GPU2 Installation Guide
You should install this client if you:
- Have a recent generation NVIDIA Graphics Card (8400GS or newer).
- Have a recent generation ATI Graphics Card (2400 Pro or newer).
NOTE: If you are going to install the GPU folding client, you must first have a capable driver (and usually the more recent the drive, the better the performance). The newest drivers can be downloaded from each company's respective website.
Crossfire/SLI must be DISABLED for F@H to work properly on two or more GPUs!
If you meet these requirements, and have a capable driver installed, you are ready to install the Windows Vista GPU client! Just follow these steps to install the GPU client.
1. Download and run the GPU client installer, which can be found here: Nvidia GPU Client or ATI GPU Client.
Once you are done, the installer should show this:
2. If you are running multiple GPUs, we must next do a simple file copy. If you are not running multiple GPUs, you can skip this step.
Open the Control Panel. If your Control Panel looks like this:
Please click on "Classic View" which is in the upper left hand corner of the control panel window.
After this, your Control Panel should look like this:
Open the icon marked "Folder Options." It should open a window that looks like this:
Click on the "View" tab. In the advanced settings box, there should be an option to change whether or not to show hidden files. Enable showing hidden files and folders.
Afterward, it should look like this:
Click apply and close the Control Panel.
Navigate to the User's files. This should be the same name as the Username used at login. Open the "AppData" folder.
Navigate to the "Roaming" folder