC server), and I'll get things sorted out.

 

If you can't donate anything for the folding competition, simply folding is still a great contribution, and is just as necessary: without people folding we'd have no-one to give the prizes to!

 

So yeah, the competition begins in a bit under a month. Exact details still haven't been published (we need a rough idea of how many prizes we have to give out first), but I'll make sure to post any relevant info here for you guys.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Sellyme

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,521]

Thanks for the heads-up on NVIDIA GPU's. I have a Quadro 5000M in my main laptop, which has pretty nice folding performance. I'll set the beta flag when I get home today.

 

I was a little disappointed to find out about the 16-core requirement for the bigadv WU's, but eh - can't have everything, I suppose. It's still a pretty darned powerful server and folds the regular units pretty quickly.

 

The problem is that we need prizes for the upcoming competition. If you have some spare cash, or have some talent or skill that you could use to create a prize for the folding competition, that would be IMMENSELY appreciated. If you're interested in donating a prize for the competition, just contact me via some method (PM, email (sellyme@anypony.com), reply in this thread, #broniesau IRC, or #foldingismagic on the Canternet IRC server), and I'll get things sorted out.

If you can't donate anything for the folding competition, simply folding is still a great contribution, and is just as necessary: without people folding we'd have no-one to give the prizes to!

So yeah, the competition begins in a bit under a month. Exact details still haven't been published (we need a rough idea of how many prizes we have to give out first), but I'll make sure to post any relevant info here for you guys.

 

I'm not sure if it fits with what you're going for with the competition, but I'd be happy to throw a few MLP Forums subscriptions in, which are valued at $10 CAD/month. Some credit for our forum store is another possibility, which can be used towards a subscription, web/gameserver hosting, or commissioning one of our artists.

[Sellyme 20]

Thanks for the heads-up on NVIDIA GPU's. I have a Quadro 5000M in my main laptop, which has pretty nice folding performance. I'll set the beta flag when I get home today.

I'm not sure if a 5000M will get the beta 8057 WUs, but I don't know anyone who actually runs one, so you might as well try! Make sure to report any results ^^

 

I'm not sure if it fits with what you're going for with the competition, but I'd be happy to throw a few MLP Forums subscriptions in, which are valued at $10 CAD/month. Some credit for our forum store is another possibility, which can be used towards a subscription, web/gameserver hosting, or commissioning one of our artists.

That'd be great! Obviously not everyone would make use of that, but users do get to pick what prizes they want, so if an MLP Forums user wins, they can pick the subscription, so it'll all work out nicely! When it comes closer to the contest we can work out the exact details.

[Twilight Circuits 603]

Is that nvidia gpu's starting at gtx400 and up or just nvidia gpu's in general? I have a GTX 260 floating around somewhere that would probably get me a bit better performance.

[Sellyme 20]

Is that nvidia gpu's starting at gtx400 and up or just nvidia gpu's in general? I have a GTX 260 floating around somewhere that would probably get me a bit better performance.

I'm fairly certain it's only 400 and up, but you can try with a GTX 260 if you want. Can't hurt to try! Make sure to report back on whether or not it gets beta WUs though, so I can add that to the guide.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,521]

So, here's the first work unit I got after enabling those two beta options in my config.

 

 

I don't believe that I landed one of the mythical 8057 units. I did a little googling and found some info on these units being meant for Fermi GPU's. I'm not sure how true that is, but the Quadro 5000M uses the Fermi architecture and is a pretty high-end card in itself.

 

Was I just unlucky that I didn't get one of these WU's this time, or is it more likely that my card won't work with them at all?

[Sellyme 20]

Was I just unlucky that I didn't get one of these WU's this time, or is it more likely that my card won't work with them at all?

Could be either one. Clearly running the beta flag isn't hurting, so you might as well just leave it on just in case they didn't have any 8057 WUs when you requested one.

[Twilight Circuits 603]

Okay who's Firefox11 cuase man, that's some serious PPD that's going on there. Side note, i got everyone that's folding under me a passkey.

[Sellyme 20]

Okay who's Firefox11 cuase man, that's some serious PPD that's going on there.

I don't know, but (s)he emailed me a few days ago to verify the subteam stats. I'm 99.5% sure they're running a GTX 680, set up to get beta WUs.

Side note, i got everyone that's folding under me a passkey.

Whoo! Time to rake in the bonus points.

