Everything You Need To Know About World Community Grid/BOINC

[Johnmark]

Johnmark ... what do you have your cache set to and are the WUs that are running say "Running high priority"? Normally 3 days cache is more than enough, no need to get big. WCG credits based on the amount of work, not a fixed value per WU. HCMD2 is currently pointing a little higher than the other project (which are all almost the same) but we are talking about 1 point per hour difference, not really worth changing anything unless there are specific projects you are interested in (or ones you are not). If your points are dropping off, I would suggest you check you "Results Status" on the WCG website to make sure you are not throwing errors.

The cache in BOINC manager is set to .5 days.
Don't see anything anywhere about "high priority"? In BOINC manager(x64 beta) the status of WU shows "running".
Checked the log on WCG and there are a few pages where the status is "detached", but all of those are a couple days old. I THINK most of those detached errors are a result of me changing clients and playing around trying to let BOINC stats control things. I've since turned of AMS and using the setting in WCM. Don't know what else can cause "detached" error?

John

[sierra_bound]

High priority work units appear only occasionally when the deadline is imminent. BOINC always crunches the work units with the nearest deadline first.

[Snow Crash]

Hold on a sec ... you mean you see them on the WCG website but not in BOINC Manager? If so then don't worry, they are hanging from when you were having *detaching* issues and WCG will resend them to someone else eventually (when they pass their due date).

[@lex]

I'd like to join the XS team to help you achieve the goal of this project, but I can't keep my PC active for 24/7, only 8-12 hours per day. And my PC is not very powerful. Should I join or not?

[Movieman]

I'd like to join the XS team to help you achieve the goal of this project, but I can't keep my PC active for 24/7, only 8-12 hours per day. And my PC is not very powerful. Should I join or not?

The short answer is "everything helps" so feel free to jump in.

[@lex]

The short answer is "everything helps" so feel free to jump in.

That's what I thought, just wanted to make sure. I'm going to read some FAQs and manuals then

[soya_crack]

One little question, I just came across.

When a WU finishs, BOINC loads it up (as I can see in the Transfer-Window) but marks it as "ready to report". Sense?

[Movieman]

One little question, I just came across.

When a WU finishs, BOINC loads it up (as I can see in the Transfer-Window) but marks it as "ready to report". Sense?

yes, and BOINC defaults sending back every 6 hours..Your fine.
OR: hit "update" on the left in Boinc manager screen and it will return it in app 1 minute or less

[Gonzalo-Gonads]

Hi! I've joined the team and have put a q6600 at 3.4ghz online. A i7920 and a few C2D may also join in the coming days! Every little helps!

[soya_crack]

yes, and BOINC defaults sending back every 6 hours..Your fine.
OR: hit "update" on the left in Boinc manager screen and it will return it in app 1 minute or less

Yeah I know that but, the thing which confuses me is that BOINC does upload the WU immediately and the only thing it does every 6 hours is to say "Hey Server, I uploaded some WUs." ?
Well, that's at least how I understand it from my observations.

[Gonzalo-Gonads]

Yeah I know that but, the thing which confuses me is that BOINC does upload the WU immediately and the only thing it does every 6 hours is to say "Hey Server, I uploaded some WUs." ?
Well, that's at least how I understand it from my observations.

My understanding was that completed works are uploaded as soon as possible and then every 6 hours WCG validates the pieces and gives people points, but I may be wrong.

[sierra_bound]

Yeah I know that but, the thing which confuses me is that BOINC does upload the WU immediately and the only thing it does every 6 hours is to say "Hey Server, I uploaded some WUs." ?
Well, that's at least how I understand it from my observations.

The WU's are uploaded but usually not taken in by the servers right away. The reason for this is because the servers would be overwhelmed if all completed work units were sent in at the same time. BOINC uses a scheduler which is a program that determines when WU's need to be downloaded to fill your work buffer, as well as when WU's are taken in by the servers. Your network connection to the servers opens up at specific intervals during the day. You can adjust the internal in your Device Profile section at WCG. You can also adjust how big the work buffer is. I think three days is more than enough.

[sierra_bound]

My understanding was that completed works are uploaded as soon as possible and then every 6 hours WCG validates the pieces and gives people points, but I may be wrong.

After a work unit is completed and sent back to the WCG servers, it has to be validated. Basically at least two identical work units are sent out to different computers, and after they're completed and sent back, a validation program compares them. If the program determines both work units are valid, it awards points to both computers. If one WU is determined to be invalid, another identical work unit is sent out to a different computer. The validation process usually takes anywhere from 1-7 days.

WCG updates individual stats twice a day. Though today there was no early update. Must be a problem with the servers.

[CrimInalA]

k , joined .

hope my X6 arrives soon

I guess cpu power is most important in these things ?

[sierra_bound]

Yes, CPU power is the most important thing.

[CrimInalA]

Can a radeon 5850 be used for WCG ? if so , where can i download that client .

Also , i see the IBM logo on the wcg site a lot . But there is no client for AS400 (iseries) machines ?

[sierra_bound]

WCG does not use GPU power. That may change in the future.

IBM is the main sponsor of WCG. There is only one client available for WCG - BOINC. There are versions for Windows 32-bit & 64-bit, as well as Linux and Mac OS X.

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_all.php

[Makavre]

Just added a Q6600 last night, and will probably add a P4 (3.0e) today

(kinda debating if i should prep and add my laptop,.... )

[Knight203]

Just added a Q6600 last night, and will probably add a P4 (3.0e) today

(kinda debating if i should prep and add my laptop,.... )

Yes

[D_A]

Laptops require additional consideration for cooling. Plenty of people crunch hard with them, but you have to make sure they stay cool or they won't survive.

[snoro]

If you are never going to use you laptop again, what you can do is take off all the keyboard panel. Also switch the thermal paste. It dropped my cpu by about 40c with the fan hole open and some as5 on the cpu and gpu.

[Makavre]

my main system is water cooled so i know a few things about cooling,

but on laptops im completely lost ....

would one of these be enough ??



(tearing it apart is not an option right now, .... as i sometimes use it for presentations and demos with clients)

any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

[D_A]

If you are never going to use you laptop again, what you can do is take off all the keyboard panel. Also switch the thermal paste. It dropped my cpu by about 40c with the fan hole open and some as5 on the cpu and gpu.

These days we can do waaaaay better than AS5 (search for the threads on IC Diamond )

<snip>
but on laptops im completely lost ....

would one of these be enough ??

[IMG]http://images.frys.com/art/product/big_shots/6076608.big.jpg[/IMG

Yes, running it on something like that would be a great help Laptop cooling isn't significantly different to any other air cooling setup in principle ... except everything is smaller and the system will therefore run hotter. Giving it better airflow, keeping it off insulating surfaces, keeping the lid open etc all help

[=[PULSAR]=]

The two crunching laptops I have I just turn them upside side so the intake fan can breathe and oh boy does it make a difference about 20C worth.

[retro77]

Two questions:

1.) If I tell the BOINC client to update, why don't I see the tasks that were "Waiting to Report" show up in "My Grid"?

2.) I see that at the top of "My Grid" I have done a whopping 8 results, but only 7 went to the team. Is this normal?

Thanks!