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Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 5:11 pm
by P5-133XL
AizenSou wrote:Could you tell how to get the right projects? I think the client fetches the project automatically for you??

Thanks in advance.
You have little control over what specific projects are assigned for a particular HW set. The best you've got is varying the client-type variable and that really does not do what you want but it will allow you to vary the pool of projects from which you will get assigned one. There are individuals that chase points by constantly moving from pool to pool finding the one with the best projects or avoiding the one currently having the lowest PPD projects. Projects frequently move between the different risk pools with the general direction being internal->beta->advanced->general release but if a new problem is found projects can go backwards to get more testing. Projects that are based on older projects previously vetted can go through this process very quickly and other totally new projects can take a very long time to get to general release.

Within a client-type pool you can also add a few flags that will filter out projects. Many CPU projects will be limited to specific number of CPU cores. You eventually will be able to specify a specific disease preference but that capability is not currently enabled at the server level. At one time you could specify small, normal and big WU's for uniprocessor projects, but those settings are no longer used. There are real issues with using these types of filtering flags for you can very easily limit your projects to none available where you won't get assigned anything.

client-type has six choices: general release (no client-type defined); advanced; bigadv; beta; bigbeta; and internal. Each of those have their own set of work servers and pool of different projects. The difference between them is the amount of risk taking you are willing to accept because they are simply collections of projects that are more or less tested. The higher the risk, the more likely the project will fail giving far less points.

Internal, requires that you specify a project-key to pick a specific project and those projects generally don't give out any points but 1 point per project is common.

Beta means the project has been internally tested and is now ready for a broader audience but still quite risky and points are often off norms for they are still being fine-tuned. There is absolutely no support in the general forums for anything closed beta with even a mention of anything closed-beta gets your post edited/removed or even the thread closed and locked. If you are willing to run beta then it is recommended that you join the beta test team for that gives you access to the beta forums where all support is done but you need to be willing to accept and abide by the rules and responsibilities of being a beta tester.

bigbeta is used to select between a collection of beta bigadv projects for CPU's that currently require a minimum of 24+ CPU cores. Since bigadv is EOL (End of Life) and will end within 6 months I seriously doubt that there are any projects in this category anymore.

bigadv is used to select between a collection of projects for CPU's that currently require a minimum of 24+ CPU cores. They are EOL and will cease operation within 6 months.

Advanced means the project has completed beta testing but there still may be issues outstanding.

Then there is general release (no client-type defined) where the project has completed all testing and is considered stable and in its final state.

Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 5:12 pm
by AizenSou
Joe_H wrote:Is that 30k PPD after the WU has run for several hours and completed several percent? Or is that the instantaneous PPD reported by the folding client after the WU has been only running a few minutes. The client does need some processing history before it can give accurate estimates. Version 7.4.4 is better at the estimates than earlier versions, but work on improving that is still needed.
This is after 12 hours. I let it runs overnight and this is the PPD I get at the morning. I tried my last time to wipe everything and install again now and let's see what does the client say tomorrow. Struggling since 3 days without any solutions.
I have tried client-type advanced and beta slot, got the 0.0.55 FahCore v17, still no help.
To be honest, FAHClient is really one of the most buggy client I have ever handled in my IT life. It explains how difficult real science was? :D

Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 6:54 pm
by 7im
12 hours of running which fahcore? Or which Project #? As I said, it makes a difference.

Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:46 am
by AizenSou
7im wrote:12 hours of running which fahcore? Or which Project #? As I said, it makes a difference.
Hi 7im,
I let the machine running over 1 day now, and the client is still showing my PPD for 2 r9 290 cards in 30k PPD range.
But I notice something else. One of my cards got Project 13001 with TPF 7:30, and another got Project 9408 with TPF 6:29. After checking with the calculation here:
http://www.linuxforge.net/bonuscalc2.php
It shows my actual PPD are around 140K PPD.
One of my cards finishes a WU last night and when I see the log it said I got 50k points credited. It can't be possible with a PPD of 30k right?
So I hope it is just a glitch in FAHClient 7.4.4 for showing the actual PPD.
I will test a few days more and report what happens.

Thanks all for your valuable comments,

Regards.

Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 8:16 am
by P5-133XL
Do you have a passkey configured and have you done the 10 QRB WU's on it to qualify it? If so, then the next thing is to do is PM a moderator with your folding name and passkey and then the failure rate for the passkey will be checked (there is an 80% successful return rate requirement).

Most of your points from your GPU will come from QRB (Quick return bonus) points. We are talking 5x+ the base points so it is really important to get the QRB points. To get QRB you have to have a passkey: No passkey == no QRB points. Once you have the passkey installed, you still need to complete 10 QRB WU's and maintain at least an 80% successful return rate to qualify it. You will not get QRB till the passkey has been qualified.

Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 9:11 am
by AizenSou
P5-133XL wrote:Do you have a passkey configured and have you done the 10 QRB WU's on it to qualify it? If so, then the next thing is to do is PM a moderator with your folding name and passkey and then the failure rate for the passkey will be checked (there is an 80% successful return rate requirement).

Most of your points from your GPU will come from QRB (Quick return bonus) points. We are talking 5x+ the base points so it is really important to get the QRB points. To get QRB you have to have a passkey: No passkey == no QRB points. Once you have the passkey installed, you still need to complete 10 QRB WU's and maintain at least an 80% successful return rate to qualify it. You will not get QRB till the passkey has been qualified.
Hi,

Sorry I forgot to mention it. I was folding successful with a few others machines since 1 week now and I got around 50 WUs finished. Of course I fold with my team number and my passkey. I do have some minor problems with other machines as well concerning the FAHclient, but I was able to solve it myself. The only problem which I still don't understand is my 2xR9 290 rig. I just hope it is a cosmetic bug of the client.

Thanks.

Re: R9 290 dramatically low PPD

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 9:30 am
by P5-133XL
This is not likely a cosmetic bug.

You may want to re-enter your passkey on that one machine. If it is wrong, then no QRB. Use copy&paste from a known good source (rather than typing it in) making sure you do not accidentally add any blank spaces at the start or end of the passkey.
Check your Windows event logs for Video driver errors.
Monitor both GPU clock rates in the systray or use a log stored on the HD. The purpose is to make sure the clocks are not dropping to 2D speeds at some point.
Monitor %GPU usage for both cards in the systray to make sure both cards are folding and specifically not multiple WU's running on just one GPU.
Make sure you do not have a screensaver active (Power down the display instead).
Make sure the computer is never suspending or going to sleep.
Make sure the GPU's are not running only when idle and the folding power level is at full.