[Twilight Circuits 603]

Alright so i've given everyone folding under me a passkey. But i'm kinda confused. My PPD isn't changing much.  I have done some poking around and from what i can tell, my 6990 should make way more points then it is.  My main rig averages 10-15k my other rig normally averaged 10k a day so with two other comps that are decent i should be doing better then i am. What i can do figure where this isn't as high as it should be. I know nvidia gpu's are better at folding but my 6990 is obviously no slouch. My other rig has began to slow down to 6k a day. What's going on or where can i figure this out?

[Metatora 37]

Installed the program and got it running,, so I guess you can add me to the team. Username is the same as here (Metatora) so it should be easy enough to find me XD 

[Twilight Circuits 603]

Wow I don't know what's going on but my main rig is having problems folding. Check out this log:

 

 

*********************** Log Started 2012-12-08T12:44:21Z ***********************
12:44:21:************************* Folding@home Client *************************
12:44:21:      Website: http://folding.stanford.edu/
12:44:21:    Copyright: © 2009-2012 Stanford University
12:44:21:       Author: Joseph Coffland <joseph@cauldrondevelopment.com>
12:44:21:         Args: --lifeline 1009904 --command-port=36330
12:44:21:       Config: C:/Users/Gwenn/AppData/Roaming/FAHClient/config.xml
12:44:21:******************************** Build ********************************
12:44:21:      Version: 7.1.52
12:44:21:         Date: Mar 20 2012
12:44:21:         Time: 19:37:42
12:44:21:      SVN Rev: 3515
12:44:21:       Branch: fah/trunk/client
12:44:21:     Compiler: Intel® C++ MSVC 1500 mode 1200
12:44:21:      Options: /TP /nologo /EHa /Qdiag-disable:4297,4103,1786,279 /Ox -arch:SSE
12:44:21:               /QaxSSE2,SSE3,SSSE3,SSE4.1,SSE4.2 /Qopenmp /Qrestrict /MT
12:44:21:     Platform: win32 XP
12:44:21:         Bits: 32
12:44:21:         Mode: Release
12:44:21:******************************* System ********************************
12:44:21:          CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor
12:44:21:       CPU ID: AuthenticAMD Family 16 Model 4 Stepping 3
12:44:21:         CPUs: 4
12:44:21:       Memory: 15.95GiB
12:44:21:  Free Memory: 12.61GiB
12:44:21:      Threads: WINDOWS_THREADS
12:44:21:   On Battery: false
12:44:21:   UTC offset: -8
12:44:21:          PID: 1009924
12:44:21:          CWD: C:/Users/Gwenn/AppData/Roaming/FAHClient
12:44:21:           OS: Windows 7 Professional
12:44:21:      OS Arch: AMD64
12:44:21:         GPUs: 2
12:44:21:        GPU 0: ATI:4 Antilles [AMD Radeon HD 6990]
12:44:21:        GPU 1: ATI:4 Antilles [AMD Radeon HD 6990]
12:44:21:         CUDA: Not detected
12:44:21:Win32 Service: false
12:44:21:***********************************************************************
12:44:21:<config>
12:44:21:  <!-- Folding Slot Configuration -->
12:44:21:  <gpu v='true'/>
12:44:21:
12:44:21:  <!-- Network -->
12:44:21:  <proxy v=':8080'/>
12:44:21:
12:44:21:  <!-- User Information -->
12:44:21:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
12:44:21:  <team v='212997'/>
12:44:21:  <user v='TwilightCircuits'/>
12:44:21:
12:44:21:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
12:44:21:  <slot id='0' type='GPU'/>
12:44:21:  <slot id='1' type='GPU'/>
12:44:21:  <slot id='2' type='SMP'/>
12:44:21:</config>
12:44:21:Trying to access database...
12:44:21:Successfully acquired database lock
12:44:21:Enabled folding slot 00: READY gpu:0:"Antilles [AMD Radeon HD 6990]"
12:44:21:Enabled folding slot 01: READY gpu:1:"Antilles [AMD Radeon HD 6990]"
12:44:21:Enabled folding slot 02: READY smp:4
12:44:21:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
12:44:21:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:Starting
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:Running FahCore: "C:\Program Files (x86)\FAHClient/FAHCoreWrapper.exe" C:/Users/Gwenn/AppData/Roaming/FAHClient/cores/www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/Core_a4.fah/FahCore_a4.exe -dir 02 -suffix 01 -version 701 -lifeline 1009924 -checkpoint 15 -np 4
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:Started FahCore on PID 1009984
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:Core PID:1009996
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:FahCore 0xa4 started
12:44:21:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:*------------------------------*
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Folding@Home Gromacs GB Core
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Version 2.27 (Dec. 15, 2010)
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Preparing to commence simulation
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:- Looking at optimizations...
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:- Files status OK
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:- Expanded 528073 -> 1214360 (decompressed 229.9 percent)
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Called DecompressByteArray: compressed_data_size=528073 data_size=1214360, decompressed_data_size=1214360 diff=0
