How to setup the SMP Folding@Home client on your multicore CPU

[MarshallR@ASUS]

http://rog.asus.com/76612012/guides/...n-cpu-and-gpu/

3. Download the High Performance SMP CPU Client for Windows: HERE



Using this client is a little more involved as it requires command line used to setup SMP. AS ROGers we are assuming you’re using a pretty recent CPU with multicores – there’s you will benefit from SMP.

How to install the CPU client and join the ASUS Republic of Gamers Folding@Home Team!
Firstly download the latest SMP client above, then run the application:



Run the executable file and it will open a command box:



Follow the prompts inputting the following:

User Name [Anonymous]?

Enter your username you generated in point 1 on the previous page.

Team Number [0]?

Enter: 183368, for Team ROG.

Passkey []?

Enter your passkey that you created with your username.

Ask before fetching/sending work (no/yes) [no]?

Because of the short deadlines on SMP work assignments, persistent connections are strongly recommended and this option should be set to no. If you want to control your internet connection though, select yes.

Use proxy (yes/no) [no]?

Yes/No depending on your own internet setup.

Acceptable size of work assignment and work result packets (bigger units may have large memory demands) — ‘small’ is <5MB, ‘normal’ is <10MB, and ‘big’ is >10MB (small/normal/big) [normal]? big

This option states a preference for the size of work units downloaded and uploaded to the project servers. Note that all SMP WUs are large in size, so big is the required setting (type in big). Bigger units will also have bigger memory requirements. If you run on a slower broadband or dialup internet connection, small is the recommended setting to ease your bandwidth usage and you may want to switch to the CPU client instead.

Change advanced options (yes/no) [no]? yes

If you want to change the advanced options, enter yes. It is not mandatory but is recommended for SMP installs as you’ll see;

Core Priority (idle/low) [idle]?

This adjusts the FAH client priority level. This is similar to, but not the same as the Windows priority setting. In most cases, the default idle setting is recommended so no need to change.

Note: For better performance when mixing CPU or SMP clients with GPU clients, raise the priority of the GPU clients by selecting the low priority setting but do NOT change the Windows priority settings for the client or fahcore.

CPU usage requested (5-100) [100]?

This will adjust the percentage of CPU usage. The FAH client only uses spare CPU cycles not used by other programs, so reducing this setting is not typically necessary. However, if you want to lower system temperatures, or reserve CPU cycles for more intensive computer tasks, enter a number below 100. In the SMP client, changing this setting does not reduce CPU usage.

Disable highly optimized assembly code (no/yes) [no]?

If you are having issues running the client, disable this. For 99.9% of the users, leave this at the default setting since this reduces the client performance a lot.

Pause if battery power is being used (useful for laptops) (no/yes) [no]?

If you are Folding on a G-series ROG notebook, set this to yes to pause if the laptop is not plugged on the wall. This will avoid the client draining the battery. The ROG team generally recommends NOT running Folding on G-series when on battery power.

Interval, in minutes, between checkpoints (3-30) [15]?

Number of minutes between each checkpoint where the client is writing the client progress to disk in case of unexpected interruption. 15 is the standard and recommended setting.

Memory, in MB, to indicate (1013 available) [1013]?

Sets the amount of memory seen by the work servers. By default, it shows the full system memory amount. Note that reducing this setting does not reserve more memory for other programs. However, reducing this setting will prevent the client from downloading memory intensive work units. A setting too low may prevent the client from getting any new work.

Note: For the SMP client we are using, .5 GB per CPU core is the minimum, while 1 GB per core is recommended. This means if you are running a quad-core like the Core i5-2500K you should have 4GB of memory, while hexa-core Phenom II X6 requires 6GB and a 12-thread Core i7-3930K requires 12GB.

Set -advmethods flag always, requesting new advanced scientific cores and/or work units if available (no/yes) [no]?

This is the same as using the -advmethods command line flag, except -advmethods will not appear on the arguments line in the fahlog. This option states a preference to request late stage beta work units, which may be less stable than regular work units. May cause work unit size and PPD to increase, decrease, or not change.

Ignore any deadline information (mainly useful if system clock frequently has errors) (no/yes) [no]?

Only set this to yes if your local computer clock is having issues keeping the correct date and time.

Machine ID (1-16) [1]?

