Folding Forum

Is that the folding CPU still has a future because of the success of the GPU ?

Is that new FAHcore CPU are expected in the future ?

I guess there must be a scientific interest for the use of CPU Client ?

in short I want to know a little more about the future of CPU folding

verlyol wrote:Is that the folding CPU still has a future because of the success of the GPU ?

Is that new FAHcore CPU are expected in the future ?

I guess there must be a scientific interest for the use of CPU Client ?

in short I want to know a little more about the future of CPU folding

Not really related. CPUs do some things well, GPUs do some other things well.

Yes. We always expect new things to come along. FAH often leads the way. First true SMP client, first GPU client, first PS3 client, Chrome NaCl client, etc.

More productions is always of scientific interest. All GPUs need at least one CPU, so might as well fold on both. CPU folding will not go away any time soon.

So do I. As mentioned in the forum several times, newer GROMACS code, if/when ported to a new fahcore, could double the current CPU performance (with AVX support).

Stanford is interested in overall FAH production. Donors tend to focus on their individual FAH production. Your question is a bit like the (not so) recent public outcry about the finances of the 1% vs. the 99%. Both sides of that debate have valid points. In both cases, the answer depends on who you talk to.

Would FAH have developed the NaCl client for low-end CPUs if they didn't expect the number of new CPU-based donors to make it worth the development costs? (There are a lot of people who do not have GPU and still successfully contribute.)
On the other hand, if you have a GPU that produces results at 10x the rate of your CPU, do you consider it worth your while to run both to get 110% of your GPU-only throughput? I happen to, but not everybody agrees.

The answer depends on who you talk to.

Thank you both for your answer

Regarding NaCl is that the beta phase will last a long time ?

I think a lot of people are interested in this new method easily accessible to participate in folding@home...

I'm not sure if they're going to remove the word "beta" from the client description. In fact, the NaCl client hasn't needed (or received) any new bug-fixes in quite some time, so I'd call it stable. It runs inside of the Chrome browser. but isn't supported on tablets/phones because of lack of support from Google.

Try it out. You may like it. Questions can generally be answered here on the forum.

Is that new FAHcore CPU are expected in the future ?

Welcome to the Forum raindropz.

Expect them when they are announced. No reason why not, but only PG know when they need a new core to do new or better science. There is a steady stream of new projects for existing CPU core A4.

Watch the beta forum (read only access unless you're a beta team member) for the earliest public announcements in most cases.