Folding Forum

I did some cursory searching for a bit but didn't see anything that really answered my question so I thought I'd post and ask: does PandeGroup have a preferred client?

What I have gathered is that the uniprocessor client is of limited value and that the SMP client is used for explicit solvent computations while the GPU and PS3 clients are used for implicit solvent simulations. So my question is if I have the capability to run just one of the available clients (uniprocessor, GPU, PS3, SMP) which one would PandeGroup prefer I use? I assume PandeGroup is happy to get folding time donations from any of the availabe F@H clients but I'm just curious if there is a preferred client among all the available ones.

There is no preferred client. Even if you think the uniprocessor client has limited value, it's still very valuable to PG. There are some things a uni CPU client can do that the GPU and PS3 clients cannot. Furthermore, the SMP cores are still of experimental nature, and is used more for large proteins.

I'm going to be mean and say bigadv clients since it's not on your list

Actually DanGe doesn't need correction nor addition he's spot on.

High Performance clients, i.e SMP, GPU2, etc., are like battle axes. They cut huge sections of the mathematical problem away... they quickly eliminate the many obviously wrong answers from the big picture. However, to find the best right answers, it takes a finer tool. Think of the many more thousands of CPU clients like tiny chisels chipping away at the calculations to find the precise answers.

Both types of clients are still VERY much in need at F@h.

There is no right answer. Fold with what you got. If it's a simple P4 or Athlon system, the CPU client is the best answer. If you already own a PS3 for gaming, add the F@h client, and fold at night when not gaming. And if you can afford to upgrade in these tough economic conditions, adding a mid to high end GPU to a system that supports PCIe is the quickest and easiest folding upgrade. If you are looking to build a higher end system, an i7 with a high end GPU or 2 is a good target to shoot for. Then run both the SMP and GPU clients.

All depends on your situation...

That's the second good analogy I've seen from you today, 7im. Waxing prosaic as it were. The gumball machine one was excellent.

It has already been said, but let me turn it around and say it in a different way.

The preferred client is the one that works with your hardware.

Do you have a PS3? Then the PS3 client is preferred.
Do you have a supported GPU? Then the GPU client is preferred.
Do you have a multi-cored CPU? Then either the SMP client is preferred (if you're prepared to deal with problems associated with it's beta nature) or multiple CPU clients are preferred.
Do you have a single-cored CPU? Then the classic client is preferred.
Do you have a supported GPU plus unused resources on your single-cored or multi-cored CPU? See the previous recommendations.

(Not all of these apply, depending on whether you run Windows, Linux, OS-X, or PS3.)

OK. I got it. No preferred F@H client. Thanks to all that answered.

To paraphrase Vijay, the clients are like his children. They are all his favorites...

If I had to pick, run as many as you can. And the high performance clients currently earn the most points, so they tend to produce more science but they also may be more complicated to install/maintain.