A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

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WindySilver
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Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 2:33 pm

A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by WindySilver »

Hi there!

I'm new to F@H and I've got one question: is there a client version which doesn't send Work Units for GPU? I'd like to use only my CPU for this at least for now and I don't want my unprocessed GPU WUs holding the project back.
Sven
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by Sven »

Yes, the normal client can be configured to only use the CPU. You find that option under "Configure - Slots", there you can remove the gpu slot and you fold cpu only.

Is there a reason to do so, just curious?
bruce
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by bruce »

To avoid holding the project back, use the FINISH option to complete the current GPU WU and pause. Then delete the slot.

If you can't do that, at least it's only one WU.
WindySilver
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by WindySilver »

Okay, thanks!

For the reason of not using my GPU for this at the moment: Certain applications (mostly certain games, also Blender and apparently Discord for some reason as well) have triggered a weird issue on my laptop ever since Windows 10 Anniversary update. I've come to suspect that it gets triggered at least by GPU-heavy tasks, since at those it appears most often, so I'll play it safe with FAH and hopefully avoid the issue manifesting itself because of it. The issue I have can be fixed with a BIOS update but it will wait until I have easy access to another computer which is not a half-brick in case the update goes wrong. I don't want to risk bricking this one before that.
bruce
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by bruce »

Windows update frequently disrupts the OpenCL drivers for NVidia which essentially distroys GPU folding. I'd have to guess that your GPU observations are related to that issue.

Go to nvidia.com and install drivers from there. My GUESS is that'll fix the problem.

FAH is expected to be a heavy user of the GPU and can disrupt many games. If that is a secondary problem, you'll need to suspend GPU folding while you play those games. This can be done manually but it can be a nuisance. The "idle" setting can be useful in this situation rather than giving up entirely on GPU folding.
Yavanius
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by Yavanius »

bruce wrote:Windows update frequently disrupts the OpenCL drivers for NVidia which essentially distroys GPU folding. I'd have to guess that your GPU observations are related to that issue.

Go to nvidia.com and install drivers from there. My GUESS is that'll fix the problem.

FAH is expected to be a heavy user of the GPU and can disrupt many games. If that is a secondary problem, you'll need to suspend GPU folding while you play those games. This can be done manually but it can be a nuisance. The "idle" setting can be useful in this situation rather than giving up entirely on GPU folding.

If you go here: https://www.geforce.com/drivers

You can download the GeForce Experience which is SUPPOSE to download the latest drivers (and checks in the background at definable intervals for new ones). I have had issues where as Bruce noted, the update breaks your drivers and then it doesn't want to work. The positive thing is you don't have drill down trying to find your exact card (although it seems a lot of cards seem to use the same driver anyways).

If you are running on Light folding power, then Folding GPU shouldn't affect you as the GPU only runs when the system is idle by default. I don't see it for Folding@home, but I know on BOINC you can specify it to not run if certain apps are running.

~Yav
bruce
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by bruce »

FAH doesn't have a pause-when-certain-apps-are-running setting. (It has been requested a number of times.) The closest approximation is the 'idle' setting which is also invoked by the Light power setting. That puts FAH processing in a mode similar to a screensaver which only runs when the OS sees a period of inactivity. (Every activity suspends FAH.)

After a pause, whether caused by a non-idle computer or invoked manually, FAH will restart from the previous checkpoint. Interruptions will reduce your production and your PPD but processing will resume automatically when you're sleeping.

On most of my systems, my GPU is powerful enough that I don't notice the impact when doing email/browsing and I don't play heavy games so my GPU runs continuously with the slider at FULL. You have to choose what's best for you.
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by Joe_H »

Others have posted scripts in the past that use the provided third-party interface to the client. These scripts have been used to pause and resume folding when various actions such as running certain apps, or only folding certain hours. This might be an alternative to using the Light setting for you.
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Yavanius
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by Yavanius »

bruce wrote:FAH doesn't have a pause-when-certain-apps-are-running setting. (It has been requested a number of times.) ...
You can also set the # of cpus (cores) with a switch (flag) if for some reason you want to reduce the max amount of cores used. As you go down from Full, it drops the # of cores. I don't have the math for it, but just for example (without editing): 8 Cores at Full -> 6 cores at Medium -> 4 cores at Light. I would suspect it would scale similarly if you reduced the max cores. You always have a minimum of 1 and it's always gonna be a whole #. I'll go out on a limb and say Folding will follow the usual rules of rounding if it calculates a partial core.
bruce
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by bruce »

Based on the complaints from gamers who fold, the most critical resource they want to manage is the GPU. Reducing the number of CPUs may also be a consideration, but it's always less important because FAH manages CPU resources by priority and foreground activities (including games) slways come first.
Yavanius
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by Yavanius »

Unless the client settings have been modified, Folding at Light shouldn't interfere with a game. Now if it's set at a higher priority and the user forgets about it, that's not an issue with the client, that's a user issue. ;) It's no different than some other program left running.

However, I don't know how the idle works with Folding, so if it incorrectly thinks the system idle during the game or other high video activity when there's no input, I suppose it could affect things...

On a side note: I have a Bodhi Linux install on a Dell Latitude E6420 with a primary Intel GPU and a secondary nVidia chip. I found out that apparently the system is using the nVidia chip as the primary video which affects like viewing videos when I have BOINC or Folding running GPU tasks (I actually don't run Folding on the GPU as it isn't worth it credit wise for the time running vs dedicating the CPU cores). So, some oddness is possible...

Incidentally, I don't know if this is just a quark of this distro or something in Ubuntu (it's based on it).
bruce
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Re: A client which doesn't send WUs for GPU?

Post by bruce »

Some systems are designed around two GPU chips. The main idea is that when your program(s) require lots of GPU processing, the more powerful chip kicks in and when your desktop requires very little GPU processing, the slower GPU takes over, saving electrical power. I've never had one, myself, so I'll leave it to you to figure out which one is nVidia and which one is Intel. Switching between them is a matter for the drivers. Such hybrid video hardware will run either Linux or Windows with more or less an equal number of problems caused by the added complexity.

If, as you suggest, neither one is suitable for FAH processing, it's easy to delete the slot(s) created by FAHClient which will allow you to configure a CPU slot that can be more powerful; If you're trying to run FAH and BOINC concurrently, they don't do a good job of sharing CPU resources, so I'd recommend you choose one or the other for your standard configuration.
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