Folding Forum

I am new to F@H but highly support the concept in general.

I notice that F@H seems to really give my computer a workout, maxing out the CPU and GPU apparently, with the fan running at full speed constantly.

Has anyone noticed adverse effects of running F@H long term such as damage to any computer hardware? I imagine it would be expected to reduce the life of hardware, has this been documented in any way? Has anyone experienced this?

sekramer10 wrote:I am new to F@H but highly support the concept in general.

I notice that F@H seems to really give my computer a workout, maxing out the CPU and GPU apparently, with the fan running at full speed constantly.

Has anyone noticed adverse effects of running F@H long term such as damage to any computer hardware? I imagine it would be expected to reduce the life of hardware, has this been documented in any way? Has anyone experienced this?

There are reports vom ppl who fried their GPUs here and there. It happens from time to time.
But when you keep your chips cool and do not overclock, everthing should last for a long long time.
If your fan runs at 100% you should check how hot your chip is. Maybe the cooler is full of dust or the thermal compound is old and could be replaced.

Welcome to F@H and the forums sekramer10.
Since you are folding using both your CPU and your GPU, you should have a grasp of pc monitoring.
You could use programs as:

CPU-Z
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

GPU-Z
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

MSi Afterburner
https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/ms ... nload.html

Hardware info
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

You should always keep an eye on the temperature of your hardware.

GPU:
Safe* long term operating temperatures should be in the range of 70 to 75 °C.
As for fan speed, 100% isn't recommended but even so fan failures aren't often and even if one were to occur it would be a simple fix.

*in terms of potential reduction of life span and the like.

CPU:
The CPU is more tolerant of high temperatures, so even 80 to 85 °C would be ok.

In any case you should keep your parts clean, with renewed thermal pastes -if you have the expertise and the tools to do so-.
You should also have good airflow in your case, and if that isn't fishable you should run the pc with the side panels open -be extra wary of dust if you decide to do so-.

Also note that some computers are faster if they fold only on the GPU than on both the CPU and GPU. This is especially true for thermally limited computers like some laptops with discrete GPUs, or even some desktops with slow CPUs. Most modern gaming PCs can comfortably fold on both the GPU and CPU at the same time though.

Welcome to Folding@Home!

In 1980, my dealer told me that if I ran my Apple II 24/7 I would get a 30 year life due to electron migration, and that if I turned it off every time I used it, I would get a 30 year life due to thermal expansion. I still have that Apple II and it still runs. (slowly)

Even if I ruined it is some way, it has been a long time since an Apple II was practical. So if you are shortening the life, but it is still longer than you will use the PC, do you care?

I value potential human lives more than I value actual hardware. The actual cost is electricity, anyway.

JimboPalmer wrote:Welcome to Folding@Home!

In 1980, my dealer told me that if I ran my Apple II 24/7 I would get a 30 year life due to electron migration, and that if I turned it off every time I used it, I would get a 30 year life due to thermal expansion. I still have that Apple II and it still runs. (slowly)

Even if I ruined it is some way, it has been a long time since an Apple II was practical. So if you are shortening the life, but it is still longer than you will use the PC, do you care?

I value potential human lives more than I value actual hardware. The actual cost is electricity, anyway.

You're going to have to recap that Apple soon. Most electrolytic capacitors ave a workable lifespan of about 25 years.
That you still can run the apple 2, is probably because it wasn't on 24/7.
The silicon might outlast a human in operation hours, but on such devices, usually the fans, and later capacitors (with possibility of frying the device when they short) are the first to fail.

sekramer10 wrote:Has anyone noticed adverse effects of running F@H long term such as damage to any computer hardware?

Have 3 fans 2 slots GTX 1070 folded 24/7 at open horizontal stand with card sitted in slot vertically, for 4 years with fans tuned to 55-58% and chip clocked slightly over 2000 MHz with power limit set to 170 watts, with 2 repastings and 1 thermal pads swap, and all is OK now.
Now relocated this system intto cheap but very nice Lancool II Mesh Performance with 3 x 140 mm fans (one added) at mesh front running at their minimal 600 rpms, with 1300 nominal rpm 120 mm custom exhaust fan running at auto rpms form mobo 4 pin.
And after doing this - wondered that it actually runs colder than open stand, both colder for 2-4 C at chip sensor and much quieter because GPUs fans now running at auto with 6-8% lower rpms when having more air incoming from central 140 mm case fan. But at mid rpms case stock fans may be not for everyone, but even with old undervolted Xeon loaded to 90-100 watts with min 600 rpms front case fans - it's cool and quiet. Maybe quieter than even thin 20 watts ultrabook with small thousands rpms noisy turbine when it at full load.
So the good airflow in case, good PSU and some card's servicing with replacing old thermal pads and paste and also checking for fans conditions is not redundant when loading hardware 24/7.

If you run it outside, the heat sinks will start to corrode.
Apparently lightning also kills them.
So you'd have to run it in a sort of 'faraday cage', with a HEPA filter between the unit and a large fan (like a box fan), providing fresh air.
The box fan is necessary once you surpass about 1000W.
Below 1000W, a small Honeywell fan will do as well.

If your PC is stable, it shouldn't be a problem. I've folded on a myriad of devices, including a Lenovo Yoga 3 14 with a GeForce 940M that always ran at 85+c and had a back cover that would crack open every time you opened the lid. It died after 2 years, not because of a component failure but because the power supply got shorted. In that time, it could always hit peak boost clocks and didn't show any deterioration. But I've also tried folding on a friend's desktop, whose motherboard VRMs hit 115-120c under CPU folding and eventually failed later the next day, even though he wasn't folding at that time. I've folded on desktops with overclocked dedicated GPUs but no case fan and a very cheap power supply, properly built desktops, multiple laptops and tablets - and in all cases, I've seen that the wear isn't any higher than it otherwise would have been. I also interacted with someone who's been running Rosetta@home on the CPU and SETI@home/other BOINC projects on the GPU of their Core 2 Extreme gaming laptop since 2008. It's still going strong and still producing Rosetta@home results today.

If you have any overclocked components (particularly VRAM or RAM), that might be a problem long-term. If you have a very unstable machine, Folding could accelerate it's death. But if your machine is properly built, it shouldn't cause any problems other than heating up your room and higher electricity bill. "Shouldn't" and "won't" are two different things, however.

Making sure you have a case with good airflow to your motherboard & GPU's is part of the equation.... Even if you have to purchase an oversized case that allows for it (specifically around the very first slot--the one furthest away from the GPU), should you use a double/triple wide GPU card. You may even have to purchase additional case fans, as an insurance policy if you have doubts (I recommend ones from Noctua, Corsair, or Fractal).

Paul

A guy I used to talk to on here had an interesting water cooling concept. He lived in an area with quite a high water table and the you could dig a hole and hit water maybe 3-4ft down. This area was also quite warm, so not ideal for folding. So he went for a water cooling solution on his rigs, but instead of cooling the radiator by fan he dropped them in the water in the hole and submerged them. A ghetto hybrid passive/active water cooling solution with a twist. Looked cool as anything.

The same concept could be applied in other ways. If you want to use ambient outdoor temperature for cooling, say if you live in Iceland or the Arctic, you could water cool the cpu/gpu, but put the radiator outside. So put the computer by a wall, drill some holes and run the tubing through the walls and mount the radiators outside. As long as you have a good water pump and decent antifreeze in the system it should work. Similarly, if you live somewhere hot, keep the radiator low to the ground preferably where it has good natural airflow.

Or if you dont want to go to such extremes, a good case, with good fans will suffice. I wouldn't bother with CPU folding unless you have some very specific reason for doing it, like you have a 64 core system and free electricity. GPU is where its at if you are looking for cost effective folding and still have to pay the bills.

I have folded since 2009 and built 9 dedicated folding rigs, I have moved continents 4 times in that period so usually just left them behind as I moved, but I have rarely actually burned out anything outside of reasonable time and some hardware has proved far more resilient than others. For GPU's my GTX 980ti and 1080ti both have outlasted the more recent RTX 2080ti and now when possible I choose hybrid cooled cards and have never had an issue with CPUs with decent aftermarket coolers, but rarely use them at full capacity these days.