Folding at home, performance per watt

[GI-JOE]

Here's an article that I thought was very useful in case you are folding while trying to monitor your electricity usage.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/640/1

Very good read. Has performance/watt figures for quite a few video cards too!

[smack323]

WOW - running the 4 systems at my house is costing me about $50 per month. YIKES!!!! that was a good read. looks like I am taking the PS3 offline. with paying gas in the winter to heat the house and AC in the summer to cool it - that gives me about 2 months out of the year I can run all four systems and not go broke... got me thinking???? Would Stanford research department be better served by getting cash donations each month = to what is paid in electric charges by all the folders? Is the amount you spend on electicity for the project tax deductible - yeah that is far fetched I know.

[dicecca112]

WOW - running the 4 systems at my house is costing me about $50 per month. YIKES!!!! that was a good read. looks like I am taking the PS3 offline. with paying gas in the winter to heat the house and AC in the summer to cool it - that gives me about 2 months out of the year I can run all four systems and not go broke... got me thinking???? Would Stanford research department be better served by getting cash donations each month = to what is paid in electric charges by all the folders? Is the amount you spend on electicity for the project tax deductible - yeah that is far fetched I know.

No its not tax deductible, Vijay has looked into this. I'm disappointed that they don't have a mobile chip in there. I'll try to do the math tonight.

[Alathald]

Actually, in the winter time I use my computer as a space heater...a watt is a watt is a watt after all

[vbironchef]

smack323 , I was thinking the same thing. Not to mention how quiet things would be.

[DaIceMan]

$50/mo, or $1.66/day. How many people stop at the convenience store, or McDonald's, or Starbucks on the way to work/school EVERY day and piss away far more than $1.66/day?

I use to stop at McDonald's (small town, very few options) every morning on the way to work. Even ordering off the dollar menu, I would spend around $3.50/day. I've given this up, not only for my health, but also to save some money, which I gladly apply to my electric bill to keep my computers running 24/7.

Sacrifice for the cause. Some will, some won't. I do.

[Bwall]

I don't know about you guys but the prices where I'm at are nowhere near that for a kwh. For winter (Oct. through May) I'm paying 5.62 cents per kWh for the first 750 kilowatthours and 3.78 cents per kWh for any usage over 750 kilowatthours.

If you break it down, the first $45 is at the higher rate, if I go over that it gets quite a bit cheaper. You might want to check into your rates before you give up too many more points. ;)

For systems that are dedicated NVIDIA GPU folders I would downclock the CPU as much as you can. This will save you a wee bit more power for the video cards to use.

[Mad_Goku]

screw it $50 a month isn't that bad...just buck up and do it for the cause!!!! I want to win Nate's Phenom system in the giveaway and that'll go straight to folding....I don't care if it costs more...it's for a good cause.

I know some people are strapped for cash, but it's like Ice said, I'm sure there's somewhere you can cut back that it won't hurt you.

[Sapientun]

I fold, but I usually set the console client to use about 50% of the CPU. Saves power, and I still help the cause.
Nice article though, and Nvidia's GPU dominates!

[vbironchef]

I think you are missing the point. A cash donatation to Folding@Home is not believing in the cause, then what is it? The way F@H has grown it seems they need the cash to by more servers and stuff. I don't know but, sometimes when F@H servers get messed up and we lose a bunch of WU and points having the computer folding 24/7 is a real commitment. What smack323 was saying is that cash donation is something to think about if you don't want to leave your rig on 24/7. I agree with giving cash and I agree that F@H is a good thing to do. I think you can do both as well.

[smack323]

screw it $50 a month isn't that bad...just buck up and do it for the cause!!!! I want to win Nate's Phenom system in the giveaway and that'll go straight to folding....I don't care if it costs more...it's for a good cause.

I know some people are strapped for cash, but it's like Ice said, I'm sure there's somewhere you can cut back that it won't hurt you.

guess it depends - in todays economy $50 a month is a lot to some. when it becomes a choice between heating your house in the winter, or paying for gas to be able to get the work. Its not so easy to cut things out like that.

[GI-JOE]

Yea, $50 for me is a lot per month. Heck my electric bill is only $54 a month currently.......

Plus when you are making only $12/hr and have a house payment, car payment, wife and child at home..... it all adds up. With not much money for computer parts let alone enough to pay bills.

[Nobahar]

Yeah that and the fold deadlines are why I can't fold I was thinking of running it on my laptop while I'm at school but I wouldn't make any of the deadlines. I'd only consider folding at a work area where the cost of electricity is eaten by the company.

Companies could go for a little more charity