[DarkRyder]

I started this thread so we can talk about the differences between [email protected] and BOINC, the benefits that both serve, and why BOINC is worthy of the support that [email protected] gets.

I would like everyone to answer for us the following questions, then follow it up with your opinions:

-Why do you Boinc?
-Have you ever Folded?
-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom

Now for your opinions, please no flames here. This is just for informational purposes, and not to start a war. I know everyone has their favorites, i just want to know why people choose what they choose. If you have anything further to add, please do so.

 

[Tex1954]

Well, folding is a single thing... and I folded for a while too...

I like BOINC variety!!! Folding should be a BOINC project IMHO...

Have no idea which is better at finding cures but who cares? It's ALL GOOD!!!

I like the BOINC clients better too...

 

[TechCrazy]

-Why do you Boinc?
I boinc mainly because if gives me something to do with my computer. I dont game as much as I used to due to working almost 45hrs each week and if it wasnt for BGBs and a few unnamed members I would be gone because Im a amateur at this I dont overclock and I feel boincing is something I can wrap my head around and feel wanted.

-Have you ever Folded?
I considered it a long time ago but Im a boinc kid now, support the red headed step child!

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
I think boinc is easier to install and get running but what do I know Ive never done [email protected]

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
Never used [email protected] but I feel Boinc is pretty simple to use, install client, add a project, add a app info file if there is one, and let your comp sit. Boom your a DarkRyder waiting to happen.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
I believe that very much so.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom
Thats ironic since [email protected] gets more attention than boinc.

 

[frozne]

-Why do you Boinc?

I have a fairly powerful linux machine that doesn't get used heavily for gaming at the moment. Sometimes I want to get involved in the events of the site, not really to win anything, but to help move the site up in the rankings.

-Have you ever Folded?

Yes. I was folding on the same linux machine as well as my ps3 before trying boinc.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?

Yes, simply because of the processing power and the choices. Most projects on boinc use the GPU pretty well and if I wanted to compute for a project other than medical, I can.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?

I would say [email protected] is easier to use to the full potential. You basically just set an option and run it. With boinc a lot of the projects don't use all of the GPU so I have to edit XML files and set cpu/gpu percentages to allow it to fully utilize the hardware.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?

Sure. It is the same process, just different people studying the results.

 

[nova4005]

-Why do you Boinc?
I Boinc because I like to give to something and this is the best way that I know how to that involves something that I am interested in. I am also hooked on Boinc!

-Have you ever Folded?
I have folded and am folding more now than before.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
To be honest I think they are equal and as such I am equally interested in doing both. With that being said I think it would be fair for equal support to both.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
Again I think they both take time to set up properly, with Boinc taking more time if you choose to run more of a variety of programs.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
This is the main reason I consider them equal is they are both working towards a common goal just from different ends. I think it is great to do both if you want or one or the other. I say the more people looking for the answers the more likely we are to arrive at the answer faster. To me as long as I can justify the electricity cost I will Fold and Boinc together.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc?
No, I did not know that.

 

[gamer11200]

Why do you BOINC?
I BOINC because I want to help make the world better and I can do that easily by running BOINC and attaching to many projects to assist with solving many problems that scientists are trying to figure out.

Have you ever folded?
Yes, and I still do from time to time.

Do you think BOINC is better than Folding and why?
This depends on what your views are. If protein folding is your thing then you'll like [email protected] more.
I like BOINC better since there is a wide variety of projects to choose from. You can choose projects to try to find counterexamples for mathematical conjectures, generating rainbow tables, finding cures for schistosoma, etc.

Which is program/ass (BOINC/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
[email protected] is easier to get set up with and use by far. With BOINC, you need to download the BOINC Manager and then attach to projects and then fill out info for each project. With [email protected], at least pre version 7 from my experience, all you did was download a client, choose a username and team and you're crunching.

Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
They all solve different things, so it's not really fair to compare them, but I think that they are equally beneficial in finding cures to cancers and diseases.

Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom
[email protected] was a BOINC project for a bit back in the mid 2000s, but it wasn't working out for them.

