TPU's WCG/BOINC Team

[PHaS3]

The CPU % can be a little misleading. It's not a load based % but a time loaded %:

100%: it runs all the time.
90%: 9 second run, 1 second idle.
80%: 4 second run, 1 second idle.
70%: 3 second run, 1 second idle, 2 second run, 1 second idle, 3 second run, etc.
60%: 1 second run, 1 second idle, 2 second run, 1 second idle, 1 second run, etc.
50%: 1 second run, 1 second idle, 1 second run, 1 second idle, etc.
40%: 1 second run, 1 second idle, 1 second run, 2 seconds idle, 1 second run, etc.
30%: 1 second run, 1 second idle, 1 second run, 3 seconds idle, 1 second run, 2 seconds idle, etc.
20%: 1 second run, 4 seconds idle, 1 second run, 4 seconds idle, etc.
10%: 1 second run, 9 seconds idle.
0%: It's paused.

To the best of my knowledge there's no way to set it as anything else.

That is a bit... misleading...

The maximum CPU time is still at 100%, so that isnt the issue. I limited the number of processors to use in a multiprocessor system to 50% (see attached), so I am not sure if we are on the same page

Thanks for the reply

 

[KieX]

That is a bit... misleading...

The maximum CPU time is still at 100%, so that isnt the issue. I limited the number of processors to use in a multiprocessor system to 50% (see attached), so I am not sure if we are on the same page

Thanks for the reply

Ok, I think I get you now.

The way BOINC is setup you'd need to set affinity to each of the WU's that are being worked on. But each time you start a new WU you'd need to do that again, which isn't pratical.

Had a quick search through the BOINC forum and seems this is a question that has popped up a few times, but there hasn't been any resolution.

 

[twilyth]

Ok, I think I get you now.

The way BOINC is setup you'd need to set affinity to each of the WU's that are being worked on. But each time you start a new WU you'd need to do that again, which isn't pratical.

Had a quick search through the BOINC forum and seems this is a question that has popped up a few times, but there hasn't been any resolution.

Process lasso has an option to set the default affinity for any process. And since you can use wildcards in specifying the name, with a few entries, you should be able to set the default affinity as you please for almost any wcg work unit - just by using the first few characters.

The only problem is that I can't get it to work. Either, I'm not using the wild cards properly, I don't understand what the feature is really supposed to do or I'm just generally screwing up.

If anyone tries this and gets it to work, please post about it.

Edit: Process lasso is free for the basic version. This may have the default affinity featured enabled. You'll have to check.

 

[PHaS3]

Ok, I think I get you now.

The way BOINC is setup you'd need to set affinity to each of the WU's that are being worked on. But each time you start a new WU you'd need to do that again, which isn't pratical.

Had a quick search through the BOINC forum and seems this is a question that has popped up a few times, but there hasn't been any resolution.

Oh lol ok. Thanks man appreciate your assistance. I will leave it as it is then. Hopefully one day the software will be sorted out. I realised the Work Unit thing initially... which sucks. Oh well

thanks again

 

[PHaS3]

Process lasso has an option to set the default affinity for any process. And since you can use wildcards in specifying the name, with a few entries, you should be able to set the default affinity as you please for almost any wcg work unit - just by using the first few characters.

The only problem is that I can't get it to work. Either, I'm not using the wild cards properly, I don't understand what the feature is really supposed to do or I'm just generally screwing up.

If anyone tries this and gets it to work, please post about it.

Edit: Process lasso is free for the basic version. This may have the default affinity featured enabled. You'll have to check.

Thanks Twilyth, I will have a look into that as an option.

 

[twilyth]

Also - check this out - i think it is precisely what you need.

WinAFC

WinAFC is a configurable program for controlling CPU affinities and priority settings of Windows applications.

Its main features are:

Affinity and priority settings according to custom profiles defined by the user.
Custom profiles specify application name, CPU mask, and optional attributes.
Detection of asymmetrical CPU configurations such as the Intel Quad Core processors - it detects which pairs of cores share an L2 cache.
CPU masks may specify logical CPU IDs to take advantage of asymmetrical CPU features depending on the architecture.
Handles affinity settings for both processes and threads.
For parallel applications CPUs can be assigned in a round robin fashion (random) or using a balancing strategy.
Balancing can be done based on either memory or CPU usage.

Here are some examples

Example 3 [txt]

In this scenario the user runs one Windows SMP client, one process per core. In this case, the optimum process assignment would be to use a balancing policy that offers the best utilization of the shared L2 caches.

We want to assign the process with the largest working set and the process with the smallest working set to cores on the same die. The middle two processes should be assigned to the second die. We can write this policy as follows:

D:\Folding@Home\FAH6.22-win32-SMP\FahCore_*.exe := PAIR0::CPU1+PAIR1+PAIR0::CPU0 [assign=1,resource=MEMUSE,policy=PSEUDOBALANCED]

Make sure that the profile definition is not split onto multiple lines or the parser will generate an error. Notice how we used a wildcard again to match any core that the Stanford people might throw at us.

Notice also how we specified the CPU mask. By using a balancing policy and resource=MEMUSE, processes are sorted by the amount of memory they use. They are assigned to CPUs, one CPU per process, in the order in which CPUs are listed. As a result, the largest process will be assigned to PAIR0::CPU1, next two processes are assigned to PAIR1::CPU0 and PAIR1::CPU1, and the smallest process is assigned to PAIR0::CPU0.

