Ion's WCG Essentials Thread

[[Ion]]

In an attempt to make it easier for new members to find all of the resources they need for WCG, I'm consolidating them all into one place.

WCG Stats (From Fitseries3's post):
Official WCG site ---> https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/viewTeamMemberDetail.do?sort=points&teamId=S8TLJ6TFV1

Free-DC stats ---> http://stats.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=team&proj=bwcg&team=22175

Stats-N-Stones ---> http://statsnstones.tswb.org/TeamUser.aspx?projid=38&teamid=22175

Boinc Synergy ---> http://www.boincsynergy.com/stats/teams.php?team=22175&project=wcg

Boinc Stats ---> http://boincstats.com/

All Project Stats ---> http://www.allprojectstats.com/

Crunching Tips (from RAMMIE's post) (Edited by Ion to reflect changes):
1 A dedicated cruncher doesn't need more than 2GB or 4GB of RAM.1 stick is best.The single channel penalty is easy to make up with increased CPU clocks.CPU speed rules in these projects. My personal rule is to go with at least X/3 GB of RAM, where X is the number of threads the CPU(s) in your rig has. While you can go lower, it isn't recommended. 2GB of RAM is fine for a four-thread cruncher (Pentium, i3, Phenom II X4, etc) but 4GB is better suited for 8-thread machines (AMD FX-8, Intel Core i7)
2 Timings and RAM speed don't matter much. Again go for CPU speed.
3 x64 OS and 64 BOINC client will get more points than 32 (generally about 10%).
4 Human Proteome Folding creates a lot of problems on a lot of machines. Avoid this project if you see errors in it. We've also been seeing a lot of errors stemming from the Clean Energy Project - Phase 2. If it works fine for you, obviously feel free to run it, but drop it if there are issues. The most common problem thus far has been WUs that "run in circles" and keep the CPU @ load while not actually accomplishing anything.


TPU's WCG/BOINC team: TPU's WCG/BOINC Team

WCG Daily Numbers: WCG Daily Numbers

Have you Got Pie Today?: Have you got pie today?

Configuring BOINCView: GUIDE: How to configure BOINCview

HowTo: Getting BOINC set up for WCG: How To: Getting BOINC setup for WCG <- New Users, go here! This will show you how to register and get BOINC set up for WCG

Interested in a WCG avatar? Have one of our experts make you one here: WCG Avatar Request Thread

MindWeaver's Easy WCG Auto-Report Guide: Easy WCG_config
Show off your WCG Badges: Show Off Your WCG Badges

Work Buffer:
By default, BOINC has a work buffer (stored tasks) set to .25 days. This means that your computer has at least enough work to keep running for .25 days without downloading more WUs. It is recommended to set this to anywhere from 2-5 days so that in case there is a network outage the computer will still have work to do. If the computer is not on much, setting the work buffer to anything higher than 2 days is not advised because the system may not be able to finish the tasks by the deadlines. My personal preference is three days, that way there is generally enough work to last the computer through any project outage, but if something happens to the system, you can still usually complete all of the tasks by their deadlines
(All credit for the work buffer mention goes to dustyshiv, thanks!)

WCG FAQ: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewthread_thread,21501

BOINC Live CD: The BOINC live CD is a useful tool for people building dedicated WCG computers who are looking to avoid purchasing Windows or the sometimes-complex set up of Linux. BOINC Live CD

WCG on Ubuntu: For a dedicated WCG setup, it is cheaper to use a USB flash drive running Linux than to purchase a HDD and a copy of Windows. Download the latest version of Ubuntu here and the Linux Universal USB installer here. Then, create an Ubuntu flash drive with the following steps:

Spoiler

1. Format your 4GB-or-larger USB Flash Drive.
2. Launch the Universal USB Installer, and select "Ubuntu 12.10 Desktop" from the drop-down menu. Point the Installer to your USB Flash Drive. You will need to make a persistence file, otherwise everything is lost when the computer is shut down. I recommend using the rest of the flash drive.

