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Hey everyone, I hope you’re all doing well. For this week’s address, I have a couple of smaller things I wanted to touch on. But I also feel like the vast majority of posts this past week were about one topic, and I wanted to make sure that we touched on that.

dbrand
A customer reached out to dbrand support via Twitter requesting assistance on how to clean a Macbook skin they had purchased. After not getting a response, they asked if dbrand’s robots were still charging. While dbrand did share how to clean using isopropyl and a cloth, the person running the dbrand social account felt the need to poke fun at this person’s profile name. The name was clearly not English/Anglo-Saxon, and the tweet was a lazy, juvenile joke at best.

We work closely with dbrand, and we have for many years, so we have no reason to believe the original tweet came from a place of hate, there is no doubt that it created a toxic thread of discussion where other Twitter users felt empowered to display their own racism and hate.

We’ve spoken with Linus, who says he looked at dbrand’s original tweet with the context that they would never intentionally take their edgy online persona to a racist place, and didn’t read any further. He acknowledges that his response should not have included a joke about sponsorship rates and that this situation required a deeper and more nuanced reading of the conversation that was sparked by the original message rather than a glance at the OP. He reiterated that the tweet was over the line, and expressed his relief that dbrand lived up to the expectations he set in his original response and did what it took to move past this..  

dbrand released a statement acknowledging that they were lazy and careless. They shared that they donated $10,000 without any strings attached as an apology for not just the words themselves, but the chaos that came with it.

At the end of the day, our organization and our leadership see no place for racism in this world and were sad to see the waves of racist replies under dbrand’s Tweet. We’re glad that dbrand worked to improve the situation, and we intend to continue to work with them as long as they maintain their principled approach to doing business.

Pulseway
There was also a post regarding a forum member having some troubles with Pulseway, specifically around billing. While we have previously posted about some of the pushier salesperson’s in the past, someone being double billed is new. Thank you for sharing. We’ll make sure this is flagged as our Pulseway contacts do want to know when these things happen.

Once again, thank you. For those that watch, I hope you enjoy tonight’s WAN Show. And we’ll be back next week.
 

My linux distribution finally released drivers compatible with the 4070ti Super! I run from 8PM-8AM when temperatures go down so I don't have to deal with the heat in my small space. Moving from 2x2060s brought me from ~4.5M PPD at a combined 290W to ~8.5M PPD at 185W in those 12 hours. Pretty nice to reduce power consumption by over a third and nearly double my output, wasn't expecting that based on the PPD rank database! Wish I could send data samples to it from a headless system.



See you in June, @cbigfoot!

I'm at the top in a fair amount of gaming-related discord servers, I have a folding discord status that pops up on my profile whenever I'm away from my PC. I've had a fair amount of people ask me more about it, and most of these folks also have gaming hardware to fold on as well.

They don't care. It's a niche for people that have the cash to burn on electricity. The average person does not or will not.

Sooooo, it's a bit windy up here.

 
On a different note, I'm an enthusiastic forum-er.

I don't usually post too much about fussing around with my PCs, but after moving to a new apartment last year and realizing I needed to downsize my home server, CoffeeBox, I finally finished the project! I'd like to share because I'm really happy with how it came out, and it's where most of my folding gets done.

This was the previous chassis, a Fractal Define 7 XL. It sat in my entryway and was fine in the winter (the cables were managed after this photo was taken to not be a tripping hazard), but in the summer the lack of insulation for the entryway resulted in the hard drives running over max temperature threshold. This resulted in me moving it, and led to the moment during the November folding event where the washing machines shook screws out of it and caused a short.



This box pulls a few different duties -- it runs a media server, a bunch of game servers, a discord bot, my personal website, holds backups, acts as a NAS, and runs compute projects for me. Notably, none of these really require the big box, I only went with it because it gave me lots of slots to throw old GPUs in, which has been proving increasingly expensive as electricity prices around here keep going up. It'd be cheaper in the long run for me to just downsize to a more power efficient solution. Between the need for a smaller box, wanting less power consumption, and recent back-to-back boot drive failures (thank you Samsung for your repeated faulty SSD batches, two dead 970 Pros at less than 10% of their TBW rating)...



