Project time length, and whether to set for 10MB+ file sizes

[zanthal]

I used the installation selection on your download page, the MSI.

No problems with install. I checked my unitinfo.txt file to see what had been done after a few minutes, and this leads to my questions:

1) I think my PC can handle the extra memory requirements for the 10MB+ files in the configuration settings, so I tried that after running it without that box checked for a while. It doesn't seem to use any more or less memory or CPU resources whether the box is checked or not. Will I not notice any system usage changes until it's completed the current work unit?

2) It appears you give a system with the program installed about 25 days to complete each work unit. I have a fairly quick system, how long can I expect for it to take to finish a work unit, with the default settings? What's a good estimate of time to completion based on whether you accept 10MB+ file sizes or not?


Thanks very much for the information

[toTOW]

The setting for 10MB assignments has nothing to do with time needed to process the WU. Also, it's just a preference that you indicates, and you might not be assigned bigger WUs if there are no one available.

This setting has to so with download and/or upload sizes. Usually, bigger input/output files are related to memory requirements, but that's not guaranteed.

This setting is also not used for all clients : for instance, on SMP client, this setting is hard coded into this kind of assignments. On GPU clients, there is usually no WUs for this specific setting, which means that you'll get the same assignments whether the setting is enabled or not.

[Zagen30]

What hardware is in your system? It sounds like you've downloaded the uniprocessor client, v6.23. This is the standard client that can run on almost any hardware, but it's rather slow as it only uses one CPU core. If you have a multi-core system (which I'm assuming your statement "I have a fairly quick system" suggests), you may want to look into installing the SMP client, v6.41, found on the High Performance/Beta download page (link's at the bottom of the main download page next to the big red Beta symbol) or v7, the latest version (it's still in beta, but it's a fairly stable beta), and setting up an SMP slot (should be the default installation option in a multi-core system). SMP units can use all of your CPU's cores and finish a lot faster.

[Jesse_V]

Course then there's always the GPU client. Some settings like the "larger WU" setting don't take effect until the next unit starts, if they make a noticeable effect at all. How long the work units take depends on a variety of factors, including drivers, speed of your system, and what project you were assigned. Its difficult to say for sure how long something will take on your system, especially because you didn't post your specs. On my laptop the SMP takes 16-17 hours to complete one WU, and the GPU work units take about 7 hours to complete. Your mileage will vary of course. I have the impression you will have no problem meeting the deadline.

[zanthal]

I finally saw the unitinfo.txt file show progress ...

This is my system specs, and yes if the GPU client is the one with the nifty display, that's the one I downloaded.


Operating System
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon II X3 450 22 °C
Rana 45nm Technology
RAM
8.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 801MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
ASRock 770 Extreme3 (CPUSocket) 32 °C
Graphics
HP L1755 @ 1280x1024
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Hard Drives
313GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD322GJ ATA Device (SATA) 27 °C
244GB Seagate ST3250620A ATA Device (PATA) 28 °C
Optical Drives
GTODWR O5AF8LQ7S SCSI CdRom Device
Optiarc DVD RW AD-7260S ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

[Zagen30]

The regular CPU client came with a display as well.

Go look in the log file for what the full version number of the client is. If it's version 6.41, then you're running the GPU client. If it's 6.23 or 6.34, then it's the uniprocessor client or the SMP client, respectively. You could also see what hardware it detected.

[zanthal]

I'm running 6.23

If I change versions will it mess with the progress of my current work unit?

[Zagen30]

The GPU client can be run alongside the CPU client, so there's no need to uninstall the CPU client. Just install the GPU client (it's located on the advanced/beta downloads page, link is at the bottom of the main download page) and both your CPU and GPU will be folding.

You may also be interested to know that 6.23 doesn't fully utilize your CPU. The work units it gets will only run on one CPU core. To use all of them, you can either install more copies of the uni client or install one copy of the SMP client (also found on the advanced/beta download page), which will use as many cores as it can. If you go SMP you should ideally let the uni WU finish, uninstall 6.23, then install the SMP client.

[zanthal]

That's helpful, thanks.