PS3 Client for Folding@Home Debuts, ATI GPU Version Soon

eliot1785 writes "Stanford's Folding@Home project is reporting that Sony debuted a Folding@Home client for the PlayStation 3 today in Germany. Researchers hope to use the power of the PS3's Cell processor to greatly expand the number of FLOPS of which their network is capable. F@H also announced today that they will release a client capable of running on ATI graphics processors. With these two new developments, F@H hopes to raise the total power of their distributed computing network to 1-10 petaflops. At the upper end of that target, the network would be faster than any current supercomputer, at least in terms of FLOPS." Reader TommyBear points out a collection of papers showing scientific advances made by the F@H researchers.

Comments

This makes less sense than ever!

[Dr. Spork]

Now that CPU and GPU manufacturers are finally starting to put power-down-when-idle features into their chips, running them at full load 24/7 makes less sense than ever.

I know they try to justify SETI by saying that you're only donating your "spare cycles". But if you look more carefully, modern computers use 100 Watts to idle and 300 Watts under load. That difference of 200W at US$0.15/kW-hour (my local power rates) comes to THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER YEAR of your own money that you donate to the SETI project.

Actually, that's not quite right. It's more like you buy $300 worth of coal every year and burn it with no particular result. Gee, thanks!

Re:Hehe, PS3 cures cancer..

[AcidLacedPenguiN]

call me selfish or a process nazi, but when I run my PC I make damn sure that only processes that I want running (and of course the hidden winxp dialhome software) are actually running. I hate it when some program is in the background sucking up my idle cycles!

Re:Hehe, PS3 cures cancer..

[AcidLacedPenguiN]

I need not your sympathy. I don't see how personally not wanting to run the software translates to intentionally ignoring that people who choose to run it choose to run it. I'm sorry for having a conflict of opinion, but every time I discuss folding with people I always get that "what are you crazy, it doesn't hurt you so why aren't you doing it," so I just made my initial argument my explanation. I also don't see why you have to throw around the "FUD" term just because it seems to be the fashionable thing to do these days. I mean, it seems like any time someone has the opposite opinion these days it's immediately FUD and people whip out the tinfoil hats.