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[Dusty_D]

Thanks. I'm going to hang in there at least until I move. I just wish I knew how much electricity my PC uses. I guess I could watch the electric meter when and if I move and see if it spins faster with my pc up and running.

Here's a study done last year that kinda should give you some idea of possible costs:
For example, let's say you have a big high-end computer with a gaming-level graphics card and an old CRT monitor, and you leave them on 24/7. That's about 200 watts x 24 hours x 365 days/yr = 1,752,000 watt-hours, or 1752 kilowatt-hours. If you're paying $0.36 per kWh, you're paying $631 a year to run your computer.

That is just a number.. a lot of factors come into play here. A big old CRT monitor consumes a HECK of a lot more power than a LCD monitor. Since you are also not using a big high-end gaming rig, that number would also come down substantially.

The same folks did a study on a 20" Mac that was being used around 10 hours a day and in sleep mode the rest of the time and the consumption was around $5.50 a year.

So, figure yourself to be somewhere in the $200 - 300 range a year depending on cost of electricity, would be my best guess.

 

[tmcase]

Terry, when I first started folding way back in '05, I think my electric bill went up about $20 if that. That was when I started leaving my computer on 24/7.

Thanks Sash. I wonder how much that would equate to at today's prices though. I'll just have to wait and see. I haven't even got the place yet.

 

[tmcase]

Here's a study done last year that kinda should give you some idea of possible costs:
For example, let's say you have a big high-end computer with a gaming-level graphics card and an old CRT monitor, and you leave them on 24/7. That's about 200 watts x 24 hours x 365 days/yr = 1,752,000 watt-hours, or 1752 kilowatt-hours. If you're paying $0.36 per kWh, you're paying $631 a year to run your computer.

That is just a number.. a lot of factors come into play here. A big old CRT monitor consumes a HECK of a lot more power than a LCD monitor. Since you are also not using a big high-end gaming rig, that number would also come down substantially.

The same folks did a study on a 20" Mac that was being used around 10 hours a day and in sleep mode the rest of the time and the consumption was around $5.50 a year.

So, figure yourself to be somewhere in the $200 - 300 range a year depending on cost of electricity, would be my best guess.

Well I am using an LCD monitor, average size, not real big so that will help. Yeah, there are a lot of factors. Summer rates, winter rates, where you live, city or rural etc. I won't really know until I get the bill.

 

[sashwa]

Terry, I think the cost of living is less expensive up there compared to the SF Bay Area where I am. So your electricity might be cheaper than down here as well.

As far as your problem with the FAHControl using so much of your resources, I have noticed that if I have that open then I see it using resources so I just keep it closed unless unless I want to see where I'm at with a WU. Once I quit it, it stops using resources. Can you do that with XP? It's been years since I have run FAH on a window machine.

 

[tmcase]

Terry, I think the cost of living is less expensive up there compared to the SF Bay Area where I am. So your electricity might be cheaper than down here as well.

As far as your problem with the FAHControl using so much of your resources, I have noticed that if I have that open then I see it using resources so I just keep it closed unless unless I want to see where I'm at with a WU. Once I quit it, it stops using resources. Can you do that with XP? It's been years since I have run FAH on a window machine.

I have the control program minimized all the time except to check once in a while. I even set the priority for the FAHcontrol program to low and it didn't do anything. You're right though about electricity being cheaper up here. I'm sure everything is.

 

[sashwa]

Try closing it out rather than minimizing it and see if that helps. Make a shortcut for it so that you can find it easy when you want to look at it.

 

[tmcase]

Try closing it out rather than minimizing it and see if that helps. Make a shortcut for it so that you can find it easy when you want to look at it.

How do you do that without stopping all the FAH programs? If I click "quit" when I right click on the icon in the task try it terminates everything.

 

[sashwa]

Ooops sorry - my bad. I used the wrong terminology.

Not quit in the FAHControl program. Just close it out via the x - like you would if you were closed out your browser or any other program.

