FOLD at 100% CPU with low temps and clock or 80% and higher temps and clock?

[LyNx_G]

Hey guys and gals, just recently started back Folding again after many, many years, running an Intel i5 9600K at stock speeds and the question is as in the title - should I run the client at the Full setting so it uses 100% CPU usage on all cores, but runs at a lower boost clock of between 3.8-3.95Ghz with temps staying at or below 71C/160F or should I run it at the medium setting where it uses about 80% CPU and runs boost at 4.3Ghz and temps in the 76C/169F or lower range?

 

Little info about myself - I live in the Caribbean, avg room temps varies between 26C/79F to 30C/86F in the cooler times of year and 28C/82F to 32C/89F in the hotter times. System is an Intel 9600K on a Gigabyte H370 HD3 MB running a Coolermaster 212 cooler with a push/pull setup, 2 120mm intake fans in the front, 1 120mm fan exhausting out the top (2nd fan on cooler pushes air out the rear exhaust area because of it's close proximity), so air flow is good.

 

Thanks for any help and/or thoughts. Was just curious which would be better for the longevity of my system and was thinking running it cooler at lower clocks would be it.

[nick name]

Hello and welcome.

 

Is there not a benchmark which can quantify results for you at different settings?  Or you could find a benchmark and run the settings you wish to compare and hope the results translate.  

[FloRolf]

Welcome to the forums. I'd honestly not use the CPU at all and just go full GPU as it produces way more ppd. 

 

If you are stuck to cpu though I'd go with the setting that makes the PC more Comfortable to use as I know high cpu usage throttles pretty much everything. 

[LyNx_G]

Hey and thanks for the welcome. Unfortunately no discrete GPU yet, just needed to get a new system built after my trusty 2600K system finally bit the bullet beginning of summer, so just using the onboard graphics for now until I can afford and decide on what card I want.

 

I have used CPUID HW Info and Windows Task Manager to monitor the power draw, temps and clock speeds running at the different settings and to me, the most cost effective is running at the lower boost speeds at 100% as it's showing the CPU only using 70W or under and taking about 2/3 the time as running at medium with about 80% CPU usage and 73-76W draw.

 

Was just curious what thoughts were on CPU/System longevity running the CPU at 100% pretty much all the time, as I have it set to Fold always and just give up CPU cycles when I need them and haven't found it to cause any issues so far just watching movies, browsing the web and doing some light image editing.

[TVwazhere]

On 12/29/2019 at 1:56 PM, LyNx_G said:

Was just curious what thoughts were on CPU/System longevity running the CPU at 100% pretty much all the time, as I have it set to Fold always and just give up CPU cycles when I need them and haven't found it to cause any issues so far just watching movies, browsing the web and doing some light image editing.

Speed is not what kills chips. Heat is what kills them (or constant fluctuation in heat going from hot to cold to hot over a very extended period)

 

I have my GPU's both folding, overclocked and at reduced power limits so they consume less power, they've both been running at about 60ºC since august (minus one or two downtimes.)

[LyNx_G]

Thanks again guys, have settled on running at 100% with lower overall temps and overall faster processing of the WU for less total power consumption than running less than 100%. Another benefit of running at 100% is temps staying about the same throughout, not fluctuating up and down depending on how the cores are being switched/used. Will be fun to play with a GPU like a 1650 Super or such when I can get one.