This is the optimal theoretical assignment for this scenario. However, I have no idea if it will make a significant difference in practice compared to a random assignment of one process per CPU. In any case, there should be no other assignment that would do better with a single SMP client on an Intel Quad.

Example 4 [txt]

User runs two Windows SMP clients. We assign each client to two cores that share an L2 cache. The two SMP clients are installed in different directories. We use this information to distinguish between their processes:

D:\Folding@Home\FAH6.22-win32-SMP1\FahCore_*.exe := PAIR0 [assign=1,resource=CPUUSE,policy=PSEUDOBALANCED]
D:\Folding@Home\FAH6.22-win32-SMP2\FahCore_*.exe := PAIR1 [assign=1,resource=CPUUSE,policy=PSEUDOBALANCED]

Example 5 [txt]

This scenario is not inspired by FAH. In fact it is fully fictional. I do not see why anybody would manage affinity for all programs in "C:\Program Files\". The example is provided to introduce two more keywords that were not mentioned before.

If you have a very general template that matches many programs, but you do not want to apply this or any other profile to a few select programs, you can specify a template for programs to be skipped and later write the more general template to be applied to the remaining programs.

For example, let's say we want to set affinity for all processes located in C:\Program Files\, except for MS Office processes, to run on all available CPUs.

First, we write the more restrictive template. We use keyword SKIP instead of a CPU mask, which causes these processes to not have their affinity modified from their current settings.

C:\Program File\Microsoft Office\* := SKIP

Next, we write the template for all processes in C:\Program Files. We use keyword ALL to specify all available CPUs.

C:\Program File\* := ALL

Example 6 [txt]

Finally, let's assume you want to reset the affinity of all processes and threads to use all available CPUs. You can do this with a very simple profile:

* := ALL [threads=yes]

By using the threads=yes optional attribute, we indicate that all threads of all matching processes should have their affinity set to all available CPUs.

The single '*' will match all running processes. Starting with version 0.82 this includes most of System processes as well as processes running under different user accounts. So use it carefully.

download page - http://sourceforge.net/projects/affinitychanger/files/latest/download

 

[PHaS3]

Thanks Twilyth.

Right now Process Lasso is working, but I will try WinAFC too, seems better suited...

Thanks again

 

[Chicken Patty]

2600k should be here today! Huge thanks to KieX, lightning fast shipping!

 

[brandonwh64]

2600k should be here today! Huge thanks to KieX, lightning fast shipping!

You got a killer deal! 2600K should crunch the hell out of some numbers!

i may start looking for a CHEAP 1055T for my cruncher to get full 6 cores going

 

[Chicken Patty]

Sure did, he made it all possible bro.

 

[KieX]

Thanks Twilyth.

Right now Process Lasso is working, but I will try WinAFC too, seems better suited...

Thanks again

Good to hear that's working.

2600k should be here today! Huge thanks to KieX, lightning fast shipping!

Let me know if there's any probs. They're all under warranty and insured delivery

 

[Chicken Patty]

Will do bro, I'm not wasting anytime, setting it up today!

 

[Bow]

 

[Radical_Edward]

Okay guys, last chance to donate to the MDA to "bail me out"!

Here's the link

 

[mstenholm]

? sure you are in the right place?

Mood get this one (one post above) in General something or get rid of it all together

 

[brandonwh64]

I wonder how long it will take to get my crunching badge back?

*EDIT*

looks like not long at all!

 

[Radical_Edward]

? sure you are in the right place?

Mood get this one (one post above) in General something or get rid of it all together

I'm posting it here because it's something us crunchers fight anyways. Two guys from the team have already donated.

 

[Jstn7477]

What are the requirements for the WCG cruncher badge? I was folding and crunching when they were introduced, Folding one has always worked as expected, but I've never ever gotten a WCG badge. My ID on WCG is Jstn7477 and I've been attached to TPU for like 2 years now.

 

[KieX]

What are the requirements for the WCG cruncher badge? I was folding and crunching when they were introduced, Folding one has always worked as expected, but I've never ever gotten a WCG badge. My ID on WCG is Jstn7477 and I've been attached to TPU for like 2 years now.

To earn the badge you need 100,000 Boinc points (700,000WCG). Then once you hit that it will continue to appear as long as you remain active.

Looking at your stats, you're 56% of the way there. If you keep up your current 2-3K you should be there in about 15 days

 

[twilyth]

I think he also has to put his WCG name in the appropriate box under 'User CP --> edit options'

 

[Jstn7477]

Yeah, I already had my names there from 2 years ago, just looks like I didn't meet the points criteria yet. My recent activity is from 50% of a 4.4GHz i7-2600K. I will probably bump up the resource allocation to speed things up a bit. Rig is also running F@H v7 beta on a "6970" which uses like 15% CPU and a 1GHz GTX 550 Ti which uses like 1% and gets like double the PPD lol. I'll be hitting a million F@H points in a few days as I'm at 985K @ 11-15K PPD with both cards active.

 

[mjkmike]

Welcome back ChaoticAtmosph...

 

[brandonwh64]

Holy crap! I just noticed I have 235,234 points! Im doing quite well even though I had to take a break!

 

[Chicken Patty]

You've done great bro! Keep it up and don't take anymore breaks.

 

[brandonwh64]

You've done great bro! Keep it up and don't take anymore breaks.

I shouldnt be, It will stay at work 24/7