Folding@Home on a Laptop

Status
Not open for further replies.

CalcProgrammer1

Fully Optimized
Messages
2,363
Location
Illinois, USA
Well, I've read mixed stories about laptop folding on the Internet. Some people say it's harmful to the PC to run a laptop at 100% 24/7, but I've been running my new HP dv9700t for a few weeks now non-stop folding and it runs great. Some say it may hurt the disk, but from my experiences, F@H is really light on the hard drive. I've also been running my old IBM ThinkPad A21p 24/7 and it doesn't show any signs of problems either.

Both PC's run pretty hot (and fans are usually always on full speed). My HP has a fan intake on the bottom (usually blocked by the desk) so I propped it up by putting a stack of floppy disks underneath it giving the fan intake some more clearance...this seems to cool it down a lot. I also do this when gaming (using external mouse/keyboard/monitor...hard to play on the laptop itself when it isn't sitting in a stable position).

So, my question is, does anyone else fold on their laptop? Has anyone had issues with laptop failures or problems due to extended use or processor loads?
 
I used to fold on my laptop, but no longer.

I would say go for it, if the laptop is not your primary one. Otherwise it will take it's toll on the battery life, also, it will, as you know, cause more heat, and laptops are already hot..

So in general, it isn't a good idea to fold on a laptop, but you can..
 
Well, this is pretty much my primary PC. It doesn't hurt battery life because it's plugged in (can't leave it run all night on battery, obviously, and I told it to pause folding when unplugged). The only concern is heat, and it does a fair job of cooling the system when the fan has some airflow (if it's sitting normally on the desk it can get kinda hot, but it gets hotter when gaming, which I do fairly often).
 
Run the smp client, since you have a dual core.

Youll also get a huge bonus in points.


You can get a laptop cooler to cut down the heat a bit as well.
 
I've been running BOINC 24/7 on my Dell XPS for over a year now with no problems. I run a utility to keep the fans running at full speed. I also have a laptop cooler that blows air at the bottom of the laptop. Once a month I shoot canned air though the heatsinks to get rid of the dust buildup. Also BOINC doesn't seem to interfere with the performance of games like Guild Wars.
 
Where do you get the SMP client? I have dual core but I've noticed it only uses 100% combined for one processor. I may have to get a cooling unit, mine does make a bit of heat at full power.
 
Just tried it...how on Earth do you get it to work? The install.bat asks for a user (I'm the only one) and password...I don't have a password (stupid login page, disabled it by removing password) so it just rejects any attempt to use it.

I'll wait for the GUI SMP client...the console one isn't at the point of usable yet.
 
Yea, it requires a password.

There are instructions included..

SMP is not a one click start operation.. AT least not for installation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom