Folding@home

[bab029]

If you have a broadband connection and a decent computer at home that is idle most of the time, give the link below a visit. This project uses your computer hardware to accomplish a task related to a research project. It has been in use for years working on diseases such as Alzheimer's and Ebola, but recently COVID-19 work has been started to identify potential therapeutics or other exploitable aspects of the virus. I've had my machine hooked up for a while now.

The faster your hardware, the more work is assigned to you. Cool stuff.

Folding@home – Fighting disease with a world wide distributed super computer.

foldingathome.org

For those that think this is a government ploy to see inside your computer, remember that privacy is an illusion.

 

[Blue Sky Country]

If you have a broadband connection and a decent computer at home that is idle most of the time, give the link below a visit. This project uses your computer hardware to accomplish a task related to a research project. It has been in use for years working on diseases such as Alzheimer's and Ebola, but recently COVID-19 work has been started to identify potential therapeutics or other exploitable aspects of the virus. I've had my machine hooked up for a while now.

The faster your hardware, the more work is assigned to you. Cool stuff.

Folding@home – Fighting disease with a world wide distributed super computer.

foldingathome.org

For those that think this is a government ploy to see inside your computer, remember that privacy is an illusion.

I read about that earlier last week... Pretty cool shit, like what astrobiologists are doing with their SETI@home project. Using hundreds and thousands of linked computers to create a supercomputer just like a radio telescope array. They even employed the most powerful solitary unit supercomputer in the world, IBM's SUMMIT, in the fight against COVID-19. The latest report is that SUMMIT had perused the entire protein sequence of the SARS-COV-2 outer shell and have identified over 77 compounds that can bind to that shell and either crack it open or prevent the virions from attaching to their intended targets. That is some cutting edge shit right there. What makes this particular pandemic so completely different from those in the past is that now, we can crack a virus's genetic and protein sequences at the speed of light.

Another GOOD consequence of this pandemic... Interest in high tech STEM fields and biochemistry will skyrocket among students all over the globe. I can estimate that over 50-80 percent of science fair projects next year will be virus related... The momentary suffering being endured by the world at this time will, hopefully speed up high tech medicine and live saving sci-tech research for decades to come.

 

[OldSalty]

Agree about privacy as an illusion...

But seriously, all they would need to do is schedule a few cycles on one of the LLNL or DoE supercomputers...and it would do more in a hour than all the people who sign up for this coop could do in 10 years.

 

[308pirate]

For those that think this is a government ploy to see inside your computer, remember that privacy is an illusion.

If you say so.

 

[The DFC]

I thought this was about how y'all fold different types of clothing. Maybe it still could be?

 

[rtB]

They would steal all the porn off the DoE computer. Can't allow that.

 

[308pirate]

And no, I'm not going to help whoever is doing this

 

[JMGlasgow]

The old Sony PS3 had this feature for awhile. Not sure it ever did any good.

 

[bab029]

Agree about privacy as an illusion...

But seriously, all they would need to do is schedule a few cycles on one of the LLNL or DoE supercomputers...and it would do more in a hour than all the people who sign up for this coop could do in 10 years.

Maybe. I'm not saying uncle sugar doesn't have the coolest toys, but:

Folding@Home Now More Powerful Than World's Top 7 Supercomputers, Combined

The fight against coronavirus goes nuclear

www.tomshardware.com

 

[bab029]

If you say so.

For those that think this is a government ploy to see inside your computer, remember that privacy is an illusion they've already seen it.

Better?

 

[W54/XM-388]

Just something to think about, if you run that program your electricity usage will go up a fair bit as most PCs have a very low Idle power state and then if you push 100% CPU load you get hit 2 ways.

First is the increase in power draw by the PC itself which you could easily calculate the cost of based on your electricity usage.

Second, almost all the energy consumed by your PC is radiated back out into your room as heat, very much like having an electric heater of the same wattage as the CPU / GPU draw, so if you are cooling the house then it costs money on that side as well.

That being said, most home PCs are NOT built to run at 100% load long term day after day constantly and will tend to break down much faster from the stress on the components. Professional machines are built for that constant use, but I would bet most who have those are not giving away free power / compute cycles.

 

[Arc Light]

Let me get my Corona Bucks firearm industry stimulus money first. If .gov can pull off that feat, we can talk.

 

[bab029]

Just something to think about, if you run that program your electricity usage will go up a fair bit as most PCs have a very low Idle power state and then if you push 100% CPU load you get hit 2 ways.

First is the increase in power draw by the PC itself which you could easily calculate the cost of based on your electricity usage.

Second, almost all the energy consumed by your PC is radiated back out into your room as heat, very much like having an electric heater of the same wattage as the CPU / GPU draw, so if you are cooling the house then it costs money on that side as well.

That being said, most home PCs are NOT built to run at 100% load long term day after day constantly and will tend to break down much faster from the stress on the components. Professional machines are built for that constant use, but I would bet most who have those are not giving away free power / compute cycles.

Yeah, I've looked at the power draw aspect. Don't have a current measurement, but the power supply is a 525w. Looks like if I let it eat at nameplate capacity, it would cost me 200 bucks a month. I haven't seen that at all.

It's a dell precision T3610 with a QC xeon. A consumer grade laptop would probably be more stressed out. A bit of an old girl, but runs arcmap and lidar tools like a champ.

 

[chevy_man]

I've been doing this for years. They have so many going right now the work units are barely trickling out.

I have a 600w psu, overclocked gpu and CPU, and it may add $40/month if it runs non-stop. My computer is in the garage where I keep it 40* unless I'm working so the heat doesn't really matter.