CoffeeBox 2.0! Roughly a quarter of the size (23.5% of the volume, or 28% with the drive enclosure), faster, quieter, and more power efficient. I kept the same drives, memory, and CPU (Which had recently been upgraded from an i7-8700k when 13th gen had a brief price crash due to 14th gen releasing), but swapped out basically everything else. The most noteworthy migration was from 2x2060s and 1x1080 to a single 4070 Ti super, which should just about triple GPU compute performance at half the power consumption before tuning! It's still on a UPS, but that now sits further away from the machine.



CPU: Intel i9-13900k (power limited)
GPU: MSI 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X
Motherboard: ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4
RAM: 64GB G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-6000
PSU: Corsair SF750
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A
Chassis: Cooler Master NR200
Drive Enclosure: Sabrent 10-Bay DS-UCTB
Storage: 7x WD Red Plus 12TB, 1x WD Black 8TB, 2x WD SN850x redundant boot drives

Now I just need to figure out if I'm going to wait a few weeks for my linux distro to release a driver that actually SUPPORTS the 4070 Ti Super, or if I'm going to be impatient and add a repo for it...

Logitech makes a lot of computer peripherals. From keyboards for your mom, to keyboards for your gamer bros, if there is a category of product that lives on your desk, Logitech probably has their hat in the ring. And after creating some of iconic pieces of kit, like the Logitech G Pro Superlight, or the MX Master line-up of products, it's no wonder why they're a top brand in a space crowded with competitors like Corsair, Razer, Cooler Master, and many more. But is it all good? We build a full gaming setup using only Logitech products to find out.
 
 

This felt like a missed opportunity to critise Logitech's G Hub for its many shortcomings. The ones that annoy me most are:
The software's default profile settings can't be changed or overridden. This means whenever G Hub detects a new game and creates a default profile for it, It will be setup to match the out of box default profile instead of it being setup to match the desktop default the user has set, making setup a complete chore. Many of the useful setting are obfiscated by the terriable UI that often leads to multiple wasted seconds or minutes searching for something that should be easy to find. If you have "persistent" mode (which stops G Hub from switching profiles on its own) turned on, it will ask you to disable "persistent" mode before you can switch profiles manually. I know they want you to use the automatic switching feature but sometimes I want to choose which profile I'm using without G Hub getting in the way and... G Hub only detects a very small number of installed games and adding games by navigating to the exe dosn't work very often either. I like Logitech's products, I just wish their software would improve.

Im getting close to the next badge (bronze) ...
 

They're doing it for rewards, or at least what they perceive as a reward. Doesn't look like it's going too well, though. https://www.solinscription.com/care-market/
 
This is the only way to offload the CARE tokens, but they would need a buyer and the buyer would need some utility for the tokens, which ATM doesn't seem to exist.

3080 is probably the best choice for the price for a used card in that budget, though sometimes you can get lucky auction hunting and snag a 6900 xt for around $450 if you’re willing to wait and search while bumping up the budget.
Though a 3080 at $400 is a lot more consistent of something to find.
 
I also recommend ten 750ti’s to join the superior user base of 750ti users as an alternative.

We had great success last year and we sure appreciated you all for coming over to help. We're going to do it again.

We have some sponsored prizes from vendors, as well as some in-house goodies. Similar to last year, the top 3 folders will get first choice prize picks and the rest of the prizes will be random draw.

Remember, register at EHW and post in the contest thread. Also during the challenge you need to be running 239902 as your team ID (afterwards change back to LTT).

Hope to see you all again for some crunching fun.
 
https://extremehw.net/topic/3475-extremehw-second-annual-96-hour-folding-challenge-february-23rd-24th-25th-26th-2024-0000-utc/

With a mid-series refresh under way for NVIDIA's Ada GPUs I started to wonder what the changes mean in terms of value for Folding.
 
The short answer is that even with a $200US drop in price of the "mid range" GPUs it is a better value but still can't match the value of the new 4070 Super or even the 4060 in terms of Shaders/$
  Price Shaders Clock TDP Value Value Model ($US) (#) (MHz) (W) (shClk/$) (sh/$) RTX 4090 $1,599 16,384 2,235 450 22,901 10.2 RTX 4080s $999 10,240 2,295 320 23,524 10.3 RTX 4080 $1,199 9,728 2,205 320 17,890 8.1 RTX 4070ts $799 8,448 2,340 285 24,741 10.6 RTX 4070t $799 7,680 2,310 285 22,204 9.6 RTX 4070s $599 7,168 1,980 220 23,694 12.0 RTX 4070 $599 5,888 1,920 200 18,873 9.8 RTX 4060t $399 4,352 2,310 160 25,196 10.9 RTX 4060 $299 3,840 1,830 115 23,502 12.8 My personal preference for a new build would now be the RTX 4070 Super as it is showing nearly as good value as the 4060 and is still a dual slot card making it much easier to implement dual GPUs in motherboards with 3-slot spacing for the PCIe expansion slots.

Today the LTT F@H Team has surpassed CureCoin and moved into 3rd place.
Congrats team!
 

I've been folding on/off for 20 years. I have 16,863,934 points as of now....I just fired up my new 7950x3d / RTX 4090 computer and it's saying I might get 26,000,000 points in just 24 hours. 
 
My mind is blown....more points in 1 day than I've earned in 20 years????

Updated Instructions for Ubuntu 22.04:
 
Why Linux:
It will run well on older hardware that can be re purposed for a dedicated folding machine. You can disable automatic updates. It will perform 5-10% better than Windows due to Driver and OpenMM Core 21 issues in Windows. I have found it to be more stable than Windows with months of up-time. YMMV Why Ubuntu:
It is well supported by a large Community and the Long Term Support (LTS) version is supported by Canonical until 2023. Prerequisites:
Pretty much any 2GHz or faster processor with a minimum of 2-3GB DDR3 and a PCIe 2 x16 slot should work. If your not running DHCP on your router you’ll need an available IP Address, and to note your Subnet Mask and Gateway Address. NVidia GTX or RTX GPU (AMD GPUs are NOT covered here yet, but if anyone wants to contribute please do so) OS Install (Ubuntu Desktop 18.04.3):
This is the LTS Desktop version. More adventurous types may want to consider installing the LTS Server version for a less cluttered install. There are several other guides on how to setup a Linux Folding Rig (see the Reference Section at the end)
 
      Note: Ubuntu 19 has removed support for Python2 so FAHControl will not work
Download Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS Desktop ISO File Burn the ISO to a USB key using Rufus or similar tool Boot from the USB key and start the install For US English just accept the defaults Partition the whole disk as a single “Root” partition, don’t bother creating a separate swap partition. use the default Gnome Desktop (GDM3) for now, it can be changed later. OS Configuration:
Graphics Drivers:
OpenCL:
Folding Client:
 Configure Folding Client:
Configure GPU and, optionally, CPU Slots  Configure Advanced Options (Beta Flag, Pause on Start, ...) Configuring X-Windows and GPU:
System Administration 101:
The Terminal is your Best Friend
Starting, Stopping and Restarting Services Package Updates (Aptitude, dpkg, apt ...) Monitoring System Health (htop, ps, sensors, ...) Monitoring GPU Performance (nvidia-settings, nvidia-smi) Monitoring Folding Performance (FAHclient) Advanced Topics:
Multiple GPUs
In most standard mid and full-tower ATX cases with dual-fan cards the lower card will cook the upper card. I usually install the higher performing card in the lower slot so it is not breathing the hot air from the adjacent card. I have noticed that running the fans on the lower card about 10% above the stock value will result in the upper card getting cooler air and running at a lower temperature and boosting higher.
Remote Management via CLI
Use your favorite SSH application to access the folding machine. I use PuTTY.
Remote Folding Client Control
Headless Operation
Running BOINC and FaH
Dual-Booting Linux & Windows (Install Windows 1st; Disable Fast Boot; Shrink Partition; Install Linux in free space)
References:
Build Guides:
Chris21010's at EVGAform's Guide to Multi GPU on Linux Mint Puget Systems' Dr. Donald Kinghorn: The Best Way To Install Ubuntu 18.04 with NVIDIA Drivers and any Desktop Flavor TenneseeTony's GUIDE: Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon with Nvidia GPU(s) Hiiargarin's Linux Mint & Ubuntu Folding: http://www.bronyathome.org/forums/showthread.php?tid=626 (dead link) Folding Client Install:
Folding@Home: Alternative Downloads Folding@Home: Manual Installation (Advanced) iceflatline's Install and Configure Folding@home on Ubuntu Server Proprietary GPU Drivers:
PPA Graphics Drivers Team NVidia Graphics Drivers:
NVidia Graphics Driver README nvidia-smi documentation NVidia Management Library Reference Manual NVML API Reference Guide NVidia Tools for Managing GPU Clusters NVidia CUDA Toolkit Documentation ArchLinux Wiki: NVidia Tips & Tricks NVidia Headless Server Ubuntu Documentation
Hardware Monitoring:
NVidia: FAN Control Ubuntu 18.04 IT87 Kernel Module (All Gigabyte, and some Asus, Motherboards):
Kernel.org: IT87 Kernel Module Default Supported Chips Phoronix: IT87 Linux Driver For Supporting Many Motherboard Sensors Is Facing Death Leve1Techs: I patched the IT87 (Temperature monitoring) driver, need some help testing it GitHub: Read-Only Archive of Guenter Roeck's Experimental IT87 Driver

There's been a few posts lately where people have been having issues accessing a Folding Rig from another Computer using the Advanced Control client.
 
Couple of important points. Even on your local machine Folding is divided between two parts. The Server which manages folding the Work Units (WUs) downloaded from the Work Servers and the Client that allows you to Configure, Monitor and Control the Server.
 
Just to be confusing the server is called FAHClient and the Client can be either the Advanced Control Python Application or the Web Server built in to FAHClient. These two control processes on FAHClient have their access restricted by default to just the computer they are running on (the "localhost" or 127.0.0.1 (loopback IP Address)). The WebControl runs on TCP Port 7396 and can be accessed by any browser on the computer the Server is running on by the URL:
http://127.0.0.1:7396 where 127.0.0.1 is the IP Address referring to the localhost or the IP address of the computer can be used:
          
http://<ip address>:7396 The Advanced Control uses TCP port 36330 ( and can be also accessed using using any TELNET client that supports UNIX terminal emulation such as PuTTY, which the Windows Telnet Client, unfortunately does not )
In order to permit access to either the Web Control or using the Advanced client on another PC you have to allow access on the remote system.
Assuming you are on a Local Area Network (LAN) and protected by a router with a firewall blocking external connections the easiest way of doing this is to use the Advanced Control application on the system you want to manage remotely to add the IP Network Address and Mask that will allow all the hosts on your LAN Access without a password.
Using a command prompt and running the command:
ipconfig you can display your IPv4 address and then click on the "Configuration" button in Advanced Control enter at the bottom of the "Remote Access" tab your network address and mask in BOTH the "IP Address Restriction" and "Passwordless IP Address Restriction" Dialogs. You LAN's IP Network will typically be 192.168.1.0/24 as this is the default for most home routers.
Note that you MUST leave in the localhost address 127.0.01 and use spaces to separate the values.
Once you have entered the new values and saved them you have to close the Advanced Control Application and Stop and Restart the FAHClient server. If you are in the middle of folding a WU first pause the Work Unit before closing the Advanced Control. To stop the server right-click on the "Folding" applet in the Taskbar and select quit. To restart the server click on the "Folding@home" desktop shortcut which will also launch the Web Control.
Un Pause the Work Unit to Resume Folding and then try to access the Sever from another computer using either a web browser or the Advanced Control if it installed.
 
Part 2 - HFM.net
Part 3 - F@H Mobile Monitor
Part 4 - Tunneling Madness

I finally did it! WOOO!

Yes the chipset pcie slot is barely "slower" it technically has more latency but you won't notice.
 
And for performance basically it's like mining you could have a pcie x1 link and it wouldn't care.

Folding supports research into the cause of and potential Cures for Cancer, Neurological and Infectious Diseases. It is a way we can contribute back and honor the memory of those we've lost to these diseases.
 
So who do you fold for?

My parent's house is too cold and I'm not allowed to touch the thermostat.
 
 

I Fold for my "Uncle Ferg" who died from Parkinson's.

(1930-2009)

I fold for my mother:

(1930-2014) Lung, brain, bone & liver cancer
 
Her sister:

(1921-1989) Leukemia
 
My Dad's sister:

(1930-1997) Brain Cancer

Oof
 

If you open task manager, check the details tab. You should be able to see which processes are using the CPU. If you didn't use it for some time, might be it's simply busy downloading Windows updates.