Reminder: turn 'on' your PS3 tonight for Folding@home foldathon

by James Ransom-Wiley on Mar 25th 2007 7:58PM

Wanna discover a cure for cancer while you sleep? Or solve the mysteries of Alzheimer's in your dreams? Perhaps unfold the complexities of Parkinson's even as the drool beings to seep into your pillow? Then tonight, before you tuck yourself in, remember to power on your PlayStation 3 and launch the Folding@home application, joining PS3 owners everywhere as we commit our consoles' processors to the first-ever Sunday Night Foldathon.

Note: After installing 1.6 Firmware, Folding@home can be downloaded from the Network tab in the XMB menu. The application requires 250MB of hard drive space. Once launched, the application will automatically download a work unit from Stanford University and begin computation. If you're feeling a pang of gamer camaraderie, hit triangle, select identity, and join existing team #57516. All set? 'Kay, this is your cue to hit the lights and let Cell do the rest -- while you rest. Sweet dreams.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Folding@Home (PlayStation 3)

Source

Tags: cell, download, network, ps3, stanford, xmb

Reader Comments (85)

Finally! A PS3 exclusive that is going NOWHERE!!

Teh Cell iz teh awesomest at teh folding of teh protienz!

I meant, '..that isn't going anywhere', as in like you wont see this on 360. Not as in, it's a worthless application

And don't forget to say yes to the EULA, which says that Stanford and Sony can remotely access your machine without warning or notification.

Of course, if you reject the EULA (as I did), be sure to delete the icon, as it says to do in the EULA. Of course, if you delete it, it comes right back, thus proving not even Sony read the EULA before posting it.

I don't doubt that the 360's chip would be less efficient than a Cell, but wouldn't it be a GOOD thing if the 360 got this, as well? The more active CPUs folding, the better, right? Heck, even the Wii could make some kind of contribution, seeing as it's "always on." It would be really cool if all the game consoles helped Folding@home when they are idle. Or is Sony paying them to keep it 'exclusive'?

British World War Two Pot Morale

I'm kidding.

The cell is actually amazingly efficient at calculations required in folding, so that is why it is better than the 360 in that respect. But I hope that it made available for 360 users, just because it helps science.

Regarding Xbox 360 and Wii...

All the coding was done by Sony...MS and Nintendo would have to 'step up'.

I doubt either company wants to have the processing power of thier systems directly compared to the Cell...they'll have their asses handed to them...I know it isn't charitable but they have to think of the 'aura' that would come from...'See..the Xbox can only process at x% of the PS3"...

Here is a wiki on 'alternative' OS support for F@H.

"And don't forget to say yes to the EULA, which says that Stanford and Sony can remotely access your machine without warning or notification."

The EULA is your warning and notification. And I'm sure the whole folding@home project is just a front for Standford to invade your PC or PS3 and steal your pictures and videos.

Sorry...here is the link to the Alternative OS wiki:

http://fahwiki.net/index.php/Alternative_FAH_Platforms

Yeah, because I want a $280 dollar electric bill this month.

Yea, I'll be doing this... after i head to bed, its too loud since it sits in my living room. I also leave it on when im at work.

Yay!

I entered Joystiq's team number on F@H on my PC. I just installed it today, so we'll see what happens, but I'm not leaving my computer on at night.

They should have some ranking system for the top 1000 people who have the highest number of work units completed... but I guess that would be a bit counter productive for Sony as the higher number of completed units means the longer you ARE NOT playing the PS3. Though, at this time, with the current games out, being rank 1 on that list would probably be my top priority.

This isn't going to cure cancer. Or Alzheimers. Or Parkinsons. You'd be better off sending a dedicated research organisation the cost of the electricity you would have used leaving your machine on all night.

I will make sure i have it on tonight and every Sunday night, But I also do like 3-4 hr a day. I have a feeling that this might bring Stanford's website down, and i am also curious how many Teraflops the ps3 users are going to do tonight.

Uh, Probot, that was my point.

If you answer yes to the EULA, they can come into your machine and you can't do anything about it.

If they only need to do certain things, they perhaps they should have put restrictions on themselves in the EULA.

I don't feel like giving them carte blanche. Go ahead, call me paranoid, I don't care.

When companies are willing to show some responsibility, instead of just stripping me of all recourses, I'll begin to cut them some slack.