3. Click Create, and wait for up to half an hour (creating the persistence file takes a while).
4. Once the flash drive is created, boot Ubuntu and launch the Ubuntu Software Center:

5. Search for BOINC in the box in the upper right-hand corner. There will be only one result, click on it. About a third of the way down the window will be a button that says "Use Source". Click on it, and wait while the source was added. Then click on "Install" and wait while BOINC is installed.
6. Once BOINC is installed, it will be in the list of applications on the left side of the screen. Click on it, and add the World Community Grid project in the box that pops up. You may choose to configure it as shown above.

Overclocking: To overclock or not to overclock In WCG, points production scales linearly with the CPU speed. Thus, for example, a 4ghz CPU would get 50% more points per day (and work done) than the same CPU running at 2.66ghz. However, overclocking is not always a good thing. If your overclock is unstable, errors will be generated and the work returned will not be scientifically useful. If you plan on OCing, make sure your OC is stable, if it is it can pass 2+ hrs of OCCT and 12/16 hours of Prime95. Remember, if errors are produced the results will not be scientifically useful, and crunching time will have been wasted. This is an enthusiast forum, so we do tend to overclock here. Overclocking can bring considerable benefits, with 25-40% overclock not being uncommon on enthusiast CPUs. Remember, points scale with clock speed, so this does help.

Crunchers Helping Crunchers: Do you need a specific part to get a new cruncher up and running? Or do you have spare parts to donate to someone to help them get a cruncher up and running? If so, post visit Crunchers Helping Crunchers and post what you need/have to offer

Show off your WCG farm: Do you enjoy looking at other people's systems? Do you want to share pics of your WCG rig or rigs? If so, post pics in the WCG rig showcase here: Show off your WCG farm

TPU'S WCG Challenges Thread: TPU WCG Challenges Thread

Want an estimate of the PPD your computer could produce? If so, check out this thread where I wrote a simple app that does just that: give an estimate what sort of PPD a variety of Core 2/Core iX and Athlon/Phenom systems will give. Simple WCG PPD Estimator

By default, BOINC comes configured to use no more than 60% of the processor. To fix this, go to Advanced-->Preferences, and locate the box that says "Use at most ___% CPU Time", and enter 100%. On newer versions of BOINC it also has a box that says "While processor usage is less than ___ percent" Enter 0 here for best performance

WCG on GPUs (New!) -- No longer applicable, as the HCC project has finished!

Spoiler

World Community Grid has recently added support for computations on video cards (GPUs). Because GPUs are architecturally very different from CPUs, there is less that they can do, but they are extremely fast at a limited set of things. Consequently, if you have a modern GPU, consider running WCG on it. A Geforce GTX470 will complete a GPU WU approximately every three minutes, for a total of about 16k PPD (by comparison, an overclocked i7 quad may be ~6k PPD). Please note, running GPU WUs will slow down your computer. In order to get around this, on computers that are also used for other things, I suggest setting BOINC to only use the GPU while the computer is not in use (BOINC Manager -> Advanced View -> Tools -> Computing Preferences -> Processor Usage -> make sure that "Use GPU while computer is in use" is unchecked). For a dedicated WCG system, you generally want the GPU to crunch all of the time, so leave this box checked. In order to get GPU tasks, you must have selected the Help Conquer Cancer project here or checked the box "If there is no work available for my computer for the projects I have selected above, please send me work from another project." Of course, you must also check "If my computer can process work on my graphics card, then please send me work to run on my graphics card for the projects that I have selected above."
Here is a list of video cards that will not run the WCG GPU tasks:

Spoiler

AMD/ATI:

ATI Radeon HD 2300/2400/3200 (RV610)
ATI Radeon HD 2600 (RV630)
ATI Radeon HD 3800 (RV670)
ATI Radeon HD 4350/4550 (R710)
ATI Radeon HD 4600 series (R730)
ATI Radeon HD 4700/4800 (RV740/RV770)