 

[androidd505]

-Why do you Boinc? - Helped me push my hardware to the max / Allowed me to connect with others who had the same interest [Like u guys] / Also allowed me to help in my own way in contributing to various activities I normally wouldn't be able to participate in.

-Have you ever Folded? - I did with my PS/3 I think, Thought it was cool that they were bringing the Distributed computing concept to other hardware that could be used to help out. But I found it to be a limited application unlike the variety of projects you can participate in with [email protected]

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why? - Yes but with that being said if more people contribute in the concept the better. Eventually they will lust after credit like I do and make the switch.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why? Meh both seem easy I s'pose only issue is HEAT!!!!!! Inspired me to build a liquid cool just to squeeze more crunching time outta my machine / machines

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]? - Absolutely where one lacks the other can pick up... plus seems like more info the more to compare.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom - I thought a some point since I've been doing this I saw [email protected] along with [email protected] but shortly it seemed to splinter into it's own thing.

 

[DigitalSavior]

Just because I don't use [email protected] doesn't mean I haven't folded. I started out on Rosetta, which is all about protein folding. I picked Boinc because of the unified software and points system, even if the point system has become arbitrary with the advent of GPGPU. Sure, some Boinc projects may not provide the same benefit that [email protected] does, but that's the beauty of it. You can pick what you want to donate your processing resources to. While a lot of people may run Dirt for points, I don't think it should detract from the value of other projects. Hell, I think it's mighty impressive that people have found a 17,000,000 digit prime number.

-Why do you Boinc? - Because I can. I want to. I want to help find a cure. Points!

-Have you ever Folded? Not with [email protected]

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why? Better? It's all the same. Like I explained above, you can choose what to donate your extra processing cycles to.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why? I think Boinc, but I can't remember using [email protected] Only guessing from what I've seen on getting started guides. So much optimization to do, but the same could be said for Boinc.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]? Yes, why would they not?

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? I did know.

 

[DarkRyder]

i really like everyone's answers so far! thank you guys!

 

[Doc_Gonzo]

-Why do you Boinc?
I got bored with games and I'd heard of folding and wanted to use my equipment to do some good. While reading through information and trying and failing to get the folding client to run, I came across Boinc and it seemed better suited to my hardware. It's addictive!

-Have you ever Folded?
No, I never did get the client to work, even after a number of people tried to help me with it. It just wouldn't run.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
Yes, I do believe Boinc is better. They are both worthy causes but Boinc offers a variety of projects and I can pick and choose how to donate my resources.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
Boinc is wayyyy easier to set up and run. I could actually get this running myself. Folding, I had at least three different people telling me to do this and try that and it still wouldn't work.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
Of course they are! it's all valuable research.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc?
No, but I don't blame them! [email protected] home just seems to me like it should be another Boinc project that we could choose to run. . . . or not.

 

[fishy0689]

Why do you Boinc?
To use my hardware, and to further along projects that I am interested in

-Have you ever Folded?
yup

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
yup, it allows contributors to choose projects and contribute towards something they are interested in.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
IIRC, I found folding to be easier to set up. The boincstats project management system is absolutely fubar, however after over half a year of playing with it I'm comfortable with its quirks.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
Not sure? I tend not to follow biology based projects, although I do run some poem WU strictly for points. I think I ran a few rosetta WU's to feel less like a scrooge, but the points were terrible so I stopped.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom
Yeah, and I believe that some form of consolidation would increase usage of [email protected] and boinc projects (although imo the point tracking sites for boinc would require serious work before that could happen).

 

[tictoc]

-Why do you Boinc?
I BOINC for a few different reasons. I am not much of a gamer anymore, so it is fun to push my hardware with BOINC. I also enjoy all of the different projects that BOINC has to offer.

