Core i5 laptop

[Zak33]

Lo dudes

I know many think I left the Folding arena long ago... I had a huge push and then dropped it.

But... I have a Core i5 Dell laptop at work, and though internet access at work is impossible for Upload/Downloading the files for Folding, I work around getting the units finished and uploaded/dowloaded at home,

Here are a few tips for people like me who have a work lappy, and therefore use work electricity, not on their home elec bill:

Download the SMP core, the one for multicore F@H and read the FAQ on how to set it up using a Cmd prompt in Windows. Once you're got the F@H stuff unzipped into a folder on C: you can make a shortcut to the folder, and make a shortcut for the actual folding @ home process with a little tag line added to it's properties so run proper SMP. Then you can choose to run it without it autostarting when your IT manager is stood behind you as you boot up.....

Download the NORMAL folding at home program too and then if the SMP unit finishes mid way through your work day, you can start up the old fashioned version which has much longer "due dates" and that evening you can upload the SMP unit, download a new one for tomorrow's work day and still have plenty of time to finish the regualr vanilla F@H unit over the next week.

Once you're home, run F@H on the lappy with no power lead at least once per week until the battery is nearly dead.

I'm very impressed by Corei5's power use..I get 3 or 4 hours flat out SMP folding in a night on just battery.

And once you're a bit used to the config's download the normal F@H into a few folders to run simulataneously to the regulat Wondows installed version.. so you've got 3 or 4 cores running once the SMP unit is done

[Queelis]

Hehe, very smart thinking Zak

By the way, how many PPD are you getting with the SMP client on the i5 lappy? Including the bonus, of course.

[Tattysnuc]

Tighter than a gnats ....

I do the same. Log on to the wireless router for our external guests to use, download work units, wait until the client starts crunching, then log onto the domain and work as per normal. Periodically check (it takes 2 days to process the work unit - I've only got a low power P9400 code 2 Duo in my works machine) then reconnect. Free work units but only as long as I rememebr to turn it on. Our system administrator keeps on revoking my admin password and rights, but I keep coming back. Just as well I work in IT...

[Zak33]

FAHMON.... I keep it shortcutted to know how close I'm getting to completion.

[shbris]

why bother running that batter down once per week? if you're spending the whole day on battery just take it out, saves wear and tear

[Zak33]

why bother running that batter down once per week? if you're spending the whole day on battery just take it out, saves wear and tear

(presuming you mean whole day on mains)
i'd thought of it, but often as clockwork I get called away from my desk, so I rip it off the dock station and follow the manager into a meeting.

[shbris]

hmm fair enough i guess, i use my battery on laptop here in africa mostly because of the quaint daily power cuts which frequent the region... (read: massive pain in the derrier)

i always read conflicting advice about laptop batteries, i thought the new lithium ions didn't need to be worn down to zero as regularly as they used to, they run better when kept above 40% charge. if anyone knows the actual answer would be great! because as a kid i remember killing all batteries to 0% before recharging because my dad told me they hold their charge better that way, now seems opposite

[Zak33]

i always read conflicting advice about laptop batteries, i thought the new lithium ions didn't need to be worn down to zero as regularly as they used to, they run better when kept above 40% charge. if anyone knows the actual answer would be great! because as a kid i remember killing all batteries to 0% before recharging because my dad told me they hold their charge better that way, now seems opposite

I agree with both of those statements.. Lithiums don't needs running down and I used to do the same with my old NiCd's as a kid too

But I tend to use my laptop once or twice per week at home to work on and then leave it folding until it's nearly flat just because it's on.

[Zak33]

Hehe, very smart thinking Zak

By the way, how many PPD are you getting with the SMP client on the i5 lappy? Including the bonus, of course.

don't get bonus, didn't sign up

Quad gives around 650 ppd on SMP but I dopnt have it one 24 hr per day, so in real life less than that. the monster unit I downloaded for the SMP will take me about 2.5 days of office time to do for about That's a 920 pointer, so about 350 per day really.

The single core are quicker... most can get done in a working day, and a few hours working in the evening, and each is 126 points so sometimes I'm better off with 3 of those running.

Has to be said though, the laptop is more responsive to work with the SMP running the 4 cores flat out, than with 3 separate singles running... go figure! I think it's the hard drive checkpoints being more regular with 3 singles to one quad

[Queelis]

I've experienced myself that SMP is quicker than several single-core ones - go figure indeed

Why haven't "signed up" for bonus? It's only a matter of getting a passkey.

[Zak33]

/shrugs

dont sign up to anything if I can avoid it

[Zak33]

I've experienced myself that SMP is quicker than several single-core ones - go figure indeed

I'd better explain myself on this one...

the SMP units often take several "work" days and sometimes they expire before I'm finished.

The singles are often done in a single work day, sometimes one and half work days and I can get severeal running, at different stages of completion, so I get better results, more consistantly.

If it were on 24/7 the SMP would be better.. but not the way I'm doing it, just at work

[Queelis]

Actually, I got your point the first time - maybe it was my phrasing, but I too was talking about system responsiveness.

If you'd sign up for a passkey and run the SMP client, I assume you'd get 3000-4000PPD - think about it. It's not like they ask for any info about you

[Zak33]

I've signed up for the points bonus, so thanks for pushing me hard enough

I conducted an experiment last weekend, using my trsuty mains electricity power monitoring gadget, and running the Corei5 lappy all weekend, on SMP units, to see the electricity cost.

The constant power draw was around 55w and the total cost from Friday night to Monday morning, was just under 27p.

So, in essence, very cheap.

I know laptop's are cunning with their use of electricity, in comparrison to our gaming rigs with mammoth cards, multiple hard drives, larger cooling fans, etc...

but that's really quite cheap.

MUCH cheaper than a Q6700 with a Radeon or similar.

[shbris]

yeh when running for long periods it's good to look not at points per day but points per watt! wish it was possible to buy mobile chips for desktop motherboards (is it?)

[scaryjim]

wish it was possible to buy mobile chips for desktop motherboards (is it?)

Not for mainstream motherboards (different sockets) but you can buy some mini-itx motherboards that take mobile processors; particularly for Intel processors (there's a bit of a lack of boards for AMD processors, which is a shame because I've got one lying around ).

Look at linitx.com for more consumer-oriented bits, and http://www.steatite-embedded.co.uk/ for a wide range of industrial boards.