Official LTT F@H (Folding@Home) FAQ & Guide - Team 223518

SansVarnic · April 17, 2021

F@H Installation Guide

You can help scientists studying Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and many cancers by simply running a piece of software on your computer.
Join others around the world to form the world's largest distributed supercomputer.

Spoiler

Links to download the software for Windows, macOS and 64bit Linux ...
https://foldingathome.org/#downloads

Alternative downloads ... (Includes Debian / Mint / Unbunto, Redhat / Centros / Fedora and ARM Linux / Rasberry Pi)

https://foldingathome.org/alternative-downloads/

Dockers for GPUs

https://hub.docker.com/r/foldingathome/fah-gpu

vSphere (VMware Appliance)

https://flings.vmware.com/vmware-appliance-for-folding-home

Here is a link to the Installation Guides for various OSes:

https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/installation-guides/

And for the direct link to the Windows Install Guide:

https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/installation-guides/windows/

Link for the Passkey...
https://apps.foldingathome.org/getpasskey
You need that for bonus points. After you have completed 10 Work Units on the CPU slot, you will then get extra PPD point.

HOW do I get one of those fancy Badges?? Check here to Request a Folding Badge Here:

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1069238-fh-and-boinc-badge-request-thread-last-update-2021-apr-16/

DON'T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR FOLDING ID SO THAT WE CAN VERIFY YOUR STATS!

Done by our own @Xsilent(X)

Folding@home Installation guide! Linux distros and server.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/51633-foldinghome-installation-guide-linux-distros-and-server/#entry689950

Remember, during the install, use our Team Number for proper points crediting - 223518 <--(Required to earn team badges)

Team links:
Official Folding@Home Site:
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=223518

ExtremeOverclocking Stats
http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/team_summary.php?s=&t=223518

The DC-Vault link (combines scores from various teams to a global one)

http://www.dc-vault.com/showteam.php?team=547

The official forum: http://foldingforum.org/

The official News blog: http://folding.stanford.edu/home/blog - A blog all about Folding@home, from its Director, Prof. Vijay Pande

Link to @Whaler_99's 4P Folding build logs/guide - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/15102-whalers-4p-folders-build-log-32-cores-and-24-cores/

Link to @Whaler_99's Multi GPU Folding build guide - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/12541-whalers-gpu-folder-build-log-folding3/

MORE Stats and Links

Stanford Client Stats

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=osstats2

Want to look up a Project Description?

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/fahproject.overusingIPswillbebanned

Folding @ Home Projects Summary - Pretty neat.

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/new/psummary.html

Facts and Fiction - Configuration and Settings

With the new Cores and the release of new GPUs, there is a lot of information floating around from various sources.

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Not, if any, is official unfortunately. So, in this thread I am going to post some info I have found to be trustworthy as well as results I know from my own tests.

I invite other users to post their findings. NOTE!! Do not simply post PPD results and the like. This thread is for posting config examples that you know to work based on your testing. Yes, testing, meaning you have multiple systems, GPUs, whatever, to back up your claims. Or you have read, post links, if possible, trusted sources.

This will hopefully allow you, the average user, who might be considering some GPU upgrades, to get some information that may pertain to your environment. Also, NOTE, all this info is very subjective to the tester's environment and settings. Mileage will always vary. Most of this directly effects multi-GPU configs.

General Information

Unfortunately, most of the info you see on the Stanford site is out of date. Much of the information is from 2013 when the new website was launched and has not been updated much. So, when reading things there, take it with a grain of salt. There have been a lot of upgrades and changes over the past two years.

Supported GPUs

There is a file, called the GPU White-list, that contains a listing of all supported GPUs. This does NOT mean that because your GPU is in there, it is supported. This list is updated with new cards but never has old cards removed.

As per the Folding Forum, the somewhat official information source, here are the currently supported cards:

Officially Supported GPUs
AMD -> HD 5000 Series or higher
Nvidia -> GTX 400 Series (Fermi) or higher

That was from 2013. I think the minimum's supported have now gone up, but I am not positive.

Also, the equivalent Quadro, FireGL and such cards are also supported.

The dedicated GPU compute cards, NVidia Tesla, Intel Phy and others, are not supported.

PCIe Slots

You can use PCIe x1 size through x16 sized slots for folding with GPUs. There are diverse types of expanders that allow your x16 card to plug into a x1, for instance, slot. Also, v1 through v3 of the PCI Express specifications is also supported. Now, here is where is gets complicated. Different Cores and Projects need differing amounts of bandwidth.

In my testing, and some others, about two years ago, we found no PPD decrease when using x1 slots versus x16 slots (PCIe v2). Back then though Core17 was just coming out and there was no Core18. This has changed some, If you get Core15 and some Core17 assignments, this still won't make a difference. But, on Core18 it can. Some have seen up to a 20% drop on PDD when going from x16 to x4 slots. At this point though, v2 or v3 slots don't seem to make much of an impact. So, where does this leave you?

If planning to make a multi-GPU folding system, try and get/use as many x16 slots as possible. You can use x4 and x1 with the use of expanders, but depending on the work you get assigned, you might notice some PPD decline now on those cards.

CPU Impact

This is primarily a NVidia issue, mostly attributed to NVidia drivers. So, the rule of thumb when folding with a NVidia GPU and CPU folding, is to leave one core free per GPU to maximize your GPU Folding performance. In the case of AMD, it is simply recommended to leave a single core free for one or more cards as the impact isn't as great.

So, what is going on? Well, it turns out when Folding on NVidia there seems to be a lot of polling. If you watch the CPU, yes, you can see it pegged pretty high, but if you look at something like the heat output, it actually isn't generating much. The CPU isn't actually working that hard, just being consumed with polling queries. Apparently not having the core free can greatly increase processing time, which in turn affects the QRB bonus. But, the CPU isn't actually doing a whole heck of a lot. The GPU is still doing all the work, just there seems to be this polling mechanism for some reason.

