Should I/Can I Fold?

[AlexWalters08]

I was reading about folding, and I want to get into it myself, although I have two questions: Can I fold on my PC (specs are in my signature), and should I fold on the PC that I use to game and do mostly everything on.

 

Side question: Is it harmful to my computer?

[patriotbarrow]

You can fold irrespective of configuration (efficiency will vary with specs) and it won't harm your pc, but your electricity bill may go up.

[RJSX1]

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[AlexWalters08]

Your parts will not last as long if you fold 24/7 at any %. 

So you can change the % of how much CPU or GPU the application can use? I am very new to this, so please call me a noob if you must 

[Me1z]

Your parts will not last as long if you fold 24/7 at any %. 

 

Folding isn't going to hurt any of OP's components as long as they don't overheat. At the very most he may need to replace a GPU fan after a good 2-3 years of 24/7 folding, but you can get replacement fans off ebay for under a dollar. Don't go needlessly scaring the bambis.

[RJSX1]

So you can change the % of how much CPU or GPU the application can use? I am very new to this, so please call me a noob if you must 

Yes you can.

[RJSX1]

Folding isn't going to hurt any of OP's components as long as they don't overheat. At the very most he may need to replace a GPU fan after a good 2-3 years of 24/7 folding, but you can get replacement fans off ebay for under a dollar. Don't go needlessly scaring the bambis.

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[AlexWalters08]

If you fold everyday it will lower your components life span 

Is that at 100%? Also by how much?

[Imakuni]

If you fold everyday it will lower your components life span 

Yeah... by 1 year. Out of 20. So OP can just ignore that.

 

In regards to folding, you can do it just fine. It's a very good system. You can just leave it on at 100% all the time and just pause when you are gaming. Although I would advise going BOINC instead of FAH, as that has tons more options.

[AlexWalters08]

Yeah... by 1 year. Out of 20. So OP can just ignore that.

 

In regards to folding, you can do it just fine. It's a very good system. You can just leave it on at 100% all the time and just pause when you are gaming. Although I would advise going BOINC instead of FAH, as that has tons more options.

I am not worried if the system lifespan is effected by that little. As these parts will be obsolete in 19 years.

[RJSX1]

I am not worried if the system lifespan is effected by that little. As these parts will be obsolete in 19 years.

Just make sure you have a good cooler

[iamdarkyoshi]

How can you set a max load for the graphics cards? Mine run WAAAAYYYYY too hot and my CPU is not anything to be amazed at. Non K i5 2500 @3.8ghz, meanwhile my graphics cards are 2x hd7950s which throw out levels of magnitude more calculations than the cpu.

[Imakuni]

How can you set a max load for the graphics cards? Mine run WAAAAYYYYY too hot and my CPU is not anything to be amazed at. Non K i5 2500 @3.8ghz, meanwhile my graphics cards are 2x hd7950s which throw out levels of magnitude more calculations than the cpu.

You can't really control the load on the GPU. What you can do, however, is:

1. Ramp up fans. Especially when you are not near the computer.
2. Reduce clock speeds. Cuz u know... why not.
3. Alternatively, you could try and reduce voltages via BIOS mod. Just make sure that the card remains stable.
4. Maybe try another application of thermal paste?

[DarkBlade2117]

I am not worried if the system lifespan is effected by that little. As these parts will be obsolete in 19 years.

19...? A lot sooner, 19 years x99 systems will be made fun of lol.

[AlexWalters08]

19...? A lot sooner, 19 years x99 systems will be made fun of lol.

I am aware, I said 19, because that is when I assume the parts may start to fail. However that is not an issue, because I will not be using this system in 19 years. I will probably build a new rig in 3 years or so (depending on money of course).

[mrswagbhinav]

Start folding already! Every bit helps.

[nicholician]

Nope, I can fold with a rig that has lesser specs than that and I've already crunched out 17,000 points in a couple weeks. Unfortunately though, another side effect some people forget about folding is that it heats up your computer, and that heat gets spewed into your room, and since I sleep in the same room my computer is in, I've been doing much less folding as the temperature increases.

 

Go for it, every little bit helps

[saya_kucing]

I was also concerned about the impact folding will do to the lifespan on my components - however if they're adequately cooled they should be fine, pending a CPU cooler failure or catastrophic scenario. Most modern CPU and GPU will automatically shutdown to prevent itself from damage, with the main concern being fan lifetime, easily rectifiable through DIY replacement and troubleshooting.

 

Components are often under-rated for usage in order to protect the manufacturer, and many are covered by warranties.

 

Even folding 24/7 for 3-4 years (and this is strictly an objective statement) is around the same time a GPU upgrade should be considered, and should coincide nicely with the durability of a folding GPU. Don't get me wrong, bulk respect for those guys running older GPUs.

 

Just keep everything cool, and it'll be fine.

[Whaler_99]

Your parts will not last as long if you fold 24/7 at any %. 

 

If you cannot add anything of worth to the thread, then DON'T! You obviously don't know what you are talking about.

[RJSX1]

If you cannot add anything of worth to the thread, then DON'T! You obviously don't know what you are talking about.

My bad, sorry.

[tobben]

Not to make anyone look bad, but you cannot dynamically change the load to

whatever you want either. You can to some extent With the cpu, but the gpu

is either full throttle or nothing. And no it isn't substantially harmfull at reasonable

temperatures.

 

As others have said before, go for it.