Optimized clients

[Bok]

Sticky thread for posting links to optimized clients.

I'll add in a how-to later today for compiling, for now this is just a few links. Feel free to add more links and I'll merge them into the sticky..

Very fast windows clients based on the 5.3.1 source

More windows based clients

Compiling your own

Fast AMD linux clients

Bok

[Angus]

Thanks , Bok.

I think it's important to point out that the BOINC client does not actually do any crunching. It is only your PC's interface with all the various BOINC application servers.

However, it DOES affect your credits since the BOINC client runs the benchmarks which are used to calculate credit.


The optimized science applications (your second link) DO affect the crunching time. If you crunch faster without changing the benchmarks, you will actually get less credit for a specific work unit. Then it becomes important to run optimized BOINC clients to get the benchmarks up to get more credits.

Currently, there is no optimized Rosetta science application, so running the the optimized BOINC client to improve your benchmarks should generate more credits per given WU.

[PCZ]

We need some optimised version 5 linux clients.

Version 4 is no problem but version 5 has been a pain to build and the scores are way down.

[Bok]

I still can't get scores anywhere close to the ones I have on 4.72 optimized clients with the 5.31 source. I'm doing exactly the same thing so I don't understand why either. I'm hoping someone over at the seti forums releases some soon...

Bok

[Mustard]

You got an url for downloading them?

[Bok]

See first post,

I updated it with the fastest linux AMD clients I have found.

Or did you mean the 5.x.x linux ones I have compiled ? I'm not using them personally.

Bok

[Mustard]

Originally posted by Bok
See first post,

I updated it with the fastest linux AMD clients I have found.

Or did you mean the 5.x.x linux ones I have compiled ? I'm not using them personally.

Bok

I was after the 4.7x boinc. Thank you!!

[Digital Parasite]

I noticed that the Rosetta home page has 5.2.8 as the recommended version but 5.3.1 optimized has been out for a while. Why wouldn't Rosetta be using the latest, or what is the latest?

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to 5.x clients or should I just stick with my 4.x since they seem to be working ok?

[EvoDude]

Bok,
As you know I'm not the quickest learner on the planet and just wanted to double check I got this right!

I dl'ed the optimized 5.3.1 client for my Athlon 64 from your sticky. I then, just in case, moved the boinc file I already had into a backup folder and dropped your version in where it was and restarted my Boinc manager.

Is that it, almost seems too simple? With just a single 3500+ rig running a gig of ram my RAC score is about 260 - what sort of difference can I expect from this alteration?

Thanks for your time and patience

[Marky-UK]

That's all you have to do!

Look at your benchmark before and after you change the client and you'll see the difference it makes. The truXoft client gets you 10-20% I've found on a P4/Althlon XP/Althlon 64.

If you want a client that gives an even higher benchmark, try these clients: http://www.guntec.de/Crunch3r/boincx86.html

I've found those give benchmarks about 10% higher than the truXoft client.

[EvoDude]

Thanks Marky.

When I tried to install the other files you linked to it tells me that some of the files are in use. I had shut down Boinc as instructed but still says they are in use.

Should I remove Boinc Manager from my start up and reboot, then try again?

[Marky-UK]

Try closing BOINC and BOINC Manager (making sure they're not in the task list anymore), nothing should be using the files then. I run BOINC as a service, so just had to stop the service and could copy the files over fine.

If you still can't copy the files over, maybe you need something like Process Explorer from Sysinternals to find out what process is holding the DLLs open.

[EvoDude]

Gotcha Marky - never thought to check Task Manager for Boinc still running. Sorted now, leave it running undisturbed and see how it goes.

Benchmark now showing:-

2549 MIPS Whetstone
7697 MIPS Dhrystone

Unfortunately I didn't find the benchmark tab before the change so will have to trust this is better than I was getting.

Again, thanks for time and patience!

[Digital Parasite]

I just tried upgrading from BOINC 4.x to BOINC 5.x. I installed the 5.2.13 client from the Rosetta home page for Windows which went fine. I then tried to use the Crunch3r optimized client but I get this error when I try to run boinc.exe:
"This application failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect"

Any idea what is wrong? Using the truxoft optimized client is working fine. I went from 1862.91/3756.6 with the 4.x optimized client to 1560/5849 with the 5.x optimized on. The regular 5.x client was 1884/1403.

[Bok]

Did you copy in all the dll's from the package too ?

Bok

[Digital Parasite]

Originally posted by Bok
Did you copy in all the dll's from the package too ?

Yes I did.

[EvoDude]

I posted some information and a link to these optimised clients on DCZone forum where some of you already post. Now I am being accused of cheating. I take this as a slur on my character and find it rather insulting. So much so that I have decided to stay away from DCZone. I don't need that sort of abuse.

I would be very interested in Free-DC members views on whether the use of optimised clients is actually cheating. My own thoughts are that I am only getting a fair return for a fair days crunching. I could swap my Athlon 64 3500+ for several smaller rigs that would actually do less work but get a lot more points. What do members here think?

Edit:- Mods - you may want to move this post or create a new thread for it, no problem with that.

[ladypcer]

EvoDude, this has been brought up in several forums, and the consensus is that using the optimized Linux version corrects a known bug, but that using the Optimized Windows version only gives you a falsely inflated benchmark and a falsely inflated claimed credit.
Shrug..

I understand they are working on a different way to award credit earned, so the benchmark will soon mean nothing.

[Bok]

My personal feelings are that it is not cheating. If you were to change the code to produce a static high benchmark then yes, that would be, but all I see this doing is optimizing your PC. Somewhat akin to overclocking your pc in a software sense I suppose though that's not a great analogy.

The clients are available to anyone who wants to put in the effort to use them /shrug

Bok

[ladypcer]

I kind of thought that at first too, Bok. Like using flag optimizations in F@H, but it was explained to me that in F@H, running flags makes your cpu crunch better (via SSE2, etc), but in Boinc (windows), all it does is inflate the benchmark and does nothing to really make your cpu run the program better or faster, so you're just claiming a higher bench, but not doing any extra work.

It would be one thing if everyone ran the optimized version, everyone would be on an even footing.

Maybe it would be better if they just gave xxx credit for each finished wu, and forgot the benchmarks altogether.

I know that some programs are asking users NOT to run the optimized Windows version because it skews the credits/results.

I'm still up in the air on it, and waiting for the projects input on the matter.