[FXTOi7]

Hey Guys

Im new to folding, and my boss mentioned he would like to give back to the community, so I mentioned folding for the OCN team.
We have several older free desktops (running P4s) and one free server with a 2.2GHz Xeon quad (maybe even two Xeons, not sure).

What should I tell my boss to convince him folding would be the perfect way to give back?
Also, if we use 2-3 older desktops would we still be useful?
How long would it take to get 1 million points with the Xeon?

Looking forward to folding for the team.

 

[zodac]

No need to bump after five mins; the forum is active enough.

To answer your question... here are a few threads on Folding:
Folding FAQ
Is Folding worth it?
Folding Memorial: I fold for...

As for how long it will take... @2.2Ghz a quad core will get 3-4k PPD (Points Per Day)when Folding 24/7. Two of them would mean ~9 months for 1 million.

The P4s would get less, due to the fact that they'd probably need to run the Unicore client, which has lower points (at the moment; plans for that to be revised). They'd probably add a couple hundred each on top of the quads.

 

[FXTOi7]

Great. So any advice to talk the boss into letting me use the free server for folding?

 

[the_beast]

where are you based? In the UK at least companies have to demonstrate that they are doing something for the community etc - and donating computing resources to develop cures for a variety of diseases would look good on their corporate responsibility publications.

I think if the boss is receptive to the idea generally you would be better off pushing to use the idle server, plus folding on any reasonable workstations around the office instead of using the P4s. If you can show your boss that you only want to use the most productive and useful machines you're more likely to be allowed to do it (ie say don't use those older machines because the power used will be too high to make it worthwhile, but if we install the client on people's workstations it won't use much more power than they do currently, won't affect people's usage of their computers but will be good for the community you're more likely to get results).

Finally, though it probably won't be popular here, you should probably set up your company as their own team. That way your boss can readily see your progress and publish the results more easily. Now I know people would rather the folding was done in OCN's name, but personally I would rather see an office folding for another team than have that office not fold at all because the boss can't see the benefits directly. Who knows, with his contacts he might even set up a folding competition between a few competitors/clients - which can only help the cause in the long run...

 

[Deeeebs]

Another thought would be to talk him in to selling the older p4's, and building a nice little rig from the market place that he can proudly show off and feel good about!

 

[Captain_cannonfodder]

Another one for the use of the idle server.

 

[Strider_2001]

I would simply ask if he knows anyone that has had cancer or any un curable disease. That is a perfect way to get him to "relate" to the idea and make it hit home...

 

[TheReaperWaits]

Can only give very rough estimates without the model number of the xeons... Do these PC's have any dedicated video cards?