-Have you ever Folded?
Yes. I am on The IT Crew in the OCN Team Competition.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
I don't think either one is better than the other. I just think of [email protected] as another distributed computing project.
I will say that [email protected]'s support for AMD cards is a joke. There has been a lot of finger pointing, but at the end of the day I think it is on Stanford to make their client work with AMD hardware.
*edit* With the new WU's Stanford has finally made folding on an AMD GPU worthwhile.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
[email protected] seems to be easier to set-up and run for inexperienced users. The sheer number of BOINC projects, along with the specific tweaks for each project, could be a little overwhelming to a new user.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
Yes

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc?
Yes. I read it on the [email protected] FAQ. It would be nice if they were still working on the BOINC client. There is definitely an opportunity for more exposure for [email protected] through BOINC.

 

[Starbomba]

- Why do you Boinc?

Mainly to not waste my computer. I barely game anymore, and if i do, it's stuff that runs at ultra settings when my computer is idling at stock speeds (really old games, emulators). Also the projects seem very nice and interesting, and as an overclocker, i always feel the need to push my computer to the max.

- Have you ever Folded?

Yes, i do. Unless there is a BGB, i Fold on my CPU's, and on Foldathons i use both CPU's and GPU's.

- Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?

Yes. The variety of projects available makes it a more fun to run application., plus the different ways to handle each projects and the little modifications to run them are interesting instead of just throwing moar cores/GPU's/GHz to improve performance/PPD.

- Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?

Both are already easy to use, but i'd say [email protected], from client v7. All you have to do is insert your account info (and even that is optional, you can fold as an anonymous contributor) and the application will detect your hardware and set it up for normal operation. For BOINC you have to get an account for each project you want to run, plus you gotta keep the infor the same or the CPID will end up different.

- Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?

Yes. I remember Biorganic stating Folding is just one aspect of proteins, and i do agree with him. While not a biochemist, i do have a certain degree of knowledge about it and it is true, and having several different projects which execute different things, we can get a more complete view.

- Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc?

Yes. It's also understandable that they couldn't develop it more since it's "easier" to make a standalone app to fit your needs rather than shoehorn what you want to do in someone else's app. I do wish the project would get revived now though, i'd have no complaints otherwise.

 

[theseopenfields]

-Why do you Boinc?
BOINC lets me use my computer for something beneficial when I'm not actively using it, such as at class or just browsing the web.

-Have you ever Folded?
Yes, but due to a few issues like my computer being basically unusable for anything else while folding I've come back to BOINC. BOINC handles background process priority correctly, whereas the [email protected] client seems to completely ignore it. I can be running CPU BOINC WU's using 100% of my CPU and still get 60+ FPS in games, while I can barely scroll a webpage with [email protected]

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
I don't think it's necessarily better, just different. I like having the choice to work for the projects I choose.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
BOINC, definitely. When I last used [email protected] it was a nightmare to get it to run multithreaded, and to have GPU WUs done at the same time. BOINC is all in one application, I had to run 10+ [email protected] applications to get it to work or fiddle with obscure launch flags ... it was awful. BOINC is a lot easier to set up on new computers, just download it and use the account manager, you don't need to know the exact hardware specs and set flags for it like [email protected]

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
Yes, of course! Everything helps. Cancer isn't the only disease out there, and protein folding isn't the only way to combat it.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom
That would be great, and I would fully support it if it came to BOINC.

 

[PR-Imagery]

-Why do you Boinc?
- Looked interesting, thought I'd help the team out, plus there's more projects better suited for my older hardware.

-Have you ever Folded?
- Avid folder.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
- Both are great in their own right... I like the wide range of science boinc encompasses but I wouldn't say its better than [email protected] because of that; I can choose to support [email protected] or one of the projects on Boinc that interests me, its all the same.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
- Definitely the folding clients, I don't need to manually configure "complicated" configuration files. When I started running Boinc I could not figure out to how only use one of my gfx cards or how to run a specific project on one card and another on the other even tho it's supposedly possible; in fact, I still can't.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
- Of course.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom
- Well I do now

 

[Biorganic]

-Why do you Boinc?
I have the hardware and I no longer utilize it for gaming to any real extent. It is nice to apply my hardware to a good cause. My first BGB got me addicted to BOINC

-Have you ever Folded?
Not for [email protected], I almost set it up once but did not. I don't remember why.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?
Yes, simply due to its variety. You can work on biologically relevant projects or CSE or mathematics etc. You can tailor your BOINC project profile to be what you want.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?
I cannot honestly say if [email protected] is easier or not. By all accounts [email protected] is "plug'n play". BOINC is relativley easy to setup initially. It's the fine tunning your settings to optimize ppd for specific prjects that can become more time consuming (not difficult), you just need to play with it. To anyone who optimizes OCd hardware this tinkering would likely be simple. The optimizations are part of what make BOINC fun.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?
Absolutely equivalent if not more helpful, depending on the project. explained below.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom
No I was not aware.

