Why not donate unused computer cycles to help Stanford Uni in it's fight against Cancer.
How it works: you install a program (there are various ones for older and for newer core 2 etc.) it then downloads a work order then disconnects from the net and processes that work using your computer while it is idle or just using a minimum amount of processes. MORE INFO HERE
i hope nobody will laugh too hard at this, but does running a program like this increase the processor usage by a lot, especially when it's usually idle? And if it does, does it affect the long-term durability of the processor?
You can tell it how much of the processor you want to use. It can run as an idle process using around 5% of the CPU's power, or run dedicated using 100% of the resources available. One thing to keep in mind is that a CPU isn't like a car engine. A car engine wears quickly from being run hard while a CPU is just doing what it does all the time. The most important thing is that you have sufficient cooling as running a CPU at 100% will generate a little more heat.
OK, Folding@Home keeps changing its mind, before it said a month and now it says two days. I will have to see how it plays out. My computer is on an average of 18 hours per day so the two days may be underestimating the time it takes a little.
Matt, if your computer is on 18 hours a day then it should take about 2-4 days to complete a Work Unit, regardless of the WU's size or the 'WU End' time-remaining value.
The 'WU End' time and date are estimated when you start the program, then after a while it gives a more accurate figure. I quite often get a unit saying it will take til 2009 to finish, then it's done 2 days later, so nothing to worry about.
Welcome aboard DR!! Hey guys finally finnshed my first wu but now can't get my next one. F@H continuing to try. What was up with TSF server? Was this routine work, or did we crash the server?
Some of the software on the server crashed which caused TSF to be down. This is not routine. There is a normal server update at ~1:00 AM GMT -5h. which lasts about 5 minutes.
I see. Unfortunate, but pretty much unavoidable. I mean, we're all a bunch of geeks here. I think I'll slide a little FAH tag into a few siggys I have, sign up all the unsuspecting newcomers with Team TSF.
Not always possible. I work with this program and sometimes it does wierd things. It's definitely not 100% compatible with my sanity.
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