[Info] List of Folding Terms

This is a list of commonly used terms in the Folding section, for you new Folders who might be a bit confused.

Essential:

37726
The team number for overclock.net. Must be entered into each client.

-bigadv/-hugeadv
A -bigadv WU is one that requires a CPU with at least 8 threads (or a highly OC'd i5 2500k or AMD X6). i7s can Fold this WU in Windows, though the X6/2500ks must use a Linux VMware (guide).
A -hugeadv WU uses the same flag (-bigadv_, but refers to two bigger -bigadv WUs; P6903/6904. They require 12 threads, and are only available in Linux.

DAB
The "Donor Advisory Board"; a forum on FF () made up of representatives of the top five teams, and highups from the Folding@Home Project (Professor Pande, the members of PG who work on the WU and cores (like Dr. Kasson), as well as the mods of the forum. It's where we (the representatives) bring the views of our teams to the people with the power to change things.

EOC
This is the main stats site we use on overclock.net. You can see your own stats by entering your Folding name here.

FF
An abbrevaiation for foldingforum.org ; the official forums for the Folding@Home Project. In the event we're not able to answer you questions here (about beta WUs, server downtime, WUs not being credited, etc), we'll direct you to the appropriate forum there.

FFG
The "Folding Focus Group". Twenty or so members of the team who are chosen to provide input on how the team (including guides, events, and general changes to how things are run). The FFG is refreshed a couple of times a year.

Flags
The term for additional parameters added to a client. A list of all flags (and their uses), as well as how to add them to the various clients can be found here.

Foldathon
A monthly, 2-day "Folding Marathon", where we all try and get as many points for ourselves as possible. Especially useful during the hot summer months, where 24/7 Folding can be too much.

HFM
The most widely used client monitor. It gives vital information on your client, and is essential when it comes to troubleshooting Folding issues. A full guide is available here. Other monitors include Fahmon and FahSpy.

Passkey
This is necessary for bonus points on the SMP client. The SMP guide outlines how to get one, but in case you don't need the guide, you can request the passkey here.

PG
Pande Group; the group within Stanford University that run the Folding@Home Project.

Postbit
The "Folding Team Rank" you see under many Folders' avatars. First, you must earn 50,000 points for team overclock.net (check EOC above). Then you must post in this thread.

PPD
A very important term for Folding. It stands for "Points Per Day". It is not an estimate of how many points you will get per day. It is a measurement of the performance of the unit you are Folding at that particular time. For example, you might be Folding a 450pt unit at a rate of 6 a day; that's 2.7k PPD. But, if the next unit you get isn't a 450pt, but a 783pt instead, your PPD will change.

It is very important to realise the difference. We use PPD to see the performance of your clients; if PPD is lower than similar hardware, we can assume something is wrong.

SMP
The SMP client Folds on all cores of your CPU (as opposed to the single core when using the Unicore client). Not as quick to install as the GPU client, but still simple enough when following this guide.

TPF
"Time Per Frame"; the time taken to complete 1% of the unit. It is also one of the columns in HFM and has a role similar to PPD; if it is outside of the normal range for a piece of hardware, we look a bit deeper in case there is an issue.

v7
The new version of Folding client, which combines the Unicore, SMP and GPU clients into one. Still being fully developed, so not recommended to use unless you have an AMD 5/6 series GPU.

WU
Stands for "Work Unit". This is the Project the Folding client downloads and works on. Each one has it's own amount of points, and the newer SMP WUs also have bonus points determined by how fast you finish the WU.


Less commonly used:

a5 WU
The core used for -bigadv/-hugeadv WUs.

CC
The "Chimp Challenge", an annual race between the bigestr Folding teams in the world, usually held in early May.

CFP
The "Community Folding Project". A team rig dedicated to Folding. You can donate hardware or money to expand the rigs. More details can be found here.

Client
The Folding@home program that uses either your CPU or GPU. The client types are all listed here (SMP, GPU, Unicore), as well as Folding on a PS3.

EUE
The most common error on the GPU client; stands for Early Unit End. It can happen when the GPU is stressed too much, or when Folding on an unstable overclock. Normally, you must delete the failed WU and restart the client before you can continue Folding. More information can be found at the end of the first post here (search for EUE).

FFW
The "Forum Folding War", an annual competition held between the different forums of overclock.net. Held in early November, with signups starting in mid-October.

GPU2/3
The name for the GPU clients. GPU2 is for all GPUs from the 8/9/200 series (nVidia) and 3/4/5 series (ATi). GPU3 is required for Fermi. GPU3 can be used for older nVidia GPUs too, but gives lower PPD than GPU2.

GROMACS/ProtoMol
GROMACS and ProtoMol are molecular dynamics simulation packages, used by the Folding clients. They are the instructions the clients follow while Folding.

Protein
An organic compound made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and folded into a spherical form. When protein 'misfold' it can lead to diseases such as Alzheimer's, CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's, as well many cancers.
The Folding clients simulate the circumstances under which protein fold/misfold, in order to understand the process more thoroughly.

Sig Badge
The "Folding Millionaire" and "Chimp Challenge" badges you see in many member's signitures.

Stanford
Stanford University; the University that runs the Folding@Home Project. Here is their homepage.

Unicore
A basic CPU client, which is only able to Fold on one CPU core. Required for single core CPUs. Guide.

VMware
A virtual machine running Linux. Linux is able to get difference WUs (refer to -bigadv above), and in some cases can give more PPD than Windows. Rather than a full installation of Linux on your computer, you can run a VMware. Recommended if Folding -bigadv/-hugadv WUs.
Edited by zodac - 10/28/11 at 6:55am

*Reserved*

And open for business. Let me know if I missed any.

Done.

Anyone Folding with on one for OCN?

Point them out, and they'll start Folding.

Sorry, but I was joking.

I'm actually not allowed go around PMing people to start Folding (got shouted at the last time I did that ).