Lesson #2

…every time I would start the client up it would 1) make me go through the config. process each time; and 2) when the client started, it would create all the client files right in my home directory “/home/amy/” This was not acceptable at all…

Well, with some good help from the fine fellas @ ocforums.com, a major lesson was learned this morning. I was having some problems with the F@H client in Linux. You see, every time I would start the client up it would 1) make me go through the config. process each time; and 2) when the client started, it would create all the client files right in my home directory “/home/amy/” This was not acceptable at all, as this box is my wife’s computer, and I really don’t thing she’d appreciate some piece of software that she isn’t even using, just dumping files in her home directory. What I wanted to do was make a hidden folder “/home/amy/.fah/” and keep all the F@H files in there, while the terminal would run on a separate desktop that she doesn’t see, therefore creating zero impact on her user experience. However, when I would start up the terminal and simply run the command amy@amy-desktop:~/home/amy/$ /home/amy/.fah/fah6 -forceasm -verbosity 9 it would dump all the files into Amy’s home folder.

Here’s the solution. And I’m sorry if this is a total no-brainer to some of you lol.

The linux F@H client creates the client files in a “launch folder” that is defined by where the terminal is pointing to when you run the F@H executable: fah6 You can see where the terminal is pointing to by taking a look at everything between the “~” and the “$” in the terminal line. So of course in my previous terminal reference amy@amy-desktop:~/home/amy/$ /home/amy/.fah/fah6 -forceasm -verbosity 9, the “launch folder” is defined as /home/amy/ to fix this you must first point the terminal to what you want your launch folder to be; in my case I want the launch folder to be the sub-directory “/.fah” under Amy’s home folder. So first I need to enter into the terminal: cd /home/amy/.fah/ Now that the terminal is pointed to the correct folder, I will execute the F@H Linux client “fah6″: ./fah6 -forceasm -verbosity 9 And wam-bam-thankyou-ma’am we have it! Our linux client is now running in a hidden folder under the home directory. This will make minimal impact on the user’s experience, AND it will make for nice and easy backup if I ever need to do some major re-installing on her linux box.

GPU2 + Linux = a very happy Rustafur

I like Linux. About 6 months ago I made another serious attempt back into the Ubuntu Linux O/S, and boy am I glad I did. I like Ubuntu because it’s pretty swift, flexible, stable, supported by some VERY helpful and intelligent folks, customizable (big selling point with me), and FREE -as in beer. The same reasons I like Linux are the same reasons I like Firefox and really really don’t like Macs, I just don’t appreciate that kind of control and narrowness toward MY choices on MY computer. Wow, am I getting off on a tangent here, time to steer this boat back toward where I’m headed.

Like I said, over the last 6 months I’ve become very accustomed and comfortable in my new O/S home: Ubuntu 8.04. However, my new obsession with F@H has torn me away from my Penguin, and I don’t care much for it. It sort of feels like I just got fully moved in to a new house (Ubuntu) , and my new hot love interest (F@H) has moved way across town. And now I gotta spend my time away from my new home to spend it with her.

What am I getting at here? STANFORD, PLEASE GET THE GPU2 CLIENT WORKING FOR LINUX!!!

It ain’t broke, but I gotta fix it.

Because I just can’t leave “well-enough” alone, I’ve gone in and started fiddling with my GPU again. Earlier I talked about how I was turning my computer into a space heater, and the remedies I had to apply in order to cool down the fire breather. One of the things I did was to drop the GPU core and RAM clocks WAY down. And when I say WAY down I mean it from (CORE/RAM) 540/792 down to 400/550. It was part of the package deal to keep the card at a much more respectable 70c, instead of the 80c it was at. Well I just fired up Fahmon, now that the lights have come back on at Stanford, to see what kind of an impact my new clock frequencies made. 4150ppd?!?!?! WTF!?!?! That ain’t happening! I’m not loosing 500ppd over this crap! So back into riva tuner I go, where I was able to find the fan speed setting, sweeeeeet. I’m pretty sensitive to noise, so I wasn’t able to raise the fan speed up too much, but I was able to raise it up enough to take my core and memory frequencies back up to stock settings, regain my 4600ppd, and still keep my card at 69c. Yes, the noisy PCI blower is still installed, but it’s not long before I put a 5v mod or physically modify the exhaust on that screamer, trust me. Now I remember why I chucked that bad boy in my black-hole-of-a-parts-drawer oh so many years ago.

Lesson #1

What on earth made me think I could start making my video card bang away at 100% for 24 hours a day and NOT have to do any modifications to my current cooling solution is beyond me.

After thumbing through ocforums.com, checking out some cases and modding -more specifically this thread by deathman20- I was inspired to open up my own rig to see if there wasn’t some cable management I could take care of, and to start eyeing up some new fan places for the day if/when I turn my P180 into the home of my dedicated folder/file-print-media server. HOLY CRAP was it hot in there! I after I took off the side panel and stuck my head in, I could feel the heat just pouring off my 8800GTS, not to mention the noticeably higher ambient temp in the case itself. So I fired up Rivatuner and CPUID’s Hardware Monitor to check on the temps of my video card. 80-freaking-degrees-Celsius!!! What on earth made me think I could start making my video card bang away at 100% for 24 hours a day and NOT have to do any modifications to my current cooling solution is beyond me. What a total lapse of judgment. So I dug out an old expansion slot blower fan I’ve had for years and installed it 2 slots below the 8800GTS. I stuck my hand behind the case to feel if any real progress was being made, and boy oh boy was it! I couldn’t believe how hot, and the amount of, air that was being pushed out. After letting the blower run for 10 minutes I checked the temps again: 74c. Outstanding! But I need to do better. So I went into Rivatuner and dropped the Core and memory clocks way down which brought the card down to 70c. After installing the blower, my overall temperature inside the case has been brought down to a much more respectable level. My CPU idle temp even dropped 3-4c!!! Step 2 now is to get some Arctic Cooling MX and replace the crappy TIM pads that come stock with the 8800GTS. So this was my first lesson learned when it comes to using my GPU to fold, and a lesson that will definitely be carried with me for further folding endeavors.