This is the Machine Number of the client. If you are running more than one client under the same operating system, you need to have a different Machine ID for each client on that machine. If you are installing a single client on multiple computers, you do not need to change this since this is only for installing multiple clients on the same computer.

Launch automatically, install as a service in this directory (yes/no) [no]?

If you want the client to run as a service, say yes and it will install a new entry in the services list. The next time you restart the computer, the service will start automatically and run in the background. SMP as a service is only supported in v6.30 and newer.

Note: The current Windows user account must have Administrator privileges to install FAH as a service. And rebooting the computer to start the client running as a service is required.

The following options require you to restart the client before they take effect Disable CPU affinity lock (no/yes) [no]?

Not useful for SMP since it use all cores. Keep this option as no.

Additional client parameters []?

Here you need to enter the string -smp . Note the – is required too. This sets up the client to always run in SMP mode to use all your CPU cores.

IP address to bind core to (for viewer) []?

For future use when the Viewer is working better. Specifies the IP address of the machine of which the viewer should display the client output. Once this is all running, the client will download the work unit (WU) to process and then proceed to churn through it. Note that this version is less ‘pretty’ than the GPU client with its visual molecule, but it still does the same job.



Let us know how you get on!

[Skull6]

Richard, the interface you show here looks to be command-line. The interface I see is more a gui interface. (Perhaps I have a newer FAH version?) I have my settings the same as you have listed here, mostly. Would you like me to re-install & provide you with screen-caps, to be able to update this outstanding guide?

[xeromist]

That'd be nice. The v7 client is what most people are going to be using now unless they have a very specific need so it couldn't hurt to update our guides accordingly.

[Skull6]

No, after doing some more research, I've discovered the error of my ways. I downloaded the "normal, plain-Jane" version. The version that Richard is producing the guide for is the "high-performance" version.

Looks like I'll be doing a bit more downloading & installing this evening.

[xeromist]

The v7 client has pretty much all of the capabilities of the old clients so they aren't really more high performance. The v7 can even set folding to run as a service so there are very few situations that require the legacy clients.

[Skull6]

OK. I'll start screen-capping & writing up a draft guide tonight--in between loads of laundry & cooking dinner.

When I set up mine (v.7+), I used the guide(s) found that this site (complete with screen-caps):

http://folding.stanford.edu/English/WinGuide#ntoc8

While I'm still looking into tweaking my settings for best performance, mine is currently "functional." Perhaps someone more knowledgeable could translate the more advanced portions of this guide so that we ROG-gers can "push the envelope" more readily?

P.S. I'm assuming that running the viewer will eat GPU cycles. I have my FAHcontrol set up to run both the max CPUs & the GPU. Therefore I don't run the viewer (it's just eye-candy anyway, is it not?) Am I incoreect in my assumption?

[xeromist]

Yeah, I haven't seen any recent figures on the viewer but it isn't free. Personally I prefer to have folding run in the background and forget about it anyway.

[RangerXP]

I have followed the smp client install guide and get an error when attempting to run.. any ideas on how to solve?

Launch directory: D:\Program Files (x86)\FAHClient
Executable: fah6
Arguments: -smp

[17:56:18] - Ask before connecting: No
[17:56:18] - User name: RangerXP (Team 183368)
[17:56:18] - User ID: 112Fxxxxxxx4204
[17:56:18] - Machine ID: 1
[17:56:18]
[17:56:18] Loaded queue successfully.
[17:56:18]
[17:56:18] + Processing work unit
[17:56:18] Core required: FahCore_a3.exe
[17:56:18] Core not found.
[17:56:18] - Core is not present or corrupted.
[17:56:18] - Attempting to download new core...
[17:56:18] + Downloading new core: FahCore_a3.exe

I have it set to run with the -smp switch and as a service.. but both the command line and service termintae unexpectantly

Thanks,
Ranger

[Area 66]

just use GPU tracker, it's far more easy to configure

http://fahtracker.com/download.html

[RangerXP]

Huh.. may have to look into that as I am unfamilliar with GPU Tracker. I resolved the issue though with a post I saw on IP6 tunneling disabling. Folding on the 6.36 SMP client command line style Will have to see which gives me better performance.. the single cpu (gui) or smp.

Thanks,
R.