IMO:
BOINC is a better project, that's as a Biochemist who knows much and is heavily invested in proteins. The computational methods used to determine or attempt to determine protein folding are very controversial. There are so many variables, amino acid electronic interaction, van der waals forces, hydrophobicity, secondary structural, sulphur crosslinks, tertiary structure, solvent effects, protein chaperons(super important) etc etc etc, that they cannot include all variables. The calcs are best case guesses with many approximations and a laboratory biochemist will tell you that the computational guys have a loooong way to go before we are even close to accurately simulating such a complex system.

Besides, Proteins folding correctly is only one of many aspects of a protein and it completely ignores many aspects which are imo more important. Catalytic activity, enzymatic mechanisms, protein-protein and protein-receptor interactions are all as important or more important for drug treatment and other types of therapy. To this end there are many projects on BOINC that approach some of these issues.

When we do understand how proteins actually fold, then what? The body still has x disability because enzyme y does not fold correctly. Gene therapy could be used to augment the gene for expression/transcription/translation of this correctly folded protein, but we are not actually augmenting the protein folding. Just implanting the correct gene for a correctly folding protein.

The understanding of protein folding is beneficial in the long term goal of designing our own proteins to fulfill a desired catalytic activity. To this same end understanding the mechanistic characteristics of an enzymatic active site are much more beneficial. You can have a properly folded designer protein all day long, with 000000000 activity/usability if the active site does not have catalytic activity. Knowing how to impart such activity is far more important.

I think many people just fold because it is popular and they want to feel like part of the group. Just my opinion.

 

[Terse]

-Why do you Boinc?

I BOINC because the distributed computing project I started with almost 12 years ago developed it then switched their project to run on it.

-Have you ever Folded?

No, only a personal preference though.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?

I think having the ability to choose your project(s), then specifically allocate your resources make BOINC the better platform. Its not without its issues though such as credit equality, but if you add into the open source nature and the push to lower the barrier of entry to application development in distributed computing, it makes BOINC the clear winner.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?

I can't speak to useability of [email protected], but I'm happy with the progress of the BOINC platform and client.

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?

Yes I do, the benefit of BOINC is that you can further refine your electricity donation to the exact project(s) you choose. I like astrophysics projects a lot more than protein research, but that's just my personal preference.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc?

Yes, a few years back I had heard they were thinking about it. I guess it didn't go anywhere. Its my personal opinion that they would see a net benefit from integration, but with their existing infrastructure I can see why they decided to fly solo.

 

[axipher]

-Why do you Boinc?

I BOINC to make better use of my AMD GPU.

-Have you ever Folded?

Very much so.

-Do you think Boinc is better than Folding and why?

I believe both have their merits. BOINC is a much better platform for a wide range of projects while [email protected] is a much better path to take in the sense that they can optimize the platform for exactly what they want.

-Which is program/app (Boinc/[email protected]) is easier to use and why?

Personally, I have found the newest [email protected] v7 client much easier to set up and BOINC, but before v7, BOINC had my vote,

-Do you believe that the Projects that BOINC run i.e. "IBM's WCG HCC, [email protected], [email protected]" are just as beneficial to finding cures for cancers and diseases and [email protected]?

Can't comment, I haven't done many BOINC projects yet.

-Did you know that [email protected] actually wanted to come to Boinc? [email protected] on Boinc at the bottom

Yep.

 

[DarkRyder]

we have gotten some awesome answers so far!

 

[axipher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

we have gotten some awesome answers so far!

Do we get prizes for these awesome answers?