The Science of Folding@home

mr_sifter writes "As previously discussed, computers running Folding@home now contribute over 1 petaflop of processing power to research into protein folding, making Folding@home the most successful example yet of a distributed computing app. It's also at the forefront of GPGPU computing, with both Nvidia and ATI keen to push how well their graphics chips perform when folding. So the technology is great, but what about the science? This feature looks at how the Folding project was developed, how it's helping researchers and the thorny question of how long it might be until the software running on your PC or PS3 actually produces real-world results."

Comments

Re:i use folding@home

[Futile Rhetoric]

Let me Wikipedia that for you.

Re:Not a petaflop!

[noundi]

Actually it's petaFLOPS as it's an abbreviation.

Re:i use folding@home

[Anonymous Coward]

If you leave the server on anyways, the power draw at 0% usage versus 100% usage is minimal.

eg. I have an old Dual processor Dell server that uses 170 watts idle, and 180 watts running at 100%

the largest difference I got was on my overclocked AMD FX-55 which had a difference of 30 watts. and a laptop that had a difference in 30 watts.

I used the Kill-A-Watt device purchased from thinkgeek.com.

Re:i use folding@home

[Thaelon]

Folding@Home, and torrents are more like a micropayment system that actually works.

Sure it costs you electricity and bandwidth, but in such small amounts (typically) and over time. Plus there are no additional transaction fees or middle men taking a cut. It's tax free, and there are no forms to fill out or any other bureaucracy.

Torrents are just a distributed micropayment system.

Re:i use folding@home

[compro01]

According to my UPS's monitoring software, by machine idles (screen off with torrents running) at 180W and hits 210W with folding@home (GPU edition on my 8800GTS) running, 30W extra. Assuming it does that 24 hours a day (it's always on anyway as it also runs as my FTP/web server and for remote access), that comes to 21.6KW-hr per month, which at local electrical rate (9.6 cents/KW-hr) comes to $2.07 per month.