The Folding@Home FurAffinity Team

[Silver R. Wolfe]

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Folding@Home is a program that uses your CPU cycles to fold proteins, trying to find cures for diseases and cancers.

Recently, the PS3 got its own Folding@Home client and there is a client available to download (for all major platforms) on the link above.

Living with someone who has Parkinson's, I'm running Folding@Home, because it's a good cause and much more important than the damn Seti@Home program that searches for aliens.

You can also fold under a team and everyone's statistics on that team will be added together and will be ranked on the Folding@Home webpage.

Who here would do it and join the FurAffinity team? Do something good for humanity and all that with your extra CPU cycles.

The team number is 60091 for anyone already interested! Now get folding!

 

[Hanazawa]

I'm installing it now.

My brother had seti@home running a few years ago, heh...

 

[SFox]

Tried it but the program made my computer act funny and crash, so I had to uninstall it.

 

[Robat]

It's been a while since I had one of those running

 

[Vitae]

...wait wtf is cpu cycles and how the hell is that going to cure diseases?

 

[Sarn Darkholm]

I would do it but my computer has trouble running the processes it does.

 

[Silver R. Wolfe]

...wait wtf is cpu cycles and how the hell is that going to cure diseases?

It uses all your extra CPU power and uses it to crunch numbers for the program.

For example, you can set it up to only run when your computer goes into screensaver mode, so it won't affect your system performance and your computer will continue doing something useful while it's idling.

 

[Raving_Dragon]

Good luck getting it to run on your computer. It takes 8 hours for one molecule on the PS3. It has been shown that the PS3 is about as powerful as 23 average home PC's. They usually use super computers for this stuff.

 

[Silver R. Wolfe]

Good luck getting it to run on your computer. It takes 8 hours for one molecule on the PS3. It has been shown that the PS3 is about as powerful as 23 average home PC's. They usually use super computers for this stuff.

It runs just fine on the PC, it just takes longer to complete the same amount of work. I've been running it on my PC for about a day now and it's almost done.

It takes a long time, but it's about helping out in anyway you can. Not a race after all.

 

[Hex]

Good luck getting it to run on your computer. It takes 8 hours for one molecule on the PS3. It has been shown that the PS3 is about as powerful as 23 average home PC's. They usually use super computers for this stuff.

True, but I think the main impetus is to have millions and millions of computers running the program as a unit to solve the problem, rather than devoting one supercomputer to the task.

 

[crabby_the_frog]

Yeah, my PS3 got it the other night. It's a good thing.

 

[Dragoneer]

It has been shown that the PS3 is about as powerful as 23 average home PC's.

The problem is the average home PC is so out-of-date it's not even funny. =P

 

[Bokracroc]

A Up-To-Date Gaming PC strips a PS3, but alot of people don't have one.

 

[Kasarn]

I've been running it for a while already so sure, I'll bite.

 

[Silver R. Wolfe]

A Up-To-Date Gaming PC strips a PS3, but alot of people don't have one.

I don't believe that an up-to-date Gaming PC would beat the PS3 at this though. The Cell CPU is great at this type of calculations, tons of floating point power in it that our standard CPUs (multiple core or not) just aren't made to handle.

 

[whitewulfe]

The problem is the average home PC is so out-of-date it's not even funny. =P

Hey, some of us will upgrade... Eventually.

I'd join, but I'm already in a team. Been Folding for years...

As to those who think it would take ages for a computer to process the data, that's only with the 5MB+ modules (which were aimed at the higher powered computers, something my poor sempron 2500+ based computer is not). I average a unit every 1.5-2 days or so, and that's with a computer that hasn't been updated since before Socket 754 came out. (I also set it as a higher priority, but still)

 

[Foxlink]

Hey, I'm in.. my dad has Parkinson's- this may not do a lot, but a least it's something.. I can't stand to think what it's going to be like when those pills stop working...

=^_^=
-Fox

 

[Bokracroc]

A Up-To-Date Gaming PC strips a PS3, but alot of people don't have one.

I don't believe that an up-to-date Gaming PC would beat the PS3 at this though. The Cell CPU is great at this type of calculations, tons of floating point power in it that our standard CPUs (multiple core or not) just aren't made to handle.

Don't forget the PC one only uses what you have spare. A PS3 doesn't have the same Multi-tasking powers as PC does. Currently I'm running Firefox, MSN, MusicMatch, Flash, editing a MP3 in Audacity and downloading Limewire. Don't forget whatver the hell is happening in the background.
A PS3 wouldn't be doing all that and more (I was burning a DVD before as well and using Photoshop CS2)

 

[Cinos]

Yeah, a good gaming computer beats a PS3 easily.

However, I'm not installing this anyway, mostly since I'm constantly running a million other things, even if the computer is alone.

 

[sixclaws]

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Recently, the PS3 got its own Folding@Home client and there is a client available to download (for all major platforms) on the link above.

Chances are that that is the only decent thing the PS3 is going to do.

 

[Silver R. Wolfe]

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Recently, the PS3 got its own Folding@Home client and there is a client available to download (for all major platforms) on the link above.

Chances are that that is the only decent thing the PS3 is going to do.

This is not the gaming forum, please keep the topics relevant.

 

[whitewulfe]

Yeah, a good gaming computer beats a PS3 easily.

However, I'm not installing this anyway, mostly since I'm constantly running a million other things, even if the computer is alone.

You can set it to use just the excess processor cycles... And even set it up to be running only when your screensaver is active...

 

[Silver R. Wolfe]

Yeah, a good gaming computer beats a PS3 easily.

However, I'm not installing this anyway, mostly since I'm constantly running a million other things, even if the computer is alone.

You can set it to use just the excess processor cycles... And even set it up to be running only when your screensaver is active...

Agreed. I have mine set up to run full-time. Oblivion takes a small performance hit, but nothing too noticeable. I had it on the screensaver setting originally but then I realized that I'm at my computer too much for it to get any work done.

 

[CaptainSaicin]

Just random FYI about Folding@Homem the workloads vary. Each one is benchmarked for GHz-Hours, and they range from a day or so to a couple weeks. Points are awarded based on the GHz-Hours spent, rather than the number of workloads. All workloads are very intensive, so they are going to take a while, but that doesn't mean they aren't accomplishing much.

It'll run fine on most desktops without interferring with normal clock speeds, and it's quite efficient about only using the idle CPU power and not infringing on other apps. That said, I don't recommend it for laptop users, especially those with the faster CPUs or less efficient cooling systems... I've melted a gateway power supply doing that (granted, it was a really shitty, hot laptop design to begin with, but caution is still advised).

 

[Kyouryuu]

I think I editing my client.cfg to assign the FurAffinity team. Have to see if that worked. I've been participating in Folding@Home for a while and I think it is a simple thing to do for a wonderful cause.

I would suggest running the console version. The graphical version has the tendency to screw with games that use OpenGL (such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City).

Why people continue to run SETI@Home is beyond me. Seven years down the line, SETI@Home has never contributed anything of value. And even if we did find an anomalous signal, what are we supposed to do with it? Send a response and wait a thousand years? Listen to some intergalactic equivalent of I Love Lucy? Not exactly a worthwhile cause if you ask me.

On the other paw, Folding@Home will produce useful and tangible results for a vital cause. Cancer, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's among others are very real problems facing our society. We all know friends and loved ones who have passed on or are suffering from these diseases. We all wish there was a cure. Running F@H is one small way we may all contribute to finding one. No one knows where that spark that provides the solution will come from. But if you had the power to help find it, wouldn't you?