SCE Joins Stanford's Folding@home Program (B3D ID=32377)

[Hardknock]

2ch is a very popular Japanese gaming forum.

 

[one]

On the topic of ps3 folding teams, my curiosity is drawn to this site:

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=54733

Does anybody have an idea what is the significance of "2ch"?

It's just another forum volunteer group.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2channel

 

[randycat99]

I was curious if this team had a specific connection to the big "K" guy at Sony. Like, why is his picture there when you click on the link? I also wondered if it is trying to be a "ps3 exclusive" kind of team, and perhaps they are on a good track to chase down top 10 ranking (currently 30-ish, last I checked).

Thanks for the Wiki link! The information was really intriguing- not at all what I expected (a Jpn internet forum, possibly the largest in the world that all started from an apartment in Arkansas, US???- who woulda thunk?).

 

[one]

I was curious if this team had a specific connection to the big "K" guy at Sony. Like, why is his picture there when you click on the link? I also wondered if it is trying to be a "ps3 exclusive" kind of team, and perhaps they are on a good track to chase down top 10 ranking (currently 30-ish, last I checked).

Thanks for the Wiki link! The information was really intriguing- not at all what I expected (a Jpn internet forum, possibly the largest in the world that all started from an apartment in Arkansas, US???- who woulda thunk?).

The main team at 2ch is at the 36th.
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=162

As for the pic, it's probably to a humorous effect. Kutaragi has been a popular figure liked and disliked in game forums. The pic quotes one of his famous words mocked around in 2ch, "Indeed an incredible epoch has come. But it is what PS3 actually is."

 

[patsu]

one, if the main 2ch team is @ 36th, then the 31st team is PS3 only ? (because the team name is "2ch@PS3").

 

[one]

one, if the main 2ch team is @ 36th, then the 31st team is PS3 only ? (because the team name is "2ch@PS3").

Yeah it's PS3 only and was formed after the PS3 client was released.

 

[randycat99]

Any ps3 users keeping an eye on the density of pin lights on the globe? I could swear it is getting more and more filled, especially in the metropolitan areas. I'm just imagining all those new ps3 owners trying out FaH for the first time, I guess.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The CPU count according to Folding's stats doesn't seem to be increasing.

 

[randycat99]

Yes, I've reviewed those, too, but I swear the US is getting more and more dots (especially in that NE corner)! It's probably just wishful thinking.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

The CPU count according to Folding's stats doesn't seem to be increasing.

If anything it appears to be dropping, at least if we go by active CPU count. Peak I saw was upper 40,000s (around 47k) now down to just over 33k. Then again, it is the holidays and people are more likely to actually be using their PS3s than folding on them

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Yes, I recall higher numbers. They don't count CPUs that haven't been used for a while, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of early users had lost interest now.

 

[patsu]

I went into Folding information page today and realized that the stats have changed significantly.

PS3:
===
1858 TFLOPs (compared to about 1000 TFLOP less than a year ago).
61525 active CPUs (compared to 40,000+)
506511 registered CPUs (compared to god knows how many a year ago).

Total:
====
2257 TFLOPs (2 PetaFLOPs)

 

[randycat99]

Wow! That is a bizarre increase!

I think ps3 was fluctuating between 1-1.2 P, only weeks ago. It is good to see the total break 2 P! I was wondering if/when it would happen. Maybe it has to do with the special "advanced mode" work units they introduced in Apr. I think they are scoring those at 1.5x the regular work units, as well.

 

[Jugix]

I just visited stanford stats page about a week ago and then PS3 had about 35k active units with 1.2PFLOPS. Also I remember it clearly said at the bottom:"Active PS3's are defined as those which have returned WUs within 5 days." but now it says 15 days.

GFLOPS/PS3 is still the same as when the deadline was only 5days.

 

[Crossbar]

Lateley I´ve noticed that the length of the tasks handed out to my PS3 has increased to about 24 hours and above. The increased length to return tasks matches that increase.

If a lot of people like me set the PS3 to turn off after task completion, an increase of the task length would probably give more over all Flops.