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:- Digital signature verified
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Project: 8027 (Run 1149, Clone 0, Gen 26)
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Assembly optimizations on if available.
12:44:21:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Entering M.D.
12:44:23:Server connection id=1 on 0.0.0.0:36330 from 127.0.0.1
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Using Gromacs checkpoints
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Mapping NT from 4 to 4
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Resuming from checkpoint
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Verified 02/wudata_01.log
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Verified 02/wudata_01.trr
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Verified 02/wudata_01.xtc
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Verified 02/wudata_01.edr
12:44:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 92220 out of 500000 steps  (18%)
12:45:21:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
12:45:21:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
12:45:21:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
12:46:58:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
12:46:58:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
12:46:58:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
12:49:35:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
12:49:35:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
12:49:35:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
12:50:03:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 95000 out of 500000 steps  (19%)
12:53:50:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
12:53:50:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
12:53:50:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
13:00:08:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 100000 out of 500000 steps  (20%)
13:00:41:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
13:00:41:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
13:00:41:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
13:10:27:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 105000 out of 500000 steps  (21%)
13:11:47:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
13:11:47:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
13:11:47:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
13:20:36:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 110000 out of 500000 steps  (22%)
13:29:44:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
13:29:44:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
13:29:44:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
13:30:43:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 115000 out of 500000 steps  (23%)
13:40:52:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 120000 out of 500000 steps  (24%)
13:51:05:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 125000 out of 500000 steps  (25%)
13:58:46:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
13:58:46:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
13:58:46:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
14:01:07:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 130000 out of 500000 steps  (26%)
14:11:14:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 135000 out of 500000 steps  (27%)
14:21:23:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 140000 out of 500000 steps  (28%)
14:31:51:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 145000 out of 500000 steps  (29%)
14:42:16:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 150000 out of 500000 steps  (30%)
14:45:45:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
14:45:45:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
14:45:45:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
14:52:25:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 155000 out of 500000 steps  (31%)
15:02:24:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 160000 out of 500000 steps  (32%)
15:12:48:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 165000 out of 500000 steps  (33%)
15:23:00:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 170000 out of 500000 steps  (34%)
15:35:18:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 175000 out of 500000 steps  (35%)
16:01:46:WU01:FS00:Downloading core from http://www.stanford.edu/~pande/Win32/AMD64/ATI/R600/Core_15.fah
16:01:46:WU01:FS00:Connecting to www.stanford.edu:80
16:01:46:ERROR:WU01:FS00:Exception: Failed to access core package.
16:12:26:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 180000 out of 500000 steps  (36%)
16:25:10:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 185000 out of 500000 steps  (37%)
16:37:43:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 190000 out of 500000 steps  (38%)
16:50:12:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 195000 out of 500000 steps  (39%)
17:02:28:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 200000 out of 500000 steps  (40%)
17:15:08:WU02:FS02:0xa4:Completed 205000 out of 500000 steps  (41%)
 

