Folding Forum

Posted: **Fri Jan 20, 2017 2:06 pm**

I've just added a GPU slot on my Macbook Pro 15" Mid 2011 and it's seems to be trying to connect to Work servers that don't even appear on the status list:

Just removed and re-added the the slot and it shows the following in logs:

Code: Select all

13:54:12:Adding folding slot 01: READY gpu:0:Whistler [Radeon HD 6600M Series]
13:54:12:WU00:FS01:Connecting to 171.67.108.45:80
13:54:14:WARNING:WU00:FS01:Failed to get assignment from '171.67.108.45:80': Empty work server assignment
13:54:14:WU00:FS01:Connecting to 171.64.65.35:80
13:54:16:WARNING:WU00:FS01:Failed to get assignment from '171.64.65.35:80': Empty work server assignment
13:54:16:ERROR:WU00:FS01:Exception: Could not get an assignment
13:54:17:WU00:FS01:Connecting to 171.67.108.45:80
13:54:18:WARNING:WU00:FS01:Failed to get assignment from '171.67.108.45:80': Empty work server assignment
13:54:18:WU00:FS01:Connecting to 171.64.65.35:80
13:54:20:WARNING:WU00:FS01:Failed to get assignment from '171.64.65.35:80': Empty work server assignment
13:54:20:ERROR:WU00:FS01:Exception: Could not get an assignment
13:54:21:Removing old file 'configs/config-20170119-053223.xml'
13:54:21:Saving configuration to config.xml
13:54:21:<config>
13:54:21:  <!-- Network -->
13:54:21:  <proxy v=':8080'/>
13:54:21:
13:54:21:  <!-- Slot Control -->
13:54:21:  <power v='full'/>
13:54:21:
13:54:21:  <!-- User Information -->
13:54:21:  <passkey v='********************************'/>
13:54:21:  <team v='224497'/>
13:54:21:  <user v='chris_ALL_1NFrxixFSMZDzP1KhSn5ka5dndSPQzM6jd'/>
13:54:21:
13:54:21:  <!-- Folding Slots -->
13:54:21:  <slot id='0' type='CPU'>
13:54:21:    <cpus v='6'/>
13:54:21:  </slot>
13:54:21:  <slot id='1' type='GPU'/>
13:54:21:</config>

This system does have an i7, with hyperthreading so up to 8 virtual cores. I've set the CPU to v=6 instead letting it default to 7 based on some older posts I saw about problems if the CPU was set to a prime greater than 3.

I know this has an older GPU, so I guess it's possible there aren't work units small enough for it, but when I look at the server status page
I don't even see 171.67.108.45:80 or 171.64.65.35:80 on the list

Any ideas?

Posted: **Fri Jan 20, 2017 3:39 pm**

Welcome to the folding forum.

As stated in the installation guides and elsewhere, GPU folding is currently not supported on OS X. Just remove the GPU folding slot. You might be able to fold using Windows or Linux on the laptop, but the HD 6600M series may not be powerful enough to complete current projects within deadlines.

Posted: **Fri Jan 20, 2017 5:18 pm**

Welcome to Folding!
The HD 660M is an older micro architecture called Terascale 2, only the most recent AMD micro architecture, Graphics Core Next is supported by Folding@Home. All the projects using older micro architectures have finished. So even in Windows or Linux, that GPU will not fold.
You can set CPUs back to 8 and remove the GPU slot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeraScale ... chitecture)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_Core_Next

Posted: **Fri Jan 20, 2017 10:37 pm**

Oh well - I was guessing the PPD on this one wasn't going to be great, and I must admit, it makes sense to limit the number of supported archs.
I've been up and running for a few months now on my desktop, I realized my laptop spent most of the day idle so I figured it wouldn't hurt to add a second system into the mix.

Thanks for the welcome and the help.

Posted: **Fri Jan 20, 2017 11:00 pm**

selfuntitled wrote:Oh well - I was guessing the PPD on this one wasn't going to be great, and I must admit, it makes sense to limit the number of supported archs.

If you think as a Scientist needing results, you want to stay one one version of the software for the entire time in a Project, It helps with reliability and repeatability, two important scientific themes. So older cores stay in the mix so long as any project uses them.

For the same reason new Projects need the latest core code, so they finish as fast as possible and have support for the life of the Project.

If no Scientist still has projects they need to finish, Folding@home moves on. New generations of graphic cards happen frequently, and we folders have useless hardware eventually. I started folding on a HD 2600, several generations older than your HD 6600M and it is long gone. Change is much slower on the CPU side.

Posted: **Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:21 am**

The other issue is that there is no GPU folding core to process WU's under the OS X operating system. Originally the plans were to include OS X, but several years ago they ran into a bug in Apple's implementation of OpenCL in OS X. That bug was eventually fixed about a year and a half ago. But in the meantime most of the Apple systems have gone to using the integrated GPU of the Intel chips for video. That was too weak, and the OpenCL functions did not work well enough for folding.

The remaining systems that do have discrete video GPU's mostly are using mobile versions of the chips. They are also a small portion of the total number of Mac's sold.

Posted: **Sat Jan 21, 2017 3:39 am**

Integrated GPUs typically have 4 to 8 shaders whereas modern discrete GPUs have a few hundreds up to 3500+ currently, with more expected with each hardware generation. It goes without saying that you can't pick a deadline that's consistent with such a wide range of speeds. To take advantage of the high-end GPUs, as projects that once worked with low-end GPUs (especially integrated GPUs) are completed, they'll be replaced with projects with shorter deadlines that those low-end GPUs will no longer be able to achieve. Projects that require less computation will still be released for CPUs, but not for low-end GPUs.

Folding Forum

GPU slot Empty Work Server Assignment

GPU slot Empty Work Server Assignment

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Re: GPU slot Empty Work Server Assignment