NVIDIA:

GeForce 210
GeForce 310
GeForce 310M
GeForce 405
GeForce 610M
GeForce 8400
GeForce 8400 GS
GeForce 8500 GT
GeForce 8600 GS
GeForce 8600 GT
GeForce 8700M GT
GeForce 8800 GT
GeForce 8800 GTS 512
GeForce 8800M GTS
GeForce 9300 GE
GeForce 9400 GT
GeForce 9500 GT
GeForce 9600 GSO
GeForce 9600 GSO 512
GeForce 9600 GT
GeForce 9800 GT
GeForce 9800 GTX+
GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+
GeForce 9800 S
GeForce G210
GeForce GT 120
GeForce GT 130
GeForce GT 130M
GeForce GT 230M
GeForce GT 330M
GeForce GT 420
GeForce GT 520
GeForce GT 520M
GeForce GT 630
GeForce GTS 240
GeForce GTS 250
GeForce GTX 260M
GeForce GTX 280M
GeForce GTX 660M
NVS 3100M
NVS 4200M
NVS 5100M
Quadro 400
Quadro FX 1600M
Quadro FX 1800
Quadro FX 2700M
Quadro FX 2800M
Quadro FX 3700
Quadro FX 380
Quadro FX 570M
Quadro FX 580
Quadro FX 770M
Quadro FX 880M
Quadro NVS 290

If your card is one of these, sorry, you're out of luck, but you can at least crunch on the CPU

It is possible to run multiple tasks on each GPU at once in order to increase output on certain cards. On most mid-range video cards, a single WU will load the card to ~90-95% utilization. For more powerful cards, however, WCG isn't able to fully saturate the card, so running multiple tasks on it at once can increase output. For more information on setting this up, see KieX's thread here. This requires some configuration to get working properly, so be forewarned. This is best suited for cards like the Radeon HD7950/HD7970 and Geforce GTX670/GTX680.


More info on GPU crunching here

Badges!
If you're proud to crunch for Team TechPowerUp! and want to show it off to the forum, we have signature badges to let the world know! Here are the requirements:
badge - 100,000 points total and activity on your WCG account
badge + 1 star - 500 points per day (7 day average)
badge + 2 stars - 2,000 points per day (7 day average)
badge + 3 stars - 4,500 points per day (7 day average)
badge + 4 stars - 8,000 points per day (7 day average)
badge + 5 stars - 12,000 or greater points per day (7 day average)

How do you get these badges? Go to your UserCP, click on Edit Options, and scroll all the way down to the bottom. Then, enter your WCG username (whatever name you chose when you registered on the World Community Grid website) and click Save.

You will receive whatever badge your output qualifies you for

If I'm missing any other threads/info, PM me and I'll update this post.

 

[King Wookie]

Great!

Now to get one for folding. (hint hint)

EDIT: Can we ask that this gets stickied.

 

[ERazer]

Thx alot bud

 

[[Ion]]

Updated!

 

[Mindweaver]

Very nice thread bro!

 

[hat]

I personally give a 3 day work buffer.

 

[[Ion]]

updated again

 

[[Ion]]

updated (OCing section)

 

[Chicken Patty]

Hey ION,

you should add my crunchers helping crunchers thread to the list of essentials

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=101191

 

[[Ion]]

Done, thanks! I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier

 

[Chicken Patty]

Thanks dude. Better late than never

 

[DreamSeller]

thanks really useful

still a n00b tho my second day of crunching congrats for me

 

[[Ion]]

Updated with info on my PPD estimator

 

[BazookaJoe]

Just a note on my CPU 60% -> 100% thing from the other thread?

I'd reckon that would also make a great tip here, as it nearly doubled my output without affecting my machines performance one bit

(For anyone who didn't read the other one) By default WCG/BOINC limits itself to only use 60% of CPU time.

