Bonic (I.E. Folding at Home) Anyone else crunching data for science?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Bonic (I.E. Folding at Home) Anyone else crunching data for science? (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 5/2/2011 2:03:19 PM EDT

I currently use my CPU/GPU's spare time on my PC to crunch data for science. My current projects include:

Milkyway@home which seeks to definitively map the Milky Way galaxy of which there are roughly 400,000,000,000 stars.
Einstein@home which seeks to find extrasolar objects, namely rapidly spinning pulsars and black holes.
SETI@home which sifts through mountains of radio telescope data in the search for extraterrestrial life.

A few websites for those interested. It's free crunch data, takes maybe 5 minutes at a 6th grade level to set up and is fun knowing your computer's unused CPU/GPU time is being put towards the advancement of mankind.

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/index.php
http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/
http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu

Free download link http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_all.php Download the recommended version and once it downloads, go to Project > Attach Project > Pick the project you'd like > Attach. It will automatically update then start crunching data.

Posted: 5/2/2011 2:14:06 PM EDT

[#1]

I've been running SETI@Home for years. From before they even had the BOINC client.

ETA: Just checked, I've been running SETI@Home since 14MAY1999.
2nd Edit: 12th on my join date. 1495 out of all Seti@Home users.

Posted: 5/2/2011 2:15:43 PM EDT

[#2]

I ran Seti for many years. Was on top of my join date.

Did folding for a few years using CUDA.

Not doing any of it now.

Maybe I will start again.

Posted: 5/3/2011 12:59:24 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
I've been running SETI@Home for years. From before they even had the BOINC client.

ETA: Just checked, I've been running SETI@Home since 14MAY1999.
2nd Edit: 12th on my join date. 1495 out of all Seti@Home users.

Damn Sam, how many credits did you end up with?

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:19:04 PM EDT

[#4]

Anyone else crunching?

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:27:36 PM EDT

[#5]

Doing the AIDS thing with BOINC.

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:28:38 PM EDT

[#6]

Arf actually has a Folding at home team. It's somewhere around here.

EDIT : Here it is!!

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:32:22 PM EDT

[#7]

Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:36:29 PM EDT

[#8]

I guess I found a use for my 8 CPUs at 2.9 ghz a piece...

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:36:49 PM EDT

[#9]

My dad has been running his 2-3 computers with seti@home and later bionic for 10+ years. Cool thing to do, but I have never installed it at my place.

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:39:51 PM EDT

[#10]

I started in 98, back when seti at home was a screensaver.... but my join date claims 2001. ./shrug. 487,786 total credit.
seti @ home team for those who want to run seti on boinc:

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=30507

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:45:26 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
I guess I found a use for my 8 CPUs at 2.9 ghz a piece...

Jesus man. One day I'd like to have a setup like that for crunching.

Quoted:
Arf actually has a Folding at home team. It's somewhere around here.

EDIT : Here it is!!

Brilliant, didn't know about that. Thanks.

Quoted:
I started in 98, back when seti at home was a screensaver.... but my join date claims 2001. ./shrug. 487,786 total credit.

seti @ home team for those who want to run seti on boinc:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=30507

Mother of God. I chuckle when I see people with 20,000,000+ credit at SETI.

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:46:42 PM EDT

[#12]

SETI@home started in early 1999. I joined that spring.

I usually let my home machine or server run it as a screen saver. For a time, I had a couple of machines crunching away all day at it. Then they changed to that BOINC client, and it wouldn't run on most of my older hardware (or took so much resource that nothing else worked).

So I basically dropped it at that point. Too bad, I would have left my home server running it day in and day out for the past however many years.

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:46:48 PM EDT

[#13]

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:47:27 PM EDT

[#14]

Part of me get's a little too excited when I think about loading Folding at Home on the 60,000+ servers my company manages. But then I think of the increase in the power bill...

Posted: 5/3/2011 7:51:05 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:

I guess I found a use for my 8 CPUs at 2.9 ghz a piece...

Jesus man. One day I'd like to have a setup like that for crunching.

Quoted:

Arf actually has a Folding at home team. It's somewhere around here.

EDIT : Here it is!!

Brilliant, didn't know about that. Thanks.

Quoted:

I started in 98, back when seti at home was a screensaver.... but my join date claims 2001. ./shrug. 487,786 total credit.

seti @ home team for those who want to run seti on boinc:

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=30507

Mother of God. I chuckle when I see people with 20,000,000+ credit at SETI.

what is the credit deal? just a way of showing how much time has been donated?

Posted: 5/4/2011 2:48:33 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

I used to do FAH for years, until they decided to throw out the data gathered from the first generation GPU program, and a hearty Fuck You from Mr Pande. A LOT of people were really pissed they spend money on acquiring more GPUs, only to have the data thrown out, and the program moved onto the second generation GPUs. Essentially "Oh sorry your data was worthless, you spent that money to help us out, now would you please spend more money to get THESE GPUs and get back to work helping us" didn't sit too well with me. Fuck them.

They take their volunteers who spent substantial sums on their project far too lightly and their attitude was "oh well, donors come and donors go".

Posted: 5/4/2011 2:54:05 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

I used to do FAH for years, until they decided to throw out the data gathered from the first generation GPU program, and a hearty Fuck You from Mr Pande. A LOT of people were really pissed they spend money on acquiring more GPUs, only to have the data thrown out, and the program moved onto the second generation GPUs. Essentially "Oh sorry your data was worthless, you spent that money to help us out, now would you please spend more money to get THESE GPUs and get back to work helping us" didn't sit too well with me. Fuck them.

They take their volunteers who spent substantial sums on their project far too lightly and their attitude was "oh well, donors come and donors go".

IIRC, they threw it out because it had errors in the data

Posted: 5/4/2011 3:57:15 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

I used to do FAH for years, until they decided to throw out the data gathered from the first generation GPU program, and a hearty Fuck You from Mr Pande. A LOT of people were really pissed they spend money on acquiring more GPUs, only to have the data thrown out, and the program moved onto the second generation GPUs. Essentially "Oh sorry your data was worthless, you spent that money to help us out, now would you please spend more money to get THESE GPUs and get back to work helping us" didn't sit too well with me. Fuck them.

They take their volunteers who spent substantial sums on their project far too lightly and their attitude was "oh well, donors come and donors go".

IIRC, they threw it out because it had errors in the data

Yes, I understand that. It was the way they handled the whole thing...

Posted: 5/4/2011 4:53:51 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

my power bill doubled.

Posted: 5/4/2011 6:35:54 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
I started in 98, back when seti at home was a screensaver.... but my join date claims 2001. ./shrug. 487,786 total credit.

seti @ home team for those who want to run seti on boinc:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=30507

My join date: 23 Nov 1999

SETI@home classic workunits: 9,600

Total credit: 822,666

Posted: 5/4/2011 6:56:16 AM EDT

[#21]

Collatz Conjecture: 1,724,639.21

Einstein@home: 240,594.47

SETI@home: 392,030.29

Milkyway@home(not participating currently): 74,418.48

Using i7 920, and Nvidia GTX260.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:18:56 AM EDT

[#22]

Yes. ExtremeTeam member.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:29:06 AM EDT

[#23]

I do Folding on my PS3 and have for several years now.

I do Seti, Einstein and Milkyway on my PC since it sits and does nothing most of the time.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:42:25 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

Arf actually has a Folding at home team. It's somewhere around here.
EDIT : Here it is!!

LOL, I haven't folded in a few years, and I am still #16 on the list.

ETA: I was using a PS3 and an Nvidia graphics card.

The Nvidia was chewing up work units like crazy, way faster than the PS3.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:43:19 AM EDT

[#25]

Im a Protein Folder for Stanford. My team is Folding @EVGA, The number one team.
Currently most of what i have been doing relates to Alzheimers and Influenza research.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:48:12 AM EDT

[#26]

so once again what are the credits for? Is it just a bragging rights thing?

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:50:49 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:

Im a Protein Folder for Stanford. My team is Folding @EVGA, The number one team.

Currently most of what i have been doing relates to Alzheimers and Influenza research.

That is cool.

ETA: Welcome to the site.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:52:49 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

so once again what are the credits for? Is it just a bragging rights thing?

Pretty much, they are a way to show what work you have accomplished for leader-board standings and the computational operations you have contributed to projects.

Posted: 5/4/2011 7:53:41 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
so once again what are the credits for? Is it just a bragging rights thing?

I too am interested.

Posted: 5/4/2011 8:01:06 AM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Im a Protein Folder for Stanford. My team is Folding @EVGA, The number one team.
Currently most of what i have been doing relates to Alzheimers and Influenza research.

That is cool.

ETA: Welcome to the site.

Thanks... I may have visited here a time or two before

Posted: 5/4/2011 8:01:07 AM EDT

[#31]

I'm sure I'm not the only one reading this thread, interested, wishing someone would explain it as they would to an idiot.

Posted: 5/4/2011 8:03:11 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

I'm sure I'm not the only one reading this thread, interested, wishing someone would explain it as they would to an idiot.

you use your computers idle time to complete computations for a project. This allows supercomputer type speeds by outsourcing small packets to lots of computers for almost no cost to the researcher.

Posted: 5/4/2011 8:06:32 AM EDT

[#33]

I've been running SETI since 2004, and at various times I've attached:

World Community Grid
Einstein@home
LHC@home

Posted: 5/4/2011 8:33:07 AM EDT

[#34]

Seti
Rosetta
Einstein

Posted: 5/4/2011 9:20:33 AM EDT

[#35]

I am looking at getting a new graphics card because my stock one sucks.
What is the cheapest GPU that will actually work for this?