SLI and Crossfire

If you have two cards with either of these enabled, no fear. There is minimal impact on Folding from having these technologies set.

Hopefully, some of you find this useful and as mentioned, feel free to add your findings.

Just remember, I will remove posts not on topic and specifically containing config info.

Update October 2015

Drivers

As many have seen, sometimes updating to the latest version, especially when folding, is not always the best thing. One of the more current versions for NVidia is simply crushing folding. If you are on a version and everything is running tip top, pay close attention to what those new updated versions are doing. 98% of the time, you don't need them as they have zero performance gain for most things. What they are doing is adding specific support for games, fixes, etc. If you don't play those games, then you don't need the update.

Just pay attention before updating drivers and be prepared to roll back if things don't go something and wait for the next round.

Minimum Support Cards

Officially Supported GPUs
AMD -> HD 5000 Series or higher
Nvidia -> GTX 400 Series (Fermi) or higher

Looks like they has been tweaked a bit, nothing official, but looks like these are now the minimum needed to get most WU's completed:

AMD -> 6000 series or higher

NVidia -> GTX 620 or higher

Folding Users - Tips, Tricks and FAQ

Two main points to remember, first remember to enter in the TEAM ID of 223518 and second, get your passkey for the bonus points.

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Have I missed something you think should be included? PM me and we can work on getting it added. Always looking to increase the knowledge base.

What is folding?

Folding is a worldwide distributed computing effort conducted by Stanford University to understand how proteins assemble themselves. The real world applications of this research includes potential cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer, and Parkinson's. Nearly everyone's life has been touched by someone who has had one of these diseases or one of the many other diseases this research is aiming to cure.

Why should I fold? What's in it for me?

Just the knowledge that you're contributing to a very good cause. We do this because we can, because we have the computing power to offer. From a purely fun perspective, as you fold you are awarded points. These points help generate some competition and fun between members and other teams.

I don't a high powered folding gear. Is it worth it?

Absolutely! All to often you will see one of the regulars answering this questions with a "EVERY little bit helps". With the various client types, pretty much any system can help to contribute to the cause.

What does it cost?

The software is free, and there are no fees of any kind for participating in folding. If you fold 24/7 and/or have several computers folding, you will likely notice a increase in your electric bill.

Badges

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In order to be rewarded with the Folding @ Home badge, please note the following requirements. (subject to change)

Contributor - When you have contributed more than 5 Million Points, you will qualify for this badge, to show your commitment to LTT and the team.
Bronze Contributor - When you have contributed more than 25 Million points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your serious support of the team.
Silver Contributor - When you have contributed more than 100 Million points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your serious and continued support of the team.
Gold Contributor - When you have contributed more than 500 Million points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your dedication and continued support of the team and your very generous donation of resources.
Platinum Contributor - When you have contributed more than 1 Billion points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your dedication and continued support of the team and your very generous donation of resources. You are now a legend!
Diamond Contributor - When you have contributed more than 2.5 Billion points, you will qualify for this badge. This reflects your insane dedication and continued support of the team and your extreme donation of resources. Tales of your folding adventures will be whispered through the ages; you are now mythical.

That's it. Once you hit one of the above milestones go and post your F@H or extremeoverclocking.com link in the F@H and BOINC Badge Request Thread.

CPU Folding

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So, you are folding on your CPU using the full client. Couple of things to be aware of. First, if you are also folding on your GPU, you should ensure you have one core free for each GPU your running. For most systems running with one card, the client installs picks this up no problem. So, if you have 4 or 8 cores, you will see in the client that it is utilizing 3 or 7 cores. Perfect.

But, in some cases it doesn't get this right. Or maybe you want to reduce overall load, by reducing the total core count. Easy to do. In the Advanced view, click on the "Configure" button, select the "Slots" tab and double-click on you CPU slot in the list of slots. Then in the pop-up window that will open you will see on the top "The number of CPU threads this slot should use" and the number in the box below should be "-1", this is the default. Just change this value to whatever number of cores you want the client to use, click OK and SAVE on the remaining opened pop-up windows.

Also, there are some reports that some projects do NOT work well with odd number CPU clients. Sometimes if you are having an issue getting a WU for your CPU and you have an odd number of Cores listed, manually change it to one less, for an even number. Thanks to EK Luc for reminding me of this.

Folding on Maxwell Cards

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If you have a Maxwell card, open up F@H & GPU-Z and see if your VRAM is boosting all the way whilst folding. If it isn't boosting to 1752.8 MHz in GPU-Z, it's not fully boosting because your card is in P2 Power-state.
If it's not fully boosting, go and get "nvidia inspector" http://www.guru3d.co...r-download.html

Once you have it open, click on "overclocking mode" and click the dropdown menu that says "Performance Level 3" click on "Performance Level 2" and slowly turn up the memory clock offset until you get to +3505 mhz, it will fix your VRAM boosting issue. (It will read 1752.8 in GPU-Z afterwards)

This should give you more PPD afterwards, seeing as you went from 6004 to 7010 MHz on the VRAM.

Afterburner will not work, as it only changes P3 state, not P2.

Thanks to @Lays for this.

Chrome / NACL Folding

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So, as many of you have heard, there is now a Chrome Folding App - just visit the app store to install. Easy peasy. You need to have a minimum of Chrome browser version 31.

Here is some info:

Very small WU's - so you will go through a lot, but point accumulation should be adjusted accordingly
Light - about 20-30% usage on all cores
Medium - about 60-70% usage on all cores (my 4770k was spiked at 80%)
Full - 100% usage on all cores
Works on Windows, Linux and Mac
Only supports CPU Folding for the time being
Only runs on Intel and AMD chips. They are actively working to get support for others.
The tab needs to be "open" to actively fold - you close all your browser tabs and folding shuts down. Also, on occasion I have seen ti get stuck after a new WU download and be sitting there waiting for me to click on "Start Folding" - so peak it on it every once and a while

Some usage numbers:

Rig - 4770k, stock, 780 stock, Gigabyte Sniper G1. M5 with 32GB ram. CPU cooler is a H220 with 2 x Noctua NF-F12's in pull (though that doesn't matter). Idle temp is about 30C on all cores/

Light - I saw the temp rise to about 45-50C. Averaged about 18 minutes to complete a WU.