 

[tmcase]

I'm confused. After I'm done checking the status in the control window I click on the X to exit the program but it stays in the tasktray. The only way I know how to terminate the control program is through task manager but won't that stop the client also?

 

[tmcase]

Ooops sorry - my bad. I used the wrong terminology.

Not quit in the FAHControl program. Just close it out via the x - like you would if you were closed out your browser or any other program.

We were typing at the same time.

 

[sashwa]

It stays in my Dock (similar to your tasktray) but FAH is still running in the background but the FAHControl is not running so it's not using resources. At least that is how it works on a Mac.

Edit: After you do that, check your task manager and FAHControl should not be there but your other FAH stuff should be.

 

[tmcase]

I think I know what I've been doing wrong but I'm not sure. After stopping FAH to do system maintenance I've been restarting FAH by clicking on FAHcontrol and that starts all the programs, control, core & client then I X out of control and it goes to my task tray but is still running. I just quit the program and tried starting just the client and I got a DOS window with a log of what it was doing. I've never seen that before. There's also a new FAH program called FAHcorewrapper.exe that I've never seen before but the control.exe is not running now and FAHcore_a4.exe is now running at 98% where it should be. Since I haven't started the control program I don't know if it's doing anything but I'm assuming it is.

When I installed FAH it put a shortcut on my desktop. That's what I've been using to start the program. But that is the control program so I'm confused because things have changed since my last wu. I wonder if they stuck in an update that didn't agree with my pc when they sent me this current wu.

Does any of this make sense?

 

[tmcase]

Oh, and there's nothing in the Dock/tasktray.

 

[sashwa]

Use the shortcut when you want to check how FAH is doing but then close it out rather than minimize it to your tasktray. That way it isn't using resources.

It corewrapper probably has to do with that particular type of WU. I see it sometimes also.

As far as I know FAH does not automatically update. When new versions come out, you have to do it manually. Example: Version 7 won't auto update if a Version 7.1 comes out. You would have to manually download the V 7.1 and then install it.

 

[tmcase]

Use the shortcut when you want to check how FAH is doing but then close it out rather than minimize it to your tasktray. That way it isn't using resources.

It corewrapper probably has to do with that particular type of WU. I see it sometimes also.

As far as I know FAH does not automatically update. When new versions come out, you have to do it manually.

I do close the control program by clicking on the X box in the upper right hand corner but it stays in my tasktray and continues to run. I don't see it unless I click on the icon in my tasktray. I can't use it anymore. I have to keep the client minimized (the DOS window) to see what's going on now. I tried closing it but it terminated all the FAH programs. Something has changed and I didn't do it. And I don't like it.

 

[tmcase]

As far as I know FAH does not automatically update. When new versions come out, you have to do it manually. Example: Version 7 won't auto update if a Version 7.1 comes out. You would have to manually download the V 7.1 and then install it.

I read that version 7 is not XP friendly and that version 6 works better for us XP users but I don't know how to get version 6 but then I haven't looked around for it. It doesn't feel right to down grade.

 

[sashwa]

That could be it. I know I can't run Version 7 on my MBP because I never updated it from Leopard that it came with in 2008. Version 6 works on it but the server for smp folding quit working so I stopped folding on it. Now I run Boinc for WCG and RAH on it.

 

[sashwa]

I'm off to bed but I'll find you version 6 tomorrow. It should be easy enough for you to uninstall version 7 and install version 6. It can't hurt to try it.

 

[Trick]

I'm off to bed but I'll find you version 6 tomorrow. It should be easy enough for you to uninstall version 7 and install version 6. It can't hurt to try it.

It's at the same place you get version 7: Folding@home - HomePage

You just have to click the "Older Versions" link instead of the download one.

 

[tmcase]

I'm off to bed but I'll find you version 6 tomorrow. It should be easy enough for you to uninstall version 7 and install version 6. It can't hurt to try it.

Thanks Sash. You've been a big help.