What is needed to fold?

[fairfieldfalconsfan]

I am wondering what specs your PC has to be to fold. I know (or at least think) mine couldn't do it (also cause we have dialup). Everyone on this forum I have seen that folds has a great PC. Then again everyone but me has a great PC on here. I was kinda thinking if we or I ever get high-speed then I might get some oldish PCs and fold but I don't know if they could. The GPU is the most important right?

Thanks in advance.

 

[patonb]

Anything can fold, the only real question is the power required to get things done worth it.

I'd say, useful equipment would be a c2d, i have an e2180, for cpu folding. A 8600gt or better... 48 cuda cores or better basically..

ATI is abit different, the cards aren't fully used, due to their design, so an upper level card, series doesn't matter much, but obviously higher the better.

You can use dialup, but it'll be a batch basis type... ie you tell it when to d/l.... but that'd kinda limit you to the unicore setup.

Whats your specs, and we can sorta estimate what you'd produce.

 

[fairfieldfalconsfan]

I don't like posting my specs because they suck but here goes:

Celeron 1.4 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, and a 128 MB video card (GeForce Fx 5200) running XP SP3

I probably wouldn't start doing it yet cause then nobody can use the phone but maybe in the future I could(If we get high-speed). I might get a better PC and then use my old one for folding.

Does folding take up a lot of power(electric)? I thought I saw a couple places where the electric bill was up but I may be mistaken. I don't think my parents would like a higher electric bill right now.

 

[patonb]

Specs are just numbers... The important thing is the system works for you.

The video card won't fold, needs to be an 8'series or better, but the cpu can. Unfortunately, that probably won't do more than 100pts a day, aka ppd.

Folding basically runs the system at 100%, so the power used is up over normal use. You'd probabhly up the bill by 10 bucks.

In truth, i think you'd be wasting power folding on that setup.
Though its a good cause, wasting electricity isn't a good cause.

 

[fairfieldfalconsfan]

Thanks for all the good advice patonb. This helps a lot. I may fold in the future when I have my own house, power bill, and better PC but that's a long way off.

 

[Abstract Hero]

Well when can we hope to see a low budget starter build? We'd love to help you with options if you could find any budget at all.

 

[fairfieldfalconsfan]

Well I just got a job about four weeks ago and am trying to build up some savings and stuff before I go buying a new PC but I am trying to get specs in mind that I would want when I can build one. I also don't know if my parents would like me buying/building a new PC this soon after getting a job but maybe in a couple months I will be comfortable moneywise enough to do it.

 

[Trotter]

I just posted a combo for someone else that would work for you.

* AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor (Model: ADX635WFGMBOX)
* GIGABYTE AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX Motherboard (Model: GA-MA74GM-S2)
* WINTEC AMPO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory (Model: 3AMD2800-2G2K-R)
Combo Price: $175.00 + about $10 shipping

 

[fairfieldfalconsfan]

How long are combo deals on newegg good? Forever? (or at least as long as they carry the parts?) My dad walked by and I said something about the deal and he kinda sighed/disapproved of buying this so soon that's why I am wondering.

 

[Trotter]

No, they are usually short lived (week or so). But they are always having different combos so you can check when you are able.