Medium - Temp went up to about the low 50's. Averaged about 6-7 minutes to complete a WU.

High - Temp peaked in the mid 60's. Averaged about 3-4 minutes to complete a WU.

Here is a screenshot of the app - make sure to update with your ID, the team ID and the passkey. (Read the FAQ for info on getting a passkey). Don't forget to click "save".

Flag settings

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Now, before I get into the actual how-to on this, previously there was a lot of discussion on needing to enable the BETA flag on your GPU slot(s) and then eventually that changed to the ADVANCED flag. This will enable you to get Core17 WU's during the testing phase.

They are now in general release, and you no longer need those flags. In fact, you should remove them. You will get experimental WU's with them set, which can cause some very weird results.

Flags are features you can enable on your client. In the Advanced mode of the FAH client, click on the Configure button. Now, click on the Slots tab. This will display all the slots on your system.

Now, double click the slot you want to modify, and scroll down to the Extra Slots Options. Click on Add and you can add various options. Click Save… and voila. I will post some of the common ones:

Name: max-units
Value: 1
This is the same as “finishing” – will only complete the number you set and then stop. You can change the value to a higher number if you want to complete a certain amount of WU's instead of stopping at 1.
This setting will persistently stay until you remove it.

Name: client-type
Value: beta
This will tell the slot to check for, and download if available, any beta Core/Projects that may be available to it.

Name: client-type
Value: advanced
This will tell the slot to check for, and download if available, any "advanced" Core/Projects that may be available to it. Typically, when a Core/Project is done with Beta testing, it moves to Advanced availability for more testing, before being put into general distribution.

Name: next-unit-percentage
Value: 100
This tells the slot not to download a new WU prior to just completing your current one, but to wait till it is 100% complete. This can help seek out a few extra PPD on QRB’s.

What are Cores?

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http://fahwiki.net/index.php/Cores

This is an explanation of all the type of Cores within the FAH project.

The Core15 series is optimized for the NVidia chipset and really takes advantage of Cuda. This is a series for NVidia cards.

The Core16 series was designed for AMD but still seems to have some NVidia coding on it. AMD cards never did as well on these as NVidia did on Core15.

Now, we get to the Core17 series. Specifically designed to address the OpenCL issues of Core16 and bring a single core for both brands. And they did it. This series pretty much brings AMD and NVidia in line with each other. There were also other tweaks done to this series which result in very high points awarded, regardless of AMD or NVidia.

Some more info from the Wiki:

GPU3[edit]

These are the third generation GPU cores, and are based on OpenMM Pande Group's own open library for molecular simulation. Although based on the GPU2 code, this adds stability and new capabilities.

GPU3 (core 15)
- Available to x86 Windows only.
GPU3 (core 16)
- Available to x86 Windows only. Released alongside the new v7 client, this is a rewrite of Core 11 in OpenCL.
GPU3 (core 17)
- Available to Windows and Linux for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs using OpenCL. Much better performance because of OpenMM 5.1
GPU3 (core 18)
- Available to Windows for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs using OpenCL. This core was developed to address some critical scientific issues in Core17 and uses the latest technology from OpenMM 6.0.1. There are currently issues regarding the stability and performance of this core on some AMD and NVIDIA Maxwell GPUs. This is why assignment of work units running on this core has been temporarily stopped for some GPUs.

Essentially all the cores can run on any brand (Intel, AMD, NVidia) with various results and performance.

Quick Return Bonus points

Spoiler

To qualify for the QRB (Quick Return Bonus) you must have a passkey. This also helps authenticate your ID. You can get one, or have it re-sent to you, by going to this link - http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/getpasskey.py

If you want to read more - here is the link to the Passkey FAQ - https://folding.stanford.edu/home/faq/faq-passkey/ Also note - you must complete 10 Work Units on the associated project order to qualify and maintain an 80% return ratio. Previously these QRB points only applied to CPU folding but are now also available for GPU's.

Which is the best brand GPU?

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This seems to be a VERY frequent question, so let me talk about my experiences...

I have had both AMD and NVidia folding systems. My thoughts - either are great. They have pros and cons. Typically you can find better deals on AMD cards. I find the AMD do outperform NVidia on Core 17 projects. However, for all those other Core project, NVidia still holds a lead. As well, the 700 series NVidia cards are really good at OC with GPU Boost 2, run even quieter with the new coolers and are more power efficient.

So, dishing out $500+ on a card? Look at NVidia, hands down. Going for less $$? Then basically figure out your budget, and get the best card for the bucks. If this will be for a non dedicated Folder, like your gaming rig, etc - then make your choice based on that. What card performs best for the games you play, etc. Whatever you end up getting, will be good for Folding.

If this is for a dedicated folder, also check out deals on kijiji/craigslist, ebay, etc. Most of my cards are all used...

Based on actual benchmarks - Titan and 780 are boss. Then depending on the project the 770, 7990, 7970, 690, 680, etc will swap spots....

Update May 2015 - The 900 series are the boss cards. The top AMD cards are no slouch though.

What is the slider...

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When the slider is on "Medium", only the CPU folds and the GPU will start when the system goes Idle, the screen saver kicks in. "Idle" in this instance does NOT mean, the computer isn't doing anything. It refers to the screen saver kicking in.

For this, I suggest people set the timeout to something small, like 5 minutes. This minimizes the lost Folding time. When you go back on to your system, GPU folding will shut down until you "Idle" again. You will not lose any work.