 

[[Ion]]

Just a note on my CPU 60% -> 100% thing from the other thread?

I'd reckon that would also make a great tip here, as it nearly doubled my output without affecting my machines performance one bit

(For anyone who didn't read the other one) By default WCG/BOINC limits itself to only use 60% of CPU time.

I'll add this right now! Thanks!

 

[mjkmike]

Always go to this thread when I start a new rig.

Thanks ION

 

[[Ion]]

Always go to this thread when I start a new rig.

Thanks ION

You're welcome

 

[twilyth]

I'm not sure this is the best place to put this since it's really stats related, but mod, feel free to mover and/or repost elsewhere.

I've been corresponding with Bok (Phil) at Free-DC about the upcoming TPU WCG team ad and he gave me some information about the mechanics behind gathering and calculating the stats for BOINC projects and some specific info on WCG. It's not stuff you really need to know as a user, but I think it's really interesting. It also makes you appreciate the dedication of guys like Phil.

I had a quick look over at your forum and thought I might share some other links with you regarding the stats updates

The way I do the stats is actually a little different to most of the other sites but we all struggle with the sheer amount of data we are given when you combine all the boinc projects together. I also additionally do stats on most of the non BOINC projects too which adds to the complexity.

I have two scripts which are running constantly. First one polls each project for a very small file called tables.xml in their /stats directory. It checks the update time on this file and if it is different to the one held in the database here it will go ahead and download the new files for team/user/host data for that project. Most of these aren't too big but Seti/Climate Prediction/World Community Grid can be fairly large. WCG's host file compressed is 162Mb. Seti's is quite a bit larger.. Once they have been downloaded I have another script which is checking for newer files and once it finds them it will uncompress and start parsing the data into a database.

It throws everything in and computes ranks and such across the project, within team,country etc etc. Then checks for new milestones, movement. All in all for WCG alone this can be well over 1million sql statements and this is actually without the initial inserts as I do them via fast load into mysql. Add those and it would be upwards of 5million sql statements.

You can see a rudimentary log here

http://stats6.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=logs&proj=bwcg (this is the website running at my home rather than the official one)

Once the script has done a round of projects, it then goes on to do the combined updates to team/user/country and their ranks and such and on completion it runs some replication tasks to copy the raw data over to the web facing database (in order for the website to never be locked up whilst the data is being parsed and calculated).

If the script finishes a loop and realizes that it has crossed midnight it will start all of it's daily rollover tasks and take backups and such.

Hope this explains the delay between getting new data and showing it

This page is not really advertised but I use it as a brief check of when data was updated. You can take out the proj=bwcg part to show all projects.

http://stats.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=statsrun&proj=bwcg

All in all it does somewhere between 500million and 1billion sql statements in a given day

Phil

 

[[Ion]]

Thanks twylith!

 

[scaminatrix]

Thanks [Ion], just got an estimate of 12617 PPD (WCG); 1802.43 (BOINC) from your program.
I'll do all the tips in the first post and see what else happens

 

[[Ion]]

Excellent, let me know if you have any questions or issues. There are no stupid questions

 

[Chicken Patty]

I'm here to help as well if you need any bro this thread is awesome!

 

[[Ion]]

Absolutely, CP is also great with questions of all sorts

 

[scaminatrix]

Thanks guys, just one question: does 12,000 PPD sound about right for a PhII X2 555BE (unlocked to three cores and O.C.'ed to 3.8GHz)?
I'm pretty adventurous, and information is addictive so I'll have a good old read before asking questions

 

[[Ion]]

Thanks guys, just one question: does 12,000 PPD sound about right for a PhII X2 555BE (unlocked to three cores and O.C.'ed to 3.8GHz)?
I'm pretty adventous, and information is addictive so I'll have a good old read first

Yep, that sounds pretty good, that's about what my X4 955 got ~ 3ghz (when I was experimenting with underclocking/undervolting)