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Looking for Knowledge
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How long is it supposed to take to complete one of these?

Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:36 pm

I'm starting to wonder if my computer is working okay. I've got a p4 2.4ghz w/512 ram running the folding in the background and it's taken me all day just to get to 32%. Is this normal? How can I speed this up? (Besides switching to an AMD chip set...thanks)
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: How long is it supposed to take to complete one of these

Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:57 pm

Looking for Knowledge wrote:
I'm starting to wonder if my computer is working okay. I've got a p4 2.4ghz w/512 ram running the folding in the background and it's taken me all day just to get to 32%. Is this normal? How can I speed this up? (Besides switching to an AMD chip set...thanks)


Sounds about right...if you look, most of them are 500 steps now...that's up considerably from the 100 steps a year ago...it takes 5 times longer to complete them.
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slymaster
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Fri Apr 11, 2003 10:11 pm

Make sure you run the client with the -advmethods flag. The flag will increase your odds of getting a Gromacs work unit, which is optimized for the perfomance features of newer processors. You will not always get a Gromacs unit, but you will receive a lot of them if you use the flag.

My P4 2.53 was a little lame compared to my Athlon 2200+, but once I set the flag, it is now a stellar performer. My AMD chips on average are faster using the flag, but on the P4's, the difference is incredible. Basically, the AMD chips perform well no matter what work unit you get, but the P4's really need a Gromacs unit to shine.

Some of the big units can take a few days to finish, even on a fast machine. Don't worry, you will score a lot of points for that one unit. It is the points that count, not the number of Work Units.

Cheers !
 
eckslax
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Fri Apr 11, 2003 11:03 pm

Athlons totally blow Intel processors away at folding, even with the -advmethods flag. Gromacs are the best unit for both processors though since both platforms include SSE instructions. You're basically getting more points for your time with Gromacs units.
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