Join the MicroCenterOfficial Folding@Home Team: #257944

cine_chris

Five Days to 500M with nearly 5 Hours to spare.
I learned some interesting things, in what I`d call an aggressive sprint mode to 500M as my final & 3rd challenge for July.
 

MightyMayfield

@cine_chris
As far as I can tell the issue isn't on our side. I'm just not getting anything from the assignment servers. Definitely has been firewall issues in the past, but in this case....I really don't know.

0legravy_leg

50!!

cine_chris

0legravy_leg said:

50!!

50? You`re about to hit 100M...
OK, I got it, I`m old n`slo.
We caught the EOC Team, Top50!

kmiller922

Great job everyone keep it going.

ryau

Nice work everyone! We have Team MacOS X in our sights now... 
I'll be reaching out to the July folding winners today... Do you guys want me to do another giveaway like this?

Tramp78

Well since I was one of the winners, yeah! Let's do another one! 

Kirito

Yes.

Everyone needs a little pick-me-up these days.

I envision another portable hard drive in my future.

Its great to see people working together to solve problems.  One of the guys in the IT shop I work in has it.

And we are all working from home. 

Kirito

JBug55

I think most people probably like to feel appreciated for their efforts, at least I did. I would like to see more participation in this type of event.  I suspect it is smart business for you too. Speaking for myself, I spent some $$ at my local Micro Center that I probably would not have otherwise to help with my folding quest.  (And enjoyed every bit of it.)  Thanks for all of this to you and the rest of the Micro Center Team.

cine_chris

ryau said:

Nice work everyone! We have Team MacOS X in our sights now... 
I'll be reaching out to the July folding winners today... Do you guys want me to do another giveaway like this?

Yes, recognition is always a good thing.  I`ve built two systems this year and one was dedicated to folding and I repurposed older gear to support the cause too.  So, supporting Folding is a good business practice for MC too.  Currently, I`m in a wait n` see mode as to what Nvidia & AMD bring us in the Fall for new GPUs and how that will translate to PPD production.  My build strategy has been to cull GPUs from MC `open box` + the 5% MC credit card discount.

teamtempest

I certainly appreciate the prize! But now I have a hardware question: the machine I have has an Nvidia GT-730, maximum power draw 38 watts. I'd like to replace it, but the machine also has a PSU rated at only 180 watts, and I don't plan to replace both. I'm thinking Nvidia GT-1030 (GDDR5), maximum power draw 30 watts, should be a drop-in replacement.  Might not quite double the GT-730's performance.

But Nvidia's website suggests a minimum PSU output of 300 watts (vs. 350 for the GT-730). Can I make this replacement and not really worry about it?

kmiller922

ryau said:

Nice work everyone! We have Team MacOS X in our sights now... 
I'll be reaching out to the July folding winners today... Do you guys want me to do another giveaway like this?

I appreciate the prize as well and it will be going towards some additional gear in hopefully the near future for folding, right after I fix a bit of a issue with my car. So today is keep the fingers crossed while on the hunt for another set of wheels.

kmiller922

Just incase you haven't looked at the FAH site lately you may want to take a look. Some of the new updated info for the projects and in my opnion a great press release that really needs to be wide spread. The Moonshot project from the looks of it will not be short on work units anytime soon and is making great strides. Take a look when you have the time there's some great information there.

JBug55

I recently added a new GPU to the mix (added a GTX-1660 Super to the GTX 1650 I already had) and was pleasantly surprised by the results after just a few days.  I joined the ranks of over 1m ppd and Top 20 Producers.  I also learned that Linux really appears to be more efficient than Windows for this application ( no, I'm neither a Windows nor Linux fan-boy or basher). With a small sample size, I am getting  more ppd by about 15% - 20% with Linux. I admit it could have been WU related, but I saw some of the same project #'s in both samples. 
 

ChrisHarshman

JBug55 said:

I recently added a new GPU to the mix (added a GTX-1660 Super to the GTX 1650 I already had) and was pleasantly surprised by the results after just a few days.  I joined the ranks of over 1m ppd and Top 20 Producers.  I also learned that Linux really appears to be more efficient than Windows for this application ( no, I'm neither a Windows nor Linux fan-boy or basher). With a small sample size, I am getting  more ppd by about 15% - 20% with Linux.

Yes the 1660 Supers are nice, my 1660 Super pulls in almost as many points per day as my 1660 TI.  I have to admit I did only buy the TI because it was an open box deal (my daughter loves the LED lights on it to LOL).  What flavor of Linux are you using just out of curiosity?  It has been seen by a number of people that Linux does manage to earn you more points.

cine_chris

Don`t know if this will interest anyone. My latest Gigabyte x570 UD mobo supports slot0 PCIE bifurcation. I tracked down a guy in Germany that makes the PCBs to support this. Of course, getting things shipped at reasonable cost with CV19 is tough. I`m hoping to get 4 GPU running on this less-expensive base system config.  This is the card I just received.  Other approaches that add PCIe lanes are very high-cost system builds.  x16>x4x4x4x4 is also supported, but I thought x16>x8x8 would be a less challenging config to start with.

JBug55

ChrisHarshman said:

JBug55 said:

I recently added a new GPU to the mix (added a GTX-1660 Super to the GTX 1650 I already had) and was pleasantly surprised by the results after just a few days.  I joined the ranks of over 1m ppd and Top 20 Producers.  I also learned that Linux really appears to be more efficient than Windows for this application ( no, I'm neither a Windows nor Linux fan-boy or basher). With a small sample size, I am getting  more ppd by about 15% - 20% with Linux.

Yes the 1660 Supers are nice, my 1660 Super pulls in almost as many points per day as my 1660 TI.  I have to admit I did only buy the TI because it was an open box deal (my daughter loves the LED lights on it to LOL).  What flavor of Linux are you using just out of curiosity?  It has been seen by a number of people that Linux does manage to earn you more points.

I'm running Mint (19.2 cinnamon I think).  I chose it as an older version that still supported Python 2. Originally as a "no muss no fuss" entry point, if Linux didn't work out, I wouldn't have a lot of time invested.  It has a familiar look and feel to me as a mostly Windows person, and has  been rock solid so far. So I have no motivation to update to the latest and greatest.  Works so well I put up a second machine without even considering a different Linux. I like standard software across platforms for ease of support, clearly a reflection of my years in corporate IT. Plus, sometimes we "old retired guys" don't want thinking too hard getting in the way of our golf time.

FYI... both my cards were open-box buys as well.  I usually shy away from open boxes, but not at Micro Center. I go back a long way with them, all the way back to the first time I walked into their shop in Westerville, Ohio back in the early 80's.

JADO

jbug55...where do you find these lists and data? Can you provide a link?  Thanks

cine_chris

Here`s one list
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vcVoSVtamcoGj5sFfvKF_XlvuviWWveJIg_iZ8U2bf0/pub?output=html#

ryau

This makes me want to set up a linux box now... although I haven't touched linux in maybe 20 years, so I'm sure a lot has changed. It'd be cheaper in the short term to throw another 2070S in my machine, since it performs pretty well already.

cine_chris

ryau said:

This makes me want to set up a linux box now... although I haven't touched linux in maybe 20 years, so I'm sure a lot has changed. It'd be cheaper in the short term to throw another 2070S in my machine, since it performs pretty well already.

I started with Mint, but ended up on win10 so that I could get the monitoring and power/temp capping features of MSI Afterburner, plus the dynamic custom GPU fan profiles it offers.  I seldom Fold on CPUs due to the low efficiencies and severe thermal issues of some current CPUs.   
I`d suggest also that you don`t have identical cards as it`s near impossible to eliminate what I call ToxicWUs & the work server that will have a tendency to latch onto your system.  During my recent 500M sprint I was `forced` to split the system with dual 2060s mid-effort for this reason.  Initially, I felt guilty about rejecting some WU that were choking my systems, so I left the 2x1660, 2x1050Ti, & 750Ti to digest whatever they were feed.  Watching a system go from 1.8M > 3.8M, or a 2080Ti go from 1.7M > 4.2M, well, I soon realized I was also doing the `most good` too with this approach**.   My 2060s+2070s runs at or near the level of the 2080Ti & often higher for those looking to match-up gear.  Me, I`m waiting to see what will arrive in the Fall & resisting the temptation to add more gear.  My $0.02 HTH.
**the FAH researchers might not agree?
Also, it`s your gear, your power, your time, your $$$... participating at a level that fits you, big or small, participating is what matters.
UPDATE: after writing this, the 2080Ti was at 1.5M PPD, it`s now at 4.04M.  I hate to see good gear being poorly utilized.

ChrisHarshman

JBug55 said:

I'm running Mint (19.2 cinnamon I think).  I chose it as an older version that still supported Python 2. Originally as a "no muss no fuss" entry point, if Linux didn't work out, I wouldn't have a lot of time invested.  It has a familiar look and feel to me as a mostly Windows person, and has  been rock solid so far.

Yes, similar story here although my favorite flavor is Lubuntu 18.04.  I also found an easy step by step guide online:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1091171-howto-linux-folding-rig/ 

I've tinkered with Ubuntu since 2005, and it became my main go-to OS around 2012.  I still keep one Windows machine in my collection at all times, but I've found it's actually easier to setup a Linux box from scratch than a Windows box from scratch in most cases.

ChrisHarshman

The nvidia-smi command line tool is a bit clunky to use at times, but it does allow me to tweak things like Afterburner would, including setting power limits on the GPU, so that has helped on those 90+ degree days.

ryau

cine_chris said:

I`d suggest also that you don`t have identical cards as it`s near impossible to eliminate what I call ToxicWUs & the work server that will have a tendency to latch onto your system.  

Maybe once a week I see the server doesn't want to assign a WU to the GPU, so the client will just retry for a while until one becomes available. Maybe with duplicate cards they will both be idle for a while, although I tend to see the WU duration change with almost each one that's assigned. Sometimes it takes about an hour to complete, sometimes 2, sometimes 3. So I assume with 2 cards running, they wouldn't get the same type of WU with the same duration, so there'd be less of a chance that both of them would sit idle. Since you're running multiple dupe cards, do you see that same type of activity?

cine_chris

@ryau I had a spate of low yield WU that tookover the dual-2060s, which forced me to change the GPU stack between two systems.  I haven`t seen WU loading issues recently.  In general, things have been `glassy` smooth going, running in the ~11M PPD range.  But you can`t turn your back too long or it`ll be in 8-9M range.   I`m retired so I can devote more time than I should to Folding.  I`ve got some things coming up that will get my attention & I`ll be returning the 2080 I borrowed, so I`ll be nudging Folding to the side at a sustainable level. 

Kirito

I've been following this linux debate, running Fedora 32 here, but I haven't got the graphics cards you do.  I substitute CPU power, running dual Xeon ThinkStations.  The cases don't support the large cards.  That said... I haven't been down very much.  The one Windows machine I am running has required more work than my two or three linux machines. 

And with all that, are there fewer WU's to be had?  My WU count goes down slowly.  I haven't been tracking their size or time to run.  None of my machines gets above 65C processor temp.  I am running 42 cores across three machines right now.  I realize that is staggeringly slow compared to your numbers but I was turning a good 100 WU's a day.  Now its down to 50 or 60.  Is it me?

Kirito

JADO

Anyone else having issues getting decent WU's.  I am running 6 RX580's and they are all currently busy doing minutia running at 636 wats total power draw.  Basically I am running at about 20% of what I should be running.  Seems like these WU's should be going to slower CPU devices.  Is is FAH servers causing my problem or is there something I can do to get better utilization of my hardware?

cine_chris

JADO said:

Anyone else having issues getting decent WU's. Seems like these WU's should be going to slower CPU devices.  Is is FAH servers causing my problem or is there something I can do to get better utilization of my hardware?

See my comments above about Toxic WUs & work servers latching on systems with identical GPUs.  With six (any) matching cards it will be tough to fix as the bad WU just stack up if you remove a slot, which is how I fix it.  Unfortunately, they (FAH) don't actively manage utilization, but a feature request has been issued.  It got percolated up to their GitHub.    Unfortunately, this might be one of the reasons why so many of the migrated mining systems have abandoned Folding.   https://github.com/FoldingAtHome/fah-issues/issues/1479   If you follow this thread you will have a good idea of the scope of this issue.  The Covid Moonshot project is chock full of lower atom count compounds which have low GPU utilization WUs. 
I`d suggest start by changing your specified work to Cancer or Alzheimer's, that seemed to help before I restacked my GPUs and eliminated identical cards in a system.  I still fight this battle daily by pulling slots, which is worth about 3-4M PPD, but it eats useful time that's hard to justify the effort, for a task that their work servers could easily manage with some simple allocation management algorithms & accurate WU benchmarking.   

cine_chris

JADO said:

Anyone else having issues getting decent WU's.  I am running 6 RX580's and they are all currently busy doing minutia running at 636 wats total power draw.   Is is FAH servers causing my problem or is there something I can do to get better utilization of my hardware?

Vanilla just ate a huge response.   
Found partial:
See my comments above about Toxic WUs & work servers latching on systems with identical GPUs.  With six (any) matching cards it will be tough to fix as the bad WU just stack up if you remove a slot, which is how I fix it.  Unfortunately, they (FAH) don't actively manage utilization, but a feature request has been issued.  It got percolated up to their GitHub.    
https://github.com/FoldingAtHome/fah-issues/issues/1479
The Covid Moonshot project is chock full of low atom count compounds with low GPU utilization WUs.

Update: the missing post showed up.  Sorry about the double posting.  

cine_chris

@MightyMayfield it`s good to see you back to your normal self.