How to become a world class folder?

[RMouse]

No worries, my laptop is nice and toasty warm now folding away.

In case it hasn't been mentioned, make sure your laptop is properly ventilated. If it looks like it blows some of the hot air out of the bottom, try propping up the back end when it's in use to ensure all the hot air isn't getting trapped inside the case. It's rare for FAH to damage hardware, but it's a bit more likely with laptops since their cooling isn't as good as desktops' and it's easier to accidentally block some of the exhaust. Laptop components are designed to handle higher temperatures than their desktop counterparts, but it's still possible for them to overheat (though there's likely measures in place to shut it off if it's running too hot).

Thank you for the concern. This Dell I have vents out the side and has a very large outlet for the air. While it is very warm, it is not too warm to put in my lap. I think it is OK. My MacBok Pro is terrible in this area. I would never fold with that computer as it heats up to 90C or higher when run at full speed, even with the fan on full. It just can't vent heat all that well.

I have run my Dell 5 straight days last week as I was on vacation from work and it ran without a fault during that time.

[bruce]

I wish Mac's were fully supported. I would go hog wild and buy a Mac Pro for this. But without video card support, that seems stupid. What a great excuse to upgrade big.

So does the Pande Group. I'm sure that they plan to improve support in many areas but their budget for development is much smaller than their list of "...wouldn't it be nice if...". Obviously they've been working on V7 for the Mac but they're not there yet. I borrowed a Mac long enough to run a beta version of V7 on it (SMP only) and that part works but it still has a significant list of things that need to be fixed before it's ready to distribute to folks who expect a finished product. GPU support for OS-X or for Linux is obviously also on the wish list, but there's no evidence that they're actively developing that yet (which doesn't prove whether they're working on it or not).

Do not start out with a plan to buy a specific computer just for FAH. If you want a Mac Pro for personal use and you can also use it for folding, then it's a wise purchase. If you want a Windows or Linux desktop machine for personal use and you can also fold on it, then it's a wise purchase. (You've already started along that path because you wanted a laptop and you can also fold on it.) Plan on everything being dual-purpose, at least until you get to the point that you don't want/need any more computers except to add to your folding farm.

Personally, I wouldn't choose a Mac but that's no reason to discourage you if that's what you want. I do know that when buying equivalent hardware exclusively for FAH, a Mac will be more expensive (at least at USA prices) so you do have to factor in your personal desires . . . plus we have no way of guessing if GPU folding will come to the Mac this year or not.

[csvanefalk]

There certainly sure is a lot of computer stuff to learn here and I'm not the best at this subject.

If I can guarantee you one thing - the longer you stay involved in F@H the more you will know about computer stuff

That seems inevitable!

I wish Mac's were fully supported. I would go hog wild and buy a Mac Pro for this. But without video card support, that seems stupid. What a great excuse to upgrade big.

I question if the Mac Pro is worth it from a price-performance standpoint. The specs are here:

http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html

So on the optimal setup, you have 2 Xeon E5645 CPUs. These retail at roughly $570 each. You also get a Radeon 5870, which retails at about $650. Add to that DIMMs, a HDD (say $400 for all of that...and thats a bit of overkill). Thus, for the savvy part of the hardware, you should be paying $2190. Add to that Apples proprietary hardware, the case and blahsay blahsay, and you have yourself a package.

The Mac Pro references above, however, retails at $3800.

For that kind of money, you are already in the range to buy yourself the mother of all folding machines: a 4p AMD Opteron rig.
Or, if you value flexibility and power efficiency more, that kind of money will also get you a 2p Xeon E5 rig.

[iceman1992]

You also get a Radeon 5870, which retails at about $650. Add to that DIMMs, a HDD (say $400 for all of that...and thats a bit of overkill). Thus, for the savvy part of the hardware, you should be paying $2190. Add to that Apples proprietary hardware, the case and blahsay blahsay, and you have yourself a package.

The Mac Pro references above, however, retails at $3800.

For that kind of money, you are already in the range to buy yourself the mother of all folding machines: a 4p AMD Opteron rig.
Or, if you value flexibility and power efficiency more, that kind of money will also get you a 2p Xeon E5 rig.

A Radeon 5870 doesn't retail at $650 surely? It's rather old stuff, as we already have HD7xxx, and are starting to talk about HD8xxx..
I agree though that a 4p opteron rig is a much better buy.. Plus you can customize it all you want. With top grade cooling for example.
For a 24/7 folding rig, it's crucial to get a very efficient PSU with 80+ rating.

[Nathan_P]

Dual hex core xeon rigs can be had for approx $1800 if you look hard enough for cpu's, no need for windows if its for folding or even general use - ubuntu will work OK.

Being a world class folder is not just about the most points, its about knowing and understanding the reasoning behind the project, and helping out where you can, whether its helping other's with problems getting folding to work or recruiting.
For hardware choices look at the top team's forums, they are all full of useful guides on how to make the most of what ever you have and what to avoid when purchasing hardware - there are some lemons out there that need to be avoided

Anyway, enough of my waffle, welcome to our little corner of the internet, enjoy your stay and fold on!!

[Joe_H]

A Radeon 5870 doesn't retail at $650 surely?

Actually the retail price for the Mac 5870 is US $449 bought direct from Apple. There are a few resellers who take advantage of less savvy shoppers and add their own extra profit margin. They can be bought with a 10% discount by those eligible for Apple's educational prices.

Some persons have taken PC versions of the card and flashed the ROM with the Mac firmware successfully. But not easy as the Mac firmware usually takes a larger ROM than the PC version.