Now, you can put the slider at Full which will turn on GPU folding, which is handy for testing. Many people run at FULL all the time and the system works fine for most work loads, disabling it only when playing games, for instance.

Is Folding safe for my gear?

Spoiler

To address the question many have, is Folding is safe? Or more to the point, will Folding reduce the lifespan of my components?

The biggest risk to a computer system is heat. Letting your system run at unsafe temperatures will cause premature failures and possibly permanent damage. Now, Folding obviously introduces a LOT more heat into your system. If you are going to Fold, ensure you have a quality heatsink and fan for your CPU. Also ensure you have excellent ventilation in your case to exhaust all that heat out and to draw some fresh air in.

If you keep your components running at safe temperatures, then everything should be fine. If your components were to lose any life span from running all the time, the overall lifespan would still almost certainly be longer than the rest of the computer's components. These components are engineered to run for a very long time. More likely to fail first will be the mechanical hard drive(s), which isn't actually used much at all by FAH.

Pretty much all CPU's and GPU's have various thermal protection built in now. From down clocking to reduce temps to actually shutting down to prevent damage, this will also help. But again, ensure a properly designed system so this never becomes a factor.

Quality power can make a huge difference here as well. Using a cheap PSU will not only jeopardize your components as they run and draw full power, but will also most likely cause the PSU itself to fail. Clean and stable power can also ensure optimal performance and better temps.

Clean out your system of dust. Fans are going to be intaking a lot more air and dust will be a factor, no matter how many dust filters you have. Clean filters once a week. On PC's, maybe check and blow out internals once per month. On laptops clean out the intake/exhaust ports and much as you can without dismantling the unit. Dust is your enemy, it prohibits proper air flow which in turn causes components to heat up.

Your fans, invest in good quality fans. A good quality fan will be quieter and move more air than some "cheap" model that maybe saves you 5 bucks but causes your entire rig to run 3, 4 even 5 degrees warmer. Also remember, fans come in two types. Air Flow focused fans with an excellent CFM rating are great for pulling air in and exhausting air where there is little restriction, typically front of the case, the rear, the roof. Static Pressure focused fans are more pressure based and are great for moving air through a crowded drive cage and on heat sinks.

With proper cooling, and good components, your system will run long enough for you to consider the computer old and obsolete before it breaks down from Folding.

My one caveat here, some components may have a “flaw” in them. This “flaw” might never become apparent under normal circumstances but Folding may bring it to the forefront. From random failures to outright death of the component. Not much you can do here but hope for warranty coverage.

So, in the end, Folding is very safe on most components, ensuring many of the above steps. But, it is not 100%. There will always be “some” risk involved.

The Folding Advanced View overview

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What you see below is the Advanced Control view of the FAH client. Although the web view is fine, you need the Advanced view to do any real tweaking.

To access this, click on the little FAH icon in the task manager, bottom right of your start bar, where the little clock is. A bunch of options will be available, one of which is Advanced Control.

The Slider...

See the slider? It is currently set at Light. This means that the CPU cores will be folding at about 70-85% capacity. But, the GPU is not Folding. At this setting, the GPU only Folds when the system goes into Idle mode, basically your screen saver kicks in.

Hint – set your screensaver to come on after 5 minutes, to help minimize the time wasted.

If you move the slider to the Medium position, the CPU cores will be folding at about 85-90% capacity and the GPU will also start to Fold. This is a new thing in 7.4 - previously the GPU only Folded when the slider was at Full or the system went into Idle mode. Note, the GPU always Folds at 100%.

If you want to kick everything into full power, slid the bar to Full and the CPU cores will kick up to 100% utilization and the GPU’s will also start folding at 100%.

Pausing...
If you right-click on the “slots” themselves, in the Folding Slots section, you can also Pause a slot from Folding. This is handy to pause say one of the two GPU’s you have Folding.

If you click the buttons now provided beside the slider, this will affect all the slots.

Finishing...
The Finish option will have the slot finish its current WU, submit it, but not download another. Handy if you want to shut down the system for a while, or stop folding for a while, but don't want to lose the work/points you have started on.

CPU Core Count...

So, things seem to have changed with the 7.4.x version. When it installs, at least on my test system, all logical cores are assigned to the CPU slot. Some thoughts though. I usually fold on the CPU with at least one less Core then my total. This leaves just a extra bit of resources for doing most anything else on my system, while still being able to fold. Also, does seem to help GPU folding, especially on older Core projects. Now, folding on the CPU with a odd number of cores is a weird one. 1 and 3 cores seem to work fine, but anything above that has some issues with some specific projects. It is recommended that you fold with even number of cores if using five or more. So, 4 cores, 6 cores, 8 cores, etc. There is no limit to to total you can have though.

For version 7.3.x this was a bit different. When installed, the CPU core count will typically be 1 less than your total logical count. This is a default of FAH, to leave one core free for “GPU” folding. Current AMD GPU’s require this. NVidia, not so much. There is work on a new Core type that will hopefully fix this up. But until then, if you are Folding with AMD, leave one logical core free. With NVidia, you don’t need this, unless you are running multiple. To edit this, go into the Slot config, double click the CPU slot and manually set the number of Cores. The default is -1. Set it to what number you want. Remember this is logical. So, if you have a 3570k, the total number is 4. But if you have a 3770k, with hyper threading, this would be 8.

GPU Folding

Spoiler

These are a couple of the more common issues I have seen when trying to fold on a GPU slot specific.

Are you in a Remote Desktop connection (RDP)? If you a remotely managing a system via RDP, FAH Client does not like it. You will need to use something like VNC. Connect directly to the client, delete the Slot, re-add it and should work ok.
Power Settings. Make sure the PC is set at the Performance setting. Otherwise you PC may be sleeping which can cause the GPU to fail. Either right away or when it does actually go to sleep. At which point, all folding stops anyways.
Is it a screen saver issue? I have not had any issues yet with just blanking my screen, say after 5 mins, but some screen savers can muck it up.
Disable the Windows Fast User switching option.

The GPU Whitelist

OK, the GPU White list. Here you can verify your GPU is listed and supported. Now even though your card IS listed, it doesn't mean it will work. Older gen cards that are no longer supported, are still listed. But, if you card is not even listed, then it will not work, period. Sometimes replacing/updating this file can fix issues, especially if your system has not been able to download an updated one for some time.

The latest GPUs.txt file can be found here. This thread also explains how to replace and find the location for your OS version.

This is the link to an older version of the thread, but still valid. http://foldingforum....f4fb96e4d0d9d11

Also instructions on that post about getting your Vendor and Device ID which you will need.

Location of GPUs.txt

Method 1 (Windows XP/7/Vista)
1) Click the Start Button
2) Click on All Programs
3) Click on FAHClient folder
4) Click on Data Directory folder
5) A window will open which will contain F@files and folders
6) You will see either GPUs or GPUs.txt file, depending on the OS settings

Method 2 (Windows 8/8.x)
1) Click the Start Button or the lower left corner of the task bar
2) Right click on the Start Screen
3) Select All apps
4) Scroll until you see FAHClient
5) Click on Data Directory folder
6) A window will open which will contain F@files and folders
7) You will see either GPUs or GPUs.txt file, depending on the OS settings

Method 3 (Windows)
1) Type %AppData%\FAHClient in Windows Explorer and hit Enter
2) A window will open which will contain F@files and folders
3) You will see either GPUs or GPUs.txt file, depending on the OS settings

Method 4 (Linux)
1) Navigate to /var/lib/fahclient
2) You will see F@files and folders
3) You will see the GPUs.txt file

To get VendorID:DeviceID

These can be obtained by running gpu-z and looking six lines down for "device ID" or by running fahclient --lspci (with two dashes) or by looking at the device properties in your device manager. Download the latest copy of GPUs.txt and search for those device codes.

AMD GPU issues

Spoiler

Update May 2015 - Some issues have been reported with 7970 and older series cards getting low PPD with the newer drivers. The issue seems related to a new OpenCL driver. You need to do a clean install and go back to 14.9. Thanks to @Xsilent(X)

Note - this is an issue with the older AMD Driver - should not be an issue now unless running older cards or drivers.

Lot of people have been reporting their AMD cards when folding only using very low GPU power = 50-75%. This is a driver issue. So essentially need to remove the current driver, run a cleaner program, and then install an older one.

6000 series cards seem pretty good up until 12.10, but 7000 series cards seem really unstable after 12.8. But, if you want the newer drivers for gaming or such, may be beneficial to simply disable GPU folding and only do SMP until AMD driver issues get all resolved.

NOTE: 13.1 are buggy for most cards - do not use. 13.4 does seem to be working better

Also - I am using 12.10 - there is a HUGE bug in the 12.11 drivers, which were beta. Check this link:
http://www.overclock...eta-drivers/130
You can read all of it, I did most. Basically need to clean your system and go back to 12.8 for the best or use one of the cutomized 12.11 versions. This affects GPU usage. On 12.10 I am gettting 95-100 usage - just wacks the heck out of my CPU.

Also has links and info on the cleaner program.

UPDATE: Feb 15th, there is a new post on the overclock site with more info on the newer drivers and support.
http://www.overclock...-1-wqhl-drivers

Overclocking

Spoiler

Most people like to get the most out of their system and so with after market coolers, OC'ing has become very popular. Note though that FAH is VERY susceptible to failing when components are OC'ed, more so the GPU then the CPU. It is generally recommended to not have any OC on the GPU, except in the case of a factory OC. The few extra points you might get are outweighed by the number of failed WU's you will most likely get. CPU folding is typically more resilient to mild and medium OC's. However, high end OC's requiring a lot of extra volts will also typically fail.

Question: I've overclocked my CPU, will folding hurt it?

Not if you've got a solid Prime95 stable machine, it should be fine. If your computer is unstable then you may encounter problems. FAH does not stress the computer as bad as hardcore benchmarking, but it does heat up your CPU. Make sure you have proper cooling on your solution.

Question: I've overclocked my GPU, will folding hurt it?

Just like the CPU, you can overclock the GPU a bit, but, GPU Folding is much more sensitive to overclocks. If you find you are getting failed WU’s. then back off your overclock. Also, overclocking the GPU will generate a lot more heat. Make sure you have a adequate cooling solution for the card and are able to get fresh air to it.

Slot sitting at 99%

Spoiler

So... your GPU or SMP work slot is showing 99% and you think it should be submitted... but it sits there... and sits there... Hours later, still nothing.

Couple of options...

Option 1

Because your client cannot contact the proper server to submit the WU to.

One of the reasons for this can be that the server you are trying to submit to, is actually down.
At various times Pande Group takes servers down for maintenance and also sometimes, well, they just crash.

So, to see if this is the issue in fact or is it your local system...

In the FAH Client software, Advanced Control, you can click on the LOG tab. This is where we will find out what is going on. Scrolling through, you may see something similar to this:

06:46:42:WU03:FS01:Connecting to assign-GPU.stanford.edu:8080
06:46:42:WU03:FS01:News: Welcome to Folding@Home
06:46:42:WARNING:WU03:FS01:Failed to get assignment from 'assign-GPU.stanford.edu:8080': Empty work server assignment
06:46:42:ERROR:WU03:FS01:Exception: Could not get an assignment
06:47:23:WU01:FS00:Sending unit results: id:01 state:SEND error:NO_ERROR project:11292 run:10 clone:44 gen:26 core:0x16 unit:0x000000386652edbc4d07b9925ed005c3
06:47:23:WU01:FS00:Uploading 2.37MiB to 171.67.108.44
06:47:23:WU01:FS00:Connecting to 171.67.108.44:8080
06:47:23:WU02:FS01:Sending unit results: id:02 state:SEND error:NO_ERROR project:11292 run:15 clone:32 gen:13 core:0x16 unit:0x0000003f6652edbc4d07b9a8362dc8f7
06:47:23:WU02:FS01:Uploading 2.37MiB to 171.67.108.44
06:47:23:WU02:FS01:Connecting to 171.67.108.44:8080
06:47:44:WARNING:WU01:FS00:WorkServer connection failed on port 8080 trying 80
06:47:44:WU01:FS00:Connecting to 171.67.108.44:80
06:47:44:WARNING:WU02:FS01:WorkServer connection failed on port 8080 trying 80
06:47:44:WU02:FS01:Connecting to 171.67.108.44:80

Now, what you are seeing is my client is failing to connect on various ports to the IP of the server. In this case, 171.67.108.44. Ahh... why?

