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Renderers against Covid-19. We Can Help #Nvidia #AMD #Intel

SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,310
edited March 2020 in The Commons

Now for something practical anyone can do to help.

If you are not using your Nvidia GPU equipped PC 24/7, please, consider joining this during the time when you don't need you PC:

https://foldingathome.org/2020/02/27/foldinghome-takes-up-the-fight-against-covid-19-2019-ncov/

https://foldingathome.org/2020/03/10/covid19-update/

https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/

 

Following up on @watchdog79 's post in the end of the world thread, I wanted to highlight this thing that We Can Do To Help!

Basically it's using unused CPU and GPU cycles to help model defences against the virus.

More here:

Tom's Hardware: Help Cure Coronavirus with Your PC's Leftover Processing Power

Jerusalem Post: Nvidia calls on PC gamers to contribute to the fight against coronavirus

Guru3D: Folding@home: Put your CPU and GPU in use against the Corona COVID-19 virus

NvidiaGeForce Twitter

You can google "folding@home coronavirus" if you need to read more.

Post edited by Sevrin on

Comments

  • PaintboxPaintbox Posts: 1,633

    Very cool initiative, I've been using my other computer for this.

    Another option is BOINC from Berkely, it was easier to install on my system : https://boinc.berkeley.edu/

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,260

    ...I have older hardware (like a couple generations older both GPU and CPU wise) and wonder if that will even work for their needs.

  • SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,310
    kyoto kid said:

    ...I have older hardware (like a couple generations older both GPU and CPU wise) and wonder if that will even work for their needs.

    Should be fine.  Requirements are listed here.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,260
    edited March 2020

    ..OK thanks.  Concerned because I have a Westmere Xeon, DDR3 memory, and PCIe 2.0 slots.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,333

    I might doi that again. I haven't since the 2000s.

  • droidy001droidy001 Posts: 282
    I'm sure we have fair amount of processing power between us here. I've just finished a Work unit, it took about 90 mins. Your Gpu can be working away while you're setting up your next scene.
  • dawnbladedawnblade Posts: 1,723
    Started doing this over the weekend. It makes me feel so good to be contributing to help find a cure for this virus, even though my PC is doing the work! There will be a Reddit AMA for the team that operates foldingathome on the 19th. Details https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/fhb5e4/coronavirus_specific_gpu_projects_are_now/ My 1080TI hasn't been used yet though. Read that the power slider needs to be at Full to have it recognized. Hopefully that isn't the case for all projects.
  • Sfariah DSfariah D Posts: 26,567

    Interesting idea, but right now I only have a laptop without a nvidia gpu.  Would this work on a laptop without a dedicated gpu?

  • dawnbladedawnblade Posts: 1,723
    Also, as of yesterday there isn't a COVID-19 category, but selecting Any and the software will funnel them to you. Also haven't received my passkey yet. Is there a group number established for us Daz users?
  • alex86firealex86fire Posts: 1,130
    droidy001 said:
    I'm sure we have fair amount of processing power between us here. I've just finished a Work unit, it took about 90 mins. Your Gpu can be working away while you're setting up your next scene.

    That could or could not be a good thing. I feel like my video card needs a break from time to time anyways. It's already going sometimes 8-10 hours at a time. If you keep your GPU at 100% power all the time and in max temperature, it won't go well for it in the long run.

    I've also read about this iniative and I think it is awesome but I fell it caters more to people that are only sometimes using their GPU. Like gamers, or people that are rendering from time to time.

    If you use your GPU daily for renders already, maybe it deserves a break in between them.

  • SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,310
    alex86fire said:
    droidy001 said:
    I'm sure we have fair amount of processing power between us here. I've just finished a Work unit, it took about 90 mins. Your Gpu can be working away while you're setting up your next scene.

    That could or could not be a good thing. I feel like my video card needs a break from time to time anyways. It's already going sometimes 8-10 hours at a time. If you keep your GPU at 100% power all the time and in max temperature, it won't go well for it in the long run.

    I've also read about this iniative and I think it is awesome but I fell it caters more to people that are only sometimes using their GPU. Like gamers, or people that are rendering from time to time.

    If you use your GPU daily for renders already, maybe it deserves a break in between them.

    *cough*priorities*cough*

    Well, when running, it uses your GPU constantly.  You can choose the load you want to accept.  But it doesn't always run.   My client was running yesterday evening and it was running early this morning, but hasn't had anything to do since, I don't think.   They've had a big surge in interest due to Covid-19 and are scrambling to add thingies to the pipeline to take advantage of all the additional capacity.  

     

    dawnblade said:
    Also, as of yesterday there isn't a COVID-19 category, but selecting Any and the software will funnel them to you. Also haven't received my passkey yet. Is there a group number established for us Daz users?

    Not that I know of.  It's not hard to do, but I'd rather Daz stepped up to promote this.

  • dawnbladedawnblade Posts: 1,723

    Just an update that foldingathome's (FAH) servers have been overwhelmed by the number of new computers since Friday, that they are in the process of adding new servers and jobs. I guess that is a good thing! Pointing this out if A) you haven't received any jobs yet, either for CPU or GPU; B) you haven't received a passkey yet (you can do it anonymously until then, as the most important thing is to get new jobs ready for us).

    Due to the large volume of passkey requests, email providers including Google have tagged FAH emails as spam and are being completely blocked so they won't even get to your spam folder. FAH is working with providers to prevent this.

    FAH Forum

    FAH Server outages

    FAH passkey delays

     

  • SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,310

    Note: There is no guarantee that your cycles will be used specifically for the coronavirus.  Up until this evening, all of the work units I processed were related to CV, but now I just got two for some cancer research.  It may a day or two before more jobs will be prepared for coronavirus.  I guess cancer research is...okay...too.  Aparently that's still a thing.

  • SevrinSevrin Posts: 6,310

    So there's some news.  Folding@home has helped make some real progress in Covid-19 research.  That's more than we knew before.

    An unprecedented 0.1 seconds of simulation of the viral proteome reveal how the spike complex uses conformational masking to evade an immune response, conformational changes implicated in the function of other viral proteins, and "cryptic" pockets that are absent in experimental snapshots.

     Link to the preprint article.

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