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BOINC
Configuration...
Depending on the system, I may
change some settings (Options >
Computing preferences):
Time between work units:
I'm curious about the time it
takes my computer's GPU to
finish a work unit. I've noticed
on my main computer that it
seems to stop processing at 99%.
It then does nothing for a
noticeable length of time (the
GPU fans go quiet as it's no
longer under load). That final
1% takes a long time when surely
the system could be doing more.
The advice for Einstein@home it
to only run one work unit at a
time on a graphics card (mainly
due to GRAM constraints), but
surely if it ran two, it could
at least be getting on with one
while it's finishing another...
Limit the number of CPU cores:
If a computer only crunches on
the CPU and is not used by
anything else or at risk of
overheating, I will likely have
CPU usage at 100%. One also
needs to consider if the CPU is Hyperthreading enabled since
these are classed as CPU cores
also. This can get confusing
with regards to setting a
percentage; ideally you want
maximum processing but not at
the risk of bottle-necking,
which is more of a risk when
using a dedicated GPU.
Suspend when... On a
computer like 'Phenom' which has
6 CPU cores and no GPU, I have
it run at 100% but it is set to
Suspend work while the computer
is in use. On computers with a
GPU I might use the option to
suspend while a particular
application is in use that is
calling on the demands of the
GPU also. Different types of
data being crunched by BOINC
might have a different impact.
Instead, I may just manually
disable GPU crunching or all
crunching temporarily should I
notice an sluggishness in what
I'm trying to do.
Limit Network Usage: During
normal usage I limit network
usage to 100 KB/s. I only remove
this cap when first setting up a
project on BOINC so it can more
quickly download all of the
initial files and work units. I
cap my usage because my
broadband connection is not very
fast and it will impact me if
one of my computers is suddenly
downloading a bunch of work
units.
Storing work units: I set my
computers to download 2 days
worth of work, plus an
additional 2 days. This was
recommended for the SETI@home
project to help keep stocked up
during server outages, while not
being overly demanding on
servers when they come back
online (when lots of users will
all be demanding work).
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