Posted: 5/4/2011 9:22:48 AM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:
seti @ home team for those who want to run seti on boinc:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=30507

Finally a good way to impress Jodie Foster!

Posted: 5/4/2011 9:24:14 AM EDT

[#37]

I used to run the Stanford F@H, I haven't set up any of my desktops for the past year though.

Posted: 5/4/2011 10:20:44 AM EDT

[#38]

With all the thousands of teams out there, we should have an ARFCOM team. Just to piss off the hippies.

Posted: 5/4/2011 11:00:14 AM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I've been running SETI@Home for years. From before they even had the BOINC client.

ETA: Just checked, I've been running SETI@Home since 14MAY1999.
2nd Edit: 12th on my join date. 1495 out of all Seti@Home users.

Damn Sam, how many credits did you end up with?

Classic workunits (pre-BOINC): 12,098
Current BOINC credits: 6,584,068

Posted: 5/4/2011 11:17:31 AM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:
Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

Ditto.

Did F@H for a while.

Posted: 5/4/2011 11:22:47 AM EDT

[#41]

It's been years since I ran SETI@home. My current 5yr old desk-top has never had it installed.

SETI@home member since: 17 Dec 1999

Country: United States

Total credit: 18,084

Recent average credit: 0.06

SETI@home classic workunits: 2,776

SETI@home classic CPU time: 13,427 hours

Posted: 5/4/2011 12:15:48 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Was doing F@H for quite some time, stopped when I realized how much power 6 high end GPUS running 100% 24/7 costs.

my power bill doubled.

This is why I pulled the plug. It was costing me around $100 a month in additional electricity.

Posted: 5/4/2011 3:11:30 PM EDT

[#43]

Rank
Team Rank
Project Points
Last 24hr Points
24hr Avg Points
Today Points
Week Points
Total WUs
Total First
Record
5 5,993 942 1,090 631 3,528 3,025,276 13,733 04.13.08

Folding@Home, nVidia 250GTX card crunched pretty good. Thing overheated and died, so I'm not running folding@home on the replacement 480GTX, not to mention the damn electricity bill. System used 300 Watts more when running F@H on both CPU and GPU over sitting idle!

Posted: 5/4/2011 3:26:02 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:
I've been running SETI@Home for years. From before they even had the BOINC client.

ETA: Just checked, I've been running SETI@Home since 14MAY1999.
2nd Edit: 12th on my join date. 1495 out of all Seti@Home users.

What is this "Boink client" and how do I obtain one?

Posted: 5/4/2011 4:02:15 PM EDT

[#45]

Just a heads up for those commenting about their power consumption:

Download this program:
http://www.efmer.eu/boinc/

The above program is freeware and small in size. It was originally designed to reduce the heat on your CPU/GPU. On the main screen (Program) you can set how much of your CPU/GPU you'd like to run as well as what temperature you'd like each to run. If you want to Crunch, but are worried about your power consumption you can still crunch, but at your own pace.

Posted: 5/4/2011 4:04:33 PM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
so once again what are the credits for? Is it just a bragging rights thing?

Sorry for the late reply, I've been studying for a final all day. Basically yep. It's bragging rights only and is a way to keep track of your progress.

You can also join teams which use the combined Total Credits and Average Credits generated by said team to compete against other teams, again for bragging rights.

We crunch for the greater good. It's also a way to contribute to the same via very little initial effort and no additional effort after setup. Set the Bonic client up, set up TThrottle to protect your PC and you're done.

Hopefully you'll jump on board and help out. If not that's okay too.

Posted: 5/4/2011 4:09:11 PM EDT

[#47]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I'm sure I'm not the only one reading this thread, interested, wishing someone would explain it as they would to an idiot.

you use your computers idle time to complete computations for a project. This allows supercomputer type speeds by outsourcing small packets to lots of computers for almost no cost to the researcher.

Yep just that. On average your computer uses 20% of its processing capacity. After the initial setup (IM or email me if you have questions on how to do just that) you can set how much of that unused capacity BONIC uses. After that it's entirely automatic provided the computer is hooked up to the internet once a week or so.

Once it's hooked up to the internet, it will download small files of data. The BONIC client takes this data and 'crunches' it, thus rendering a product that the ultimate source can utilize. For example:
SETI searches for little green men. It does this by taking 500G of data per day from the Aribaco observatory. The data is then broken down into 'Work Units", to the order of 50K work units per day. Each user is then assigned a work unit or (several) based upon their computer's specs. Upon download the BONIC client goes to work crunching the data. After it's finished the work, it will then automatically send the data back to the source upon which if there's more work, it will download more work to your computer to start the process over again. It does all of this completely automatically after you've set everything up (setup takes between 2-5 mins and is very very simple).