Windows tips
...for SETI@home
These exness tips are for setting up
the SETI@home client to be as efficient as possible, while still maintaining the normal
usability of the PC.
More tips and information of the SETI can be found at our
homepage at SETIWEB.ORG
The client was not designed to
drag every last ounce of processing power out of your machine. It was designed to utilize
the spare CPU cycles that are normally wasted on the infinite loop called idle time.
The default installation of the
client is good at setting itself up to be unobtrusive. But the programmers were very
conservative. A few small changes can effectively triple the client speed and still not
hamper normal operation of your PC.
Drawing
the graph takes a lot of processor time.
In tests, it has been shown that more
time is spent by the computer drawing the graph than is spent doing the analysis. You can
better than double the speed by reducing the time spent drawing.
There are several ways to minimize the
amount of time spent on drawing the graphics.
If you are using the graphic client as a screensaver,
the default installation, you can set the client to show the graphic for a certain time
before going to a blank screen. The client gets exness forex much faster when the screensaver blanks.
In the Display Property sheet (Start - Settings - Control Panel - Display), switch to the
Screensaver tab. Check that SETI@home is the selected screensaver and click the Settings
button. There you will find a checkbox for 'Go to blank screen. Make sure this is
selected. Then set the time for how long you would like to see the screensaver, when it
activates, before the screen goes blank. Entering a zero here makes the screen go blank as
soon as the screensaver starts.
The command line version of the client does not have a
graphic display. That avoids the problem completely but you will not get to see the graph
at all. Using the graphic client without the display has very nearly the same speed as the
CLI (command line interface client) but you can see the graphic whenever you want.
Use as many spare CPU cycles as
are comfortable.
The graphic client can be run in the
background while the PC is doing normal work. This exness broker accesses the spare CPU idle time that
the screensaver mode does not try for. But it has an impact on the PC responsiveness to
your work. A fast PC, 300 MHz or more with at least 64 Mbytes of RAM, can run the
SETI@home graphic client in the background with no appreciable slowing of the machine for
normal usage. Lesser machines have problems with response time that users will notice. The
worst symptom is that the hard drive will thrash as program files and data are swapped to
and from the disk. A 166 MHz machine with 32 Mbytes has a difficult time doing this.
Let the client connect whenever
it wants.
Each time the client finishes a work
unit, it wants to connect to Berkeley to send the results and get another. It is capable
of dialing the modem, transferring the data and hanging up unattended. Allowing this keeps
the client from waiting until you notice that it needs attention. (The client icon in the
system tray at lower right flashes when the client needs to connect but is not allowed to
automatically).
If you choose to allow automatic
connections, you should assure that the modem is instructed to hang up automatically after
a timeout. That way the client cannot inadvertently keep the phone off-hook for an
extended time. That setting is available on the modem properties sheet (Start - Settings -
Control Panel - Modem - Properties)
Use the latest client version.
The client version evolve over time as bugs are fixed,
operation is smoothed, and features are added. Older versions are generally not usable
with the project. Get the latest version from Berkeley at http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/download.html
Use only clients issued at
Berkeley.
It is possible to write a client that executes the
mathematical analysis of the data faster than the Berkeley client does so. That has been
discussed at great length on the USENET newsgroups. The basic issue is the workhorse
routine that does the conversion from samples to the spectrum. Berkeley has used a tried
and true Fast Fourier Transform that is well known in the mathematics and programming
world. But it is not the fastest by a long shot.
Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of the project
programmers and scientists to decide how the data should be analyzed. Making ad hoc
changes introduces the possibility of errors into the data set that cannot be accounted
for. That would undermine the project.
Keep an eye on the client.
Although the client was designed to not require
interaction with the user - that is, to run successfully on its own - it has not worked
out this way. In many situations, the client can hang-up with a message box on the screen
announcing a problem that it could not handle. That message box may well be under other
open windows and not be visible to you. In this case, the client is doing nothing and will
stay that way until the message is discovered or the PC is rebooted.
The work-around here is to occasionally check the
client operation by bringing it up. If there is a message, you will see it then.
Check for programs competing
for spare cycles.
It is possible that other programs are already
installed that want to use your spare cycles. Most do not. Most take CPU cycles as a
normal application does and the client is not attempting to use these cycles. The few
programs that do want idle cycles are usually important to the application that installs
them. It is a judgement call on your part whether to disable these.
Disabling virus protection software is not recommended.
These are installed on purpose and have an important task to perform. They are generally
non-intrusive and do not effect the client performance much.
Microsoft Office usually installs Fast Find. This is a
program that runs through all the files on your PC and keeps an index that is used to help
locate files when using the Find utility. This program eats a tremendous amount of spare
CPU time. If the normal Find utility is sufficient for your usage, then removing Fast Find
from the startup menu will greatly increase the SETI@home performance. This is also a
judgement call. The SETI@home project has never asked that other applications be modified
in any way to suit the needs of the client.
Leave your PC on and tweak the
power saver settings.
Naturally the client cannot operate if
the PC is off. The default installation of Windows will often set the system to power down
some components when the PC is not being actively used by an operator.
Allowing the monitor to turn off is a
good idea. It saves power and potentially extends the life of the monitor. It has no
impact on the client operation. If you have a monitor with Energy Star capabilities, or a
sleep mode, go ahead and use it.
Allowing the hard disk to spin down
slows the client a lot. The client want to write to the disk often to update the
status.txt file. If the hard drive manages to shut down (most will not) then the client
waits each time for it to spin up again. This can slow the client dramatically.
Worst of all is allowing the CPU to go
into a sleep mode. This stops all processing of the client. Many PCs also have a standby
mode. This is essentially the same thing but controlled by Windows.
Reset your machine every
few days.
Windows has a long history of getting slower and slower as days
pass by. This is due to processes that use resources and then do not properly
release them back to the operating system. Occasionally resetting the PC will
speed things back up.
Consider using some add-on programs.
There are many useful, and interesting programs that allow the
client data to be monitored and displayed. Check out a list of these in our links
section.
And then there are us nerds...
The tips above will bring you very
close to the maximum possible speed for the SETI@home client. But of course some of us are
not to be satisfied with 90% speed. We want to see just how fast we can push it. The
problem here is that further tweaks start dramatically impacting the PC usability.
Disabling other programs that want to use the CPU takes away functionality from the
machine.
These tips are not for the normal
users. The author here does not use them. All the above tips are in place on the machine
being used every day for a multitude of other purposes. But, just for the sake of
completeness, here are the best tips for pushing the envelope.