Now, go to this site which shows the status of all the servers:

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/pybeta/serverstat.html

Now, do a search and find the IP your system is looking for. You can see "status" and "connect". What you don't want to see under the Status is down. If it says that, then you cannot submit. If it says full, then you system just needs to keep trying...

In the case of DOWN, well, at least you know it isn't your local system. Options? Couple... wait for it to come online. Maybe hours... maybe days. But once it does, you will submit. If it is down to long eventually your WU will expire and you will start on a new one. Or you can delete the slots and then re-create it. Should get new ones. BUT - all the work you have done will been wasted and you get no credits for it.

Also - be careful on just deleting and resetting WU's. This isn't so much an issue on GPU ones, other than the wasted time, but on SMP ones, you have to maintain an 80% return rate to keep your passkey active get your bonus PPD. Wipe out to many and you will drop below this. If you drop too far, it is really hard to get this back above 80%

So, just a couple of things to check... other than the normal, can I browse the internet on the actual system, kind of thing. You should also be able to ping and browse to those server IP addresses. If the server is up and responding, then browsing to the IP on port 80 should bring up a page saying "OK".

Option 2

As well, this can be caused by a driver crash. Sometimes pausing the slot, closing the client (maybe a reboot) and restarting will clear this up.

Option 3

The WU isn't actually at 99%, although the bar says it is. Again, check the log and make sure it is actually showing 99% in the log. If not, typically restarting the client will clear this up.

If all else fails, start a new thread detailing the issues, and paste in your log file for others to have a look at.

Troubleshoot "no connection"

Spoiler

On the client system, simply try browsing to http://assign.stanford.edu:8080/and http://assign.stanford.edu:80/. Both pages should come up saying OK. This helps confirm that at least you can get to the work servers from your client.

You can also check all the FAH servers status by going here http://fah-web.stanford.edu/pybeta/serverstat.html

Trouble shooting, error codes

Spoiler

When troubleshooting some aspects of your folding, you can click on the LOG tab and see what the client is doing. You can also check to view data on specific slots and such. Usually if you are having a problem, specific error codes are kicked out.

Here is a link describing a lot of them.
http://fahwiki.net/i...oreStatus_codes

Abbreviations

Spoiler

WU – Work Unit; what the client downloads, processes and then sends back
QRB – Quick Return Bonus; all work units have a bonus, the faster you return a completed work unit, the more points you collect. You need a passkey as well for these.
FAH or F@H – Folding At Home client
CoreX - All WU's assigned are part of Core series. Each Core series has some specific aspects about it that make it different from others. The current common ones you hear mentioned a lot are the GPU cores, Core15, Core17 and Core18.
AS - Assignment Server, the server which assigns a client to a Work Server
CS - Collection Server, a server specifically configured to accept uploads which, for some reason, cannot be uploaded to the primary WS
DC - Distributed Computing
PPD - Points Per Day, one method of estimating the productivity / speed of a computer. (Also PPW or PPH, depending on the time interval.)
PRCG - The unique identifier for a single unit, consisting of the Project number, Run, Clone version, and Generation (projects start at G0)
SMP - Symmetric MultiProcessing (multi-core CPUs and the like)
TPF - Time Per Frame, how long it takes for one frame, or one percent of a work unit, to complete.
WS - Work Server, a FAH server which distributes work and accepts results for several FAH projects.

Will Folding work on my Phi or Tesla cards?

Spoiler

Short answer is no.

The FAH team focus their efforts on the clients for mainstream hardware, that can also return the projects in a reasonable time. So, developing a client for something like a Pi, or the iPhone, or Android, would be time and resource consuming. Given that not a single current WU could actually be completed by one of these devices and many of them don't even support Floating Point calculations, whole new Cores and projects would need to be developed. So, in the end it would be a LOT of resource for what would probably amount to very little gain.

An excellent post in regards to this and ARM - courtesy of @warmon6 - https://foldingforum...hp?f=38&t=13821

FYI - as of March 2014, the new Chrome browser folding app is out, as of now only supports AMD or Intel CPU's but there is hope it will soon support other chips, so folding on phones and tablets will be possible.

Update - Fall 2014 - FAH team is working on an Android client. Right now testing only on some Sony handsets. Stay tuned.

Remotely managing clients

Spoiler

To remotely manage another system, you have a few options and one Don't. To simply "monitor" remote systems, use something like HFM.Net.

Do not use the RDP client built into many version of Windows to remotely manage a system running FAH client. The method used can cause your folding to fail.

A couple of options that many users use are TeamViewer and VNC. Both of these are available for Windows. For ubuntu, you can also install a version of VNC for remote control.

Monitoring clients via HFM.net

Spoiler

This is a program you can use on a PC to monitor other systems and to see a consolidated view of all your folding (client folding, not Chrome folding). I like it more than just by adding clients into the “Advanced” view of FAH. It has a lot more detail and shows everything at one glance, you do not need to cycle through clients. Also, for those of us running old v6 client (linux, Ubuntu, etc.) it can monitor both v6 and v7

Adding v6 Clients

Pretty straight forward. On the menu bar, click “Clients” and then add a legacy v6 client. From the pop up, enter a name. This would just be a descriptive name shown in HFM. Everything else entered can be left at default. For the “log folder” enter in your IP plus the FAH share, which by default is always the same – so Then click on “Test Connection” and it should work and then click ok and the client will populate the main screen.

On the client though, you also need to make a SAMBA share, sharing the data directory. If you use the script provided over at [H]ard for Ubuntu, it does all this for you.

Adding v7 Clients

This one takes a bit of work – you have to configure both the Folding client system and the HFM app. On the computer running the HFM software, I recommend, but not required, you set a static IP. On the FAH Client, you need to tell it was IP of allowed remote connections, so if your IP changes do to DHCP, you will need to update things… on we go.

FAH Client Config

First, you need to run FAH in the Advanced mode. In there, click on the “Configure” button. You now click on the “Remote Access” tab. Here is where you configure the client to allow HFM to connect. In the Password section, just enter in some random and easy password. Leave the port as the default. In the IP Address Restrictions section, you will see 172.0.0.1 is already added to the Allow part. Now, click in there, space after the .1 and then add in the IP of the HFM client. On mine this looks like “127.0.0.1 192.168.200.50” – this is where a static IP for the HFM system is handy. If it’s IP changes, you need to come back and change this. You could also do a range, like “127.0.0.1 192.168.200.0/24” which would allow the entire 192.168.200.x network access. That might be easier. In the Passwordless IP Address Restriction section, I also have the same as above entered in the allow field.

Now, you need to go into your local firewall program and make an exception for the port – 36330. Which is why I say leave it on default – just open it on ever client you are monitoring. Please don't ask me how to make exceptions on X or Y firewall or AV program. Please Google it. Here are basic ones for Windows Firewall:

http://windows.micro...indows-firewall

http://www.dummies.c...7-firewall.html

Now, critical part – you have to stop Folding on the client and then completely exit the program and then restart it. Otherwise, your remote access changed will not take effect. Any time you modify it, you have to exit out of Folding and restart it.

HFM Client Config

As with the version 6 client, click on the “Clients” menu and then add a version 7 client. On the pop up, enter a descriptive client name. The address is the IP of the remote system and password is the password you entered on the client. Click on test connection and when passed, click OK. Added. J

Issues I have seen not being able to add clients are typically the port isn’t opened or FAH was not completely shut down and restarted on the remote client.

HMF.net Final Config

Click on the File menu option then “Save Configuration”. Accept the default spot and just save your config with some name. If you don’t do this, every time you run HFM you will need to re-add all the clients. It does not auto save. Any time you make changes, you need to save you config.

Go in the Edit section, choose “Preferences”. Set the refresh for client data to something like 15 minutes. You don’t need it very often and just generates more network traffic. Click on the “Options” tab and in the sections for “Calculate PPD based on:” set this to “Effective Rate”. Otherwise it sometimes will not show PPD for beta WU’s. Sometimes, it still won’t. Nothing you can do about that.

You can also click on Tools and then the “Download Projects from Stanford” to get updated WU info and project data – but a lot of the time beta info is not included.

Finally, right-click on the bar that has all the heading titles and you can choose which ones to show and not show. I do NOT show failed WU’s – HFM has a bug where every time a GPU slot pauses it shows as a failed WU in HFM – which it isn’t – it is just paused. I deselect a bunch and then resize the screen… Click on save config and it will be this way next time you run it.

Monitoring clients with FAH Client

Spoiler

You can use the local FAH client as well, to monitor clients, on your local network. You could do this through a firewall, but that would need more config then what I want to go into with this (port forwarding and such)

In your "main" FAH client, you client on the "add" option in the Clients via, where it normally lists just local, your local client.

In the pop up, add a descriptive name, then the IP and port (best bet, leave as default) and a password, if you put this on the other client. Click save.

On your remote client, first, make sure the firewall on the computer has that port (36330 by default). Then client the Configure button in the Advanced view. Click on remote access tab.Just set the password to something simple. Then in the the two areas below, for the "allowed" ips, enter in "127.0.0.1,192.168.1.0/24" or whatever you local network is. Also notice, no space after the comma. Then you should be able to monitor, pause, start, etc. folding on your remote clients.

CPU utilization High

Spoiler

At this point, it is recommended to upgrade to the latest client version. But, if for some reason you are using older version...

Here is a better description of the problem, the way it is understood, FAH will give back CPU when other applications requests it, due to it's low priority. However, on the V7 client, this does not happen. While I have no problem running my computer at 100% when I don't use it, something is going awry and it makes it very difficult to use the computer when FAH is running (freezes, slow rendering of simple things such as browser pages, etc.). I tried configuring FAH Control to limit the CPU usage to anywhere between 99% and 2%, and it simply does not work.

There are a couple of thing here...

I had the same problem, yet then I quickly found out that when I was surfing the web in Firefox the problem was that it was trying to use "Hardware Acceleration". Go into Settings and Advanced and de-select "use hardware acceleration" when possible. Do the same with flash as well if you’re trying to use that. On my old 8600GT this allowed me to continue using the internet and listening to music/watching videos without lag even though the GPU was running 100%.
If you go into Expert mode and edit the Slot config for the CPU core, the default setting is -1 (use all available cores). You can actually change this. If you have a 4 core system, change it to 2 (6 cores to 4 or 2, etc.). You will still see load across all cores, but now should be lower.
From the GUI you can also Pause your folding while you do something intensive, like playing a game, then re-enable once done. Note - Pausing and/or stopping folding frequently will affect your PPD's.

How to remove a work unit

Spoiler

Stop the client:

Go into Start -> All Programs -> FAHClient -> then in there you should see an option to open the data directory. In here there is the "work" folder. In that folder are numbers corresponding to the slots. Go into the one that corresponds to the slot having issues and delete everything in there.

Restart client...

Dedicate GPU Folder

Spoiler

Make sure you read the manual on any potential boards you look at. Although the board may have a bunch of x16, x4, x1 slots, it may not support all of them being active at the same time. Usualy due to bandwidth (channel) limitations or electrical wiring. The MSI Z77A-GD65 board has 3 x 16x slots and 4 x 1x slots. If all three x16's slots are used, only 1 x1 slot works. If 2 x 16x slots are used, 3 of the 1x slots. If one particular x1 slot is used, the other three x1 slots are disabled. This is due to how everything is electrically wired. So, on a board with 7 PCIe slots, I could only get a max of 5 cards running at one time.

F@H Web Client Dark Skin with PPD comparison by GPU / WU

<Disclaimer: Being this is fan made and submitted by one of our own members, I have decided to include as it is an incredibly positive contribution to the community.>

Submitted by @LAR_Systems

Extremely helpful chrome extension for F@H. (Works for MS Edge users as well)

Spoiler

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1200195-fh-web-client-dark-skin-with-ppd-comparison-by-gpu-wu/

THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL PROJECT AND IS IN NO WAY DIRECTLY SUPPORTED OR AFFILIATED WITH LTT, IT'S FAN / ENTHUSIAST MADE.

The website with GPU/WU database: https://folding.lar.systems/
The dark mode extension link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/folding-at-home-in-the-da/alpjkkbjnbkddolgnicglknicbgfahoe

(note the screen shot on the chrome store page is the default skin, did not want to show the LTT skin as LMG does not know I did this and the skin is unofficial)

To use the extension in Chrome:

Make sure F@H is running on your system.
Install the "Folding in the dark at home" extension https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/folding-at-home-in-the-da/alpjkkbjnbkddolgnicglknicbgfahoe
Navigate to your local F@H client URL https://client.foldingathome.org/

THIS IS A BETA VERSION: So please be gentle as I could only test it so far on Windows 10 with the last 2 versions of the F@H software and right now it's only available for Chrome. This is an evenings and weekends type project so any bug fixes need will be applied as so as I can.

The Team LTT Skin:

Goals of the extension:

Look easy on the eyes, especially at night, while helping new folders to team LTT by showing a specific LTT folding skin variant if they set us as the team correctly, saw a number of people during the event that put in the team number off by 1 so yeah... (it has a default skin for other teams)
- A sub component of the LTT skin is so that if they show the team in an LMG video again perhaps they will know they have it set to LTT and not PCMR
Reduce new folder questions to @GOTSpectrum and the event thread that are related to PPD performance
- For PPD the client collects once an hour a users PPD, GPU and WU to build a database of PPD averages by GPU and WU ID.
- The client then pulls from this database and displays to the user if there PPD is currently above or below the average based on their GPU and the specific WU to reduce questions like "I hear my GPU should get 2mil points, but i'm only getting 1.5mil?" because it varies by WU
- The client uses the baseline for your GPU and the WU to show a real time indicator of % above or below the average so a user can visualize how variable PPD is on a WU while it folds different parts and if the user changes settings or usage on their machine such as competing GPU usage or over/under clocking.
Reduce badge request thread stuff for forum admins.
- When the client is set to team LTT it shows what forum F@H badge level you are eligible for with a link to the forum based ONLY on points submitted to team LTT to avoid confusion over a users total points (for no or other teams) vs LTT specific points.
Provide a data backed GPU PPD database that is always current
- The dark mode skin has direct links to https://folding.lar.systems/ which posts publicly the GPU PPD averages based on real world user submitted conditions such as changing cores, all WUs blended etc. which is useful to gauge if you're getting the most out of your card or inform buying additional ones for folding. https://folding.lar.systems/folding_data/gpu_ppd_overall
- There is also detailed breakdowns of a GPU model that shows how different WUs performance work to better see the variance in a cards performance.
  RTX 2080 Super Example - https://folding.lar.systems/folding_data/gpu_ppd_profile?gpu_model=GeForce RTX 2080 Super
- Don't see your GPU on the list, just start using the extension and it will become available in a few hours as data samples are collected and processed, the more people that use the extension the more GPUs and WUs in the database.
- The long term goal here is to no longer have to guess what current, older or cloud GPUs can do in terms of PPD we will have real world backed data.
  - The PPD scores will adjust over time based on most recent data to account for changes to cores and drivers.
Super user features
- You can run the extension with the query string parameter ?nofade=true added to the end of the URL to prevent the web client from sleeping for always on monitoring. Note this mode disables viewing your F@H total scores to be kind to the F@H API providing it that does not expect those calls 24/7.

I have lots of other ideas for the client and PPD database site but need users and interest to have GPU data samples from use to get there so please give it a look.

Cheers, and thanks for all the fun it's been so far folding with team LTT.

This topic is the combined and updated version of several previous topics. This was created in an order to centralize and tidy the Subforum a bit.

"Folding@Home Install Guide and Links - LinusTechTips_Team - 223518" by @Whaler_99
"GPU Folding Facts and Fiction - Configuration and Settings" by @Whaler_99
"For Folding Users - Tips, Tricks and FAQ - Updated July 2016" by @Whaler_99
"F@H Web Client Dark Skin with PPD comparison by GPU / WU" by @LAR_Systems

Just to ease page loading the bulk of information will be contained in Spoilers.

This topic will be a locked topic. Any updates, changes, suggestions, and such can be sent to me by PM and I will incorporate them as time allows.

Topics Originally created by @Whaler_99in January 2013. Thank you and we miss seeing you around.

Reorganized and updated by @SansVarnic April 17th, 2021

All links are current as of posting. (I made sure, if not, let me know and I will correct them).

All contributors (that I am aware of over the years) to this information are as follows:

If I missed someone, I apologize.

@Whaler_99 @leadeater @Whiskers @Xsilent(X)@Spotty @Ithanul @Ryan_Vickers @iamdarkyoshi

Edited October 20, 2023 by SansVarnic
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