Qeustions for F@H PC spec's and bandwidth

[hartbeatmr]

Hi all

    I am very interested in joining for such a good cause. My self I don't have any of the diseases but I do have a boatload of medical issue's myself and if possible I would love to help / contribute if possible. Here is a just a quick list of my medical issues (4 open heart operations, Asthma, multi back procedures, Degenerative Arthritis, 3 Knee surgeries, ect etc) and no I am not looking for Sympathy I am just letting people know I do understand & why this is such a good cause if I can help.             

    I have been looking but I am not seeing / finding the recommendation for PC spec's and the same for how much bandwidth is used. My ISP is a small wireless company and I don't really have any FAP / Limit but he has asked me to reasonable and not abuse the bandwidth so I don't. My download is an ave of 7-8 mb and up is about 1.25 to 2mb with a ave ping of 30-50ms. Yes I do know the faster the PC the better.   

    I have been going thru the intro / write up's and searching on line but I am not really finding what I should put together. Right now I do have a old server has twin (2) 750mhz cpu / 1 gig ram with XP pro 80gig HD etc. Plus I have a lot of other MoBo etc so if that PC would not work I can put something else together that is no biggie. Oh ya I also have a P4 3.0 w/HT and some AMD sempron about 2.5 hz etc. IF I had briefcase of cash I would go like crazy  but I can't. Just looking for some input.

    The PC that would get used for this would be just for folding (24x7)

#1... What OS works the best XP / Vista / W7 / Ubuntu etc (I like Ubuntu the best for Linux) sorry not trying to offend anyone 
#2... How much ram is the best
#3... Any special hardware that would make the biggest bang for the buck / video / CPU etc.
#4... Anything else that would help and I do take recommendations (Help here please).

OK I think that would do it for now, If F@H takes a lot of bandwidth I will check with my ISP to see if I can work something out with him (i.e if it would cost more a month etc)

Thanks in advance Mike     
   

[Geek-9pm]

Did you read all then information? Any computer can help. The main issue is CPU speed, not the OS.
http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,77650.0.html
Follow the links on the above post.

[hartbeatmr]

Good evening Geek-9pm

Thank you so much for letting me know and while I am writing this I am going back thru the F@H info. 

1... I was hoping for something more narrowed down as far as PC suggested spec's (i.e like F@H runs best if it is a P4 and above) or should I wait and build a nice new one for F@H
2... When F@H is running how much bandwidth it uses (i.e like ruffly 100 to 200meg a day etc)
3... For the OS I as asking / wondering if using F@H works best / optimal because of overhead etc if Linux OS or Windows OS etc is best I know that Linux does some things better than Windows does.

Please understand I am not trying to be a pain I was looking for input / recommendations to start with as I am going to be new at this. I really do appreciate any and all input. Years ago around early 2000 I used to have a set up for seti and back then I was on SAT and it was killing me ad I was always getting FAP'd but now I am not on SAT and now have WISP & do not have a FAP my ISP just asked me not to abuse the bandwidth so I try not too.

Edit: I did find under the SMP what they suggest, sorry I missed it as all the write up's are very and a lot of reading. And they do not suggest running SMP on a P4 w/TH only a dual core 2 and above.

Thanks again, Mike   

[Geek-9pm]

I do hope somebody will pop in and give some help. I plead ignorance.

Yes, you need and ISP that allows you to use the system at a steady stream. And some ISPs just don't understand the value of what you want to d

A suitable PC does NOT have to a a very new one. It needs CPU speed more that anything else. The OS overhead is not a big issue. Any recent dual core at 2 GHz and above should be rueful.

[lectrocrew]

  I also plead ignorance since I have been folding only a short time.
But plenty of technical information about F@H can be found on the F@H Support Forum. Be sure to check the Hardware Section.
Happy Folding. 
Mike

[Calum]

As far as bandwidth goes, it's pretty negligible unless you're running a very powerful machine completing a lot of work.  At most, you're talking maybe a few hundred MB a week upload/download, more than likely less than that though.  A constant connection is not required, F@H only needs a net connection when downloading new units and uploading finished ones.
The SMP client runs far better under Linux than Windows, but this is really designed for quad cores or better - P4 with Hyperthreading, and in fact most dual cores, will not make the deadlines any longer.
Any PC from the last 10 years or so can contribute to F@H running the standard client, and will definitely be of help

I hope this answers at least a few of your questions, please do feel free to ask more though

[hartbeatmr]

Good evening

I am thanking all of you folks for the help and input / opinions

As far as bandwidth goes, it's pretty negligible unless you're running a very powerful machine completing a lot of work.  At most, you're talking maybe a few hundred MB a week upload/download, more than likely less than that though.  A constant connection is not required, F@H only needs a net connection when downloading new units and uploading finished ones.
The SMP client runs far better under Linux than Windows, but this is really designed for quad cores or better - P4 with Hyperthreading, and in fact most dual cores, will not make the deadlines any longer.
Any PC from the last 10 years or so can contribute to F@H running the standard client, and will definitely be of help

I hope this answers at least a few of your questions, please do feel free to ask more though

This is a big help manly about the bandwidth usage and for using Linux instead of MS. I will be putting a PC together and installing my favorite version "Ubuntu" I have not used Linux since Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) looks like I am going back to school 

And yes I am re-reading all the info so thank you.

  I also plead ignorance since I have been folding only a short time.
But plenty of technical information about F@H can be found on the F@H Support Forum. Be sure to check the Hardware Section.
Happy Folding. 
Mike

I really do appreciate all the input and if anyone else has there opinions / suggestions please let me know. I have a great base to start with.

I do hope somebody will pop in and give some help. I plead ignorance.

Yes, you need and ISP that allows you to use the system at a steady stream. And some ISPs just don't understand the value of what you want to d

A suitable PC does NOT have to a a very new one. It needs CPU speed more that anything else. The OS overhead is not a big issue. Any recent dual core at 2 GHz and above should be rueful.

 

You folks rule 

Thanks again, Mike