 

 

 

Why isn't it completing tasks and how to do fix that?

[Sellyme 20]

Installed the program and got it running,, so I guess you can add me to the team. Username is the same as here (Metatora) so it should be easy enough to find me XD 

Added. Sorry for the delay, I was out all weekend at a meetup.

 

Alright so i've given everyone folding under me a passkey. But i'm kinda confused. My PPD isn't changing much.

PPD doesn't change in-client when you've got a passkey set up. Bonus points are only applied on Stanford's end. Not sure what your issue with Core_15 is though. Try downloading the file manually and putting it in the same directory as Core_a4.fah?

Edited December 11, 2012 by Sellyme

[Twilight Circuits 603]

according to my research it's a problem with Stanford's end of things. They say that they are working on it so we'll see if it improves in a few days.

[Sellyme 20]

This is just a quick FYI, Brony@Home now has an official forum for all distributed projects we participate in (F@H, WCG, Seti, Majestic-12, DIMES, and dozens of others).

 

The threads on other various forums (Neoseeker, BAU, MLP Forums, UK of Equestria) will still exist, but primarily for discussion of the particular relevant subteam. I'll still be monitoring all of them and giving help/advice where needed, but it is advised that anyone looking for help use the official forums, as it'll get a far greater response.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Sellyme

[Twilight Circuits 603]

This is just a quick FYI, Brony@Home now has an official forum for all distributed projects we participate in (F@H, WCG, Seti, Majestic-12, DIMES, and dozens of others).

 

The threads on other various forums (Neoseeker, BAU, MLP Forums, UK of Equestria) will still exist, but primarily for discussion of the particular relevant subteam. I'll still be monitoring all of them and giving help/advice where needed, but it is advised that anyone looking for help use the official forums, as it'll get a far greater response.

I'm trying to figure out why my score is so low. My PPD total just isn't what it should be considering people computer specs and it's leeaving me dissapointed.

[Sellyme 20]

I'm trying to figure out why my score is so low. My PPD total just isn't what it should be considering people computer specs and it's leeaving me dissapointed.

Could you give me the exact PPD of your CPU and GPU? ATI GPUs get a disproportionately lower amount of points for equal work compared to nVidia GPUs, so that could be contributing to it.

 

In other news...

 

THE COMPETITION STARTS IN A WEEK

 

We have 23 (and counting!) prizes to give away, and if you enter now you have more than a 40% chance of winning. More info is available on our official forums.

 

You can enter by posting your Folding@Home username here or in that forum thread, along with something along the lines of "I'd like to participate in the competition".

 

(Also, Feld0, could we get exact details on the prize(s) you offered?)

[Flutterbee 92]

Hello, I recently joined your team.  I already had an MLP forums account that I think I've only used once to enter a contest or something.  I could kinda use a new forum to be a part of anyway so hopefully maybe you will start to see me active around here.  It won't be this week though.  I'm going to be a bit busier this week with year end inventories at my store.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,521]

(Also, Feld0, could we get exact details on the prize(s) you offered?)

 

Sent you a personal conversation about that. Sorry for the delay.

 

Can you put me down as an entrant in the competition, please? I'd love to take part!

[Sellyme 20]

*checks watch*

 

...you're pushing it

 

But late entries are still open until January 13, so done. You'll show up in the competitors list and on our leaderboard spreadsheet soon.

[uuunph 288]

I'm not too late to this am I? Regardless, I'm trying this out, just gotta get it to work with me first. The progress in my Work Queue is at 0.

 

I'm connected, using an A8-3850, reinstalled OpenCL, using Catalyst 12.10. Any help?

 

Oh jeez, that was real stupid of me. I forgot I was running a software-based firewall and blocked out connections to educational institutions. Heh, nevermind that then.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Railrunner

[almozayaf 72]

LOL i'm part of that in mangasupdate.com

 

i'm very hi rank in the grop to

 

is it good idea to turn my back to them and join you in these ..... mmm

 

answer (Yes) (no)

[Sellyme 20]

I'm connected, using an A8-3850, reinstalled OpenCL, using Catalyst 12.10. Any help?

I see that your problem is fixed, but this is the first time I've encountered another A8 APU folder. I'm running the A8-3870K, can get ~3k PPD on standard clock while dedicated, ~3.5k PPD at a 3.3GHz overclock (again, dedicated), and 2k/2.2k respectively when actually using the computer.

 

Would be interesting to see your numbers.

LOL i'm part of that in mangasupdate.com

 

i'm very hi rank in the grop to

 

is it good idea to turn my back to them and join you in these ..... mmm

 

answer (Yes) (no)

Of course it's a good idea, especially with the competition going. You can still enter that if you're quick, late entries are still open.

[uuunph 288]

I see that your problem is fixed, but this is the first time I've encountered another A8 APU folder. I'm running the A8-3870K, can get ~3k PPD on standard clock while dedicated, ~3.5k PPD at a 3.3GHz overclock (again, dedicated), and 2k/2.2k respectively when actually using the computer.

 

Would be interesting to see your numbers.

 

Of course it's a good idea, especially with the competition going. You can still enter that if you're quick, late entries are still open.

Wait, what? I thought this wasn't really compatible with AMD drivers or something, so I had to quit trying. No numbers for me right now, unfortunately.

 

After I got it set up, I got 3 out of 6*(10^7) jobs carried out, before it reached system shutdown temperature. Can't be the drivers though, if you're also running it with the 3870K.