Hear that? That's the fans of every one of the 1.2 million PS3s worldwide reving up and down all night long. See that? That's the power spike that will eventually cause the destruction of the world!

:) I'm glad to see the PS3 being used for something good... great PR, too!

My ps3 is off to sony for repair :(. Maybe next time.

"If you answer yes to the EULA, they can come into your machine and you can't do anything about it."

They have to do that in order for the program to work. This project works on the concept of distributed computing, where each processor does a small part of the calculations. If they can't to your data then it's useless.

My comment about Standford looking at your pictures and videos was sarcastic. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but most people really don't care about you or what you have on your PS3. There is no big push to find out either.

"This isn't going to cure cancer. Or Alzheimers. Or Parkinsons. You'd be better off sending a dedicated research organisation the cost of the electricity you would have used leaving your machine on all night."

Lighten up, dick. It's an alternative form of research that certainly isn't going to hurt any effort to fight those diseases.

How the hell did people read a story about fighting cancer and turn it in negative? I didn't realize that many assholes read Joystiq.

Wanna reduce your electric bill while you sleep? Or save 190 watts while you dream? Perhaps even help save the environment even as the drool beings to seep into your pillow? Then tonight, before you tuck yourself in, remember to power OFF your PlayStation 3.

@post#13

They do have a ranking system:

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=userstats

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teamstats

http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=osstats

------------------

By the way, CPU's running the GPU beta version of Folding@Home are roughly 3x as productive as the PS3 is

Ha, My PC: 1, PS3: 0

All you PS3 folding@homers are going to piss off Al Gore with your electric bills.

wow, this sounds like a bunch of who the hell cares?

@mrfong...

I don't think Al Gore worries about his electricity bills so he can stop worrying about ours...

http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_16522-Group-Blasts-Gores-High-Utility-Bill.html

Kettle meet Black...Black meet Kettle

@MuffinMan...

As explained on the F@H website...

GPUs look at the smallest possible set of WU types..so they are highly efficient at one type of folding...

PS3 have been programmed to look at a more varied types and thus run slower than the GPU program (though the PS3 does use its GPU in the calcs)

All other computers are looking at a wider range of proteins and thus their ability to process them fast is hampered by this variety.

Everyone running this on their computer PLEASE CONTINUE TO DO SO...the PS3 and GPU units are NOT the whole variety of proteins

Well, at least those PS3's will actually be turned on and running for a change. It's about time they got used for something other than a mediocre conversation piece.

Actually a lot less electricity is used at night, but the same amount is made. You're not hurting the environment by leaving the PS3 on over night you're using electricity that would have otherwise been wasted.

These are the games coming to PS3 this spring: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/775/775334p1.html

Looks like Folding at Home will be the Killer app till fall as most of these titles will or have already seen the light of day on the 360.

Colin - I'm glad the PS3 can process information not related to GAMES better than 360 or Wii. Unfortunately for Sony..they are competing in the videogames industry and there have been many comparisons in terms of how well 360 and PS3 can process information for GAMES and the results are pretty even.

Pretty funny that PS3 fans only have a worthless program to be happy over that has absolutely nothing to do with experiencing a good game!

Im Folding right now.. looking at the participation visualizer.. North America is very active as well as Eastern Europe (UK, etc). There are even a couple of units in Iraq getting in on the action (although they could be PCs). The activity in Japan is mainly around Tokyo.

SMUG ALERT!

This is the Smug Emergency Response System. This system has been triggered because there is an excess of Smug in your PlayStation 3. Stand by for further instructions...

Either get a cool screensaver or don't. But don't get smug because you wasted electricity on overnight number crunching for some federally-funded marketing wiz at Stanford. Remember, you paid for this research twice...once when you paid your taxes and again when you paid your electric bill.

Edge of Blade...your a loser...anything for fighting cancer is worth doing

@V1CK

Regardless of the merits of F@H if X360 launched a client the PS3 would make it look slow and Microsoft wouldn't want that.

I'm not saying the X360 is better or worse than the PS3...just that it would not be good for 'marketing' if a direct comparison was made like that.

Good gaming to all and to all a good night.

PS..

To all the people bitching about F@H and electricty etc...if you don't want to participate, don't. F@H has been around quite awhile and those that DO participate have heard it all before.