Edit: just found this:

We put out some new WU's which will take a longer time to complete, but get a lot more points.

 

[patsu]

I just visited stanford stats page about a week ago and then PS3 had about 35k active units with 1.2PFLOPS. Also I remember it clearly said at the bottom:"Active PS3's are defined as those which have returned WUs within 5 days." but now it says 15 days.

Their stats page says PC Active CPU is 50 days and GPU is 10 days.
I always thought 5 days is too short for PS3 (since it's somewhere between the regular CPU and GPU in performance). They should pick the median or average days of completion instead.

If a lot of people like me set the PS3 to turn off after task completion, an increase of the task length would probably give more over all Flops.

I should set that option. I have not been folding for months and was pleasantly surprised by the jump.

 

[Freak'n Big Panda]

I've folded about 170 units on my PS3 now. I'm slightly concerned that it is going to significantly shorten the life of my console though.. I plan to keep my PS3 at least until next gen (using it frequently throughout that time period) so the last thing I want is it crapping out on my due to folding. Is this a valid concern?

 

[Gradthrawn]

I've folded about 170 units on my PS3 now. I'm slightly concerned that it is going to significantly shorten the life of my console though.. I plan to keep my PS3 at least until next gen (using it frequently throughout that time period) so the last thing I want is it crapping out on my due to folding. Is this a valid concern?

I love(d) my Playstations through the many generations. Have had most of them on day 1. Haven't had 1 make it through an entire console life cycle, however. Meaning the console I get on day 1, is not the same console I end up with when I replace it with its successor. I'd say your concern is valid even w/o using Folding.

Although, it should be noted that my use may be a bit heavier than yours. I should also note that most of them work in some form, just not completely. Take, for example, some of my early PS1's, each of which need to be flipped upside down in order to read a disc properly. Or my launch PS2 that doesn't read DVDs anymore, but the rest of it works just fine.

Not counting the PSP. Still have a launch unit that works just fine. There's no successor, of course, though.

 

[randycat99]

I, too, have had some concerns about running F@H w/o limit having some impact over the longterm. To put the odds most in my favor (lacking anything more substantial in the way of justifications), I DON'T:

-run it day-in/day-out
-run it aimlessly when ambient temperatures will be over 70 deg F
-run it w/o a surge suppressor on the AC.

In a sense, I tend to baby it. I'll run it on F@H for 8-10 hrs a night, and only if there will be fresh, cool air filling the room (sub-70), such that the fan never kicks into high-speed mode. I'm not afraid to run it if the fan does kick into high while I am actively using it (playing games or watching a movie), but I don't make it run that way all day (or night), just to run F@H.

In the longterm, I hope this will translate into the optimal lifespan. Will it last for 10 yrs?...probably not. I would not expect such a complex piece to last that long w/o a mere hiccup (though, I would be pleased to be wrong). The model generation may be around for 10 yrs, but I don't expect a particular hardware to live that long. Especially, the optical drive- they simply have finite lifespans where it involves the laser diode and the actuator. This has been the case since the cd drive, imo, and I don't expect it to be different for a br drive.

While I never got to the point where I had to flip over my psx to get the disc drive to work, I did get about 7 yrs out of the dvd-drive in my ps2...had it since 2000 and it was able to play dvd movies up to around 2007, after which it was clearly showing signs of distress on being able to play a movie completely through w/o interruption. I'm fairly satisfied with how much life I got out of it (it still runs, actually, and never gave any problems playing actual ps2 games).

 

[Arwin]

I just run it when I feel like it or when I forget about it and it jumps into screensaver mode. Generally I try only to run it when the heat it generates also positively contributes to the temperature in the house, so that at the very least it doesn't need extra power for keeping it cool and at best the energy is put to near optimal secondary use.

I actually have very good faith in the build quality of the PS3 at this point that I don't feel that I could kill it by using it too much. I could be wrong, but everything about it from the inside just looks right, and I can't figure anything that is likely to break down from wear in the next five years, which is long enough for me.