Everyone tries to 'give' to their communities in there own way and for some PS3 users this is a fun and new way for them to choose to help out. If you choose a different way of helping in your community, great! But stop shitting on those that choose THIS way.

I'm lazy so I'll reuse my digg comment...

Given that the PS3 can gulp down 380W when fully loaded and assuming a rate of $0.14/kWh it would cost $466 annually to leave ONE PS3 on 24x7x365.

If every PS3 sold thus far did this the amount would be around $825,277,000 annually.

While this is a worst case scenario figure, it certainly shows that it is far from being free.

One could even argue that the added power consumption (and all that comes with it... you know, CO2 emissions, continued reliance on foreign energy sources, etc) it might actually ADD to the misery of the world. I wouldn't take it that far, but I think you see where I'm going with it... ;)

While the project has noble goals, Sony's are purely public relations.

It's less than a dollar for 7 hours. The formula to shut all of you retards up: (Power(380W)* Time(hours))/1000 * Price(.13 here)= 35 cents.

The Folding FAQ says that it uses 200 Watts while folding.. nice try with the FUD. Which is less than using a PC to fold.

For clarification F@H takes 200W while running on th e PS3, as stated on the F@H site and confirmed by one of the sites (Kotaku maybe...the actually measured it at 190W I believe)

I refuse to believe that those of you who are arguing against global warming are suddenly concerned with the curing of cancer.

Picking your "real world" issues based on your console fanboy affiliation? Wow.

BTW...the 2005 Avg Nominal Residential Cost of Electricity in the US was 8.4 per KWH.

Thus 200 * .007 * .084 = 11.76 per 7 hour night

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0810.html

Thats 11.76 cents not dollars.

Wow. There are a stunning amount of assholes in this world.

Do some folding. It's a noble research project.

If you are so broken and jaded as a human being that you have to turn this into a privacy issue, or poetical issue, or console war issue than please do the world a favor and instead of using folding at home tonight, just off yourself. I'm sure you will be doing the people around your miserable ass a huge favor.

Hrmm, this is much like the World Community Grid that I have running in the background on my PC. Good stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Community_Grid

@chudgoo...

Is there a GlobalWarming@home project? No? So what's your point?

Diman : Nice copy and paste, "retard".

This is so funny, only a few of the commenters understand what F@H is all about yet suddenly everyone is so concerned.
(or SMUG as "Edge Of Blade" put it)

Do any of you truly understand and believe in the project or is it yet another large number to be proud of?

Ok folks, let us remember that not ALL electricity is produced by burning of coal. Get that into your head.

Wind
Solar
Hydro
Thermo

Those are energy sources that are not harmful to the enviroment (arguable by some, but it is not in regards to climate change which is a big threat).

Point is, in my area a lot of the electricty comes from a nearby wind farm. No one is saying you need to stop your modern life as you know it, instead we need to push the technology that is already there and get these money grubbing oil companies and electric companies using coal out of here.

Repeat, not all electricty is produced from sources that harm the enviroment.

@ritz...

Yes the F@H has been around longer but both are examples of distributed computing's power. If MS did want to offer a distributed client to its users they could do so with Grid and avoid the direct comparison with the PS3...for those that want to help in this manner more CPU cycles the better.

@Yeah...itsJoystiq...sowhat

If you would have read the article you linked, it was in Gores favor stating that the report was the last gasp of the global warming critics. So you might want to link a more conservative article next time...

....one that "forgets" to report that the source of his electricity which is a "local Green Power Switch program, which uses electricity generated from renewable resources."

Again folks, the problem isn't the electricty, it is the source of the electricity.

????

Actually the source of Gore's Electricty is irrelevant...if he is using X percent of the total 'green' electricty being produced there is that much less green electricity available to others. Therefore the others need to revert to 'dirty' electricty because of the amount of electricty Gore uses.

Until ALL electricty in the US is 'green' it absolutely DOES matter that Gore is using so much but preaching conservation to the masses.

Sorry, but this wont cure anything. Humans will be extinct (on earth) before we ever "cure" cancer.

Protein folding simulations doesn't help you cure anything...

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Reminder: turn 'on' your PS3 tonight for Folding@home foldathon

Folding@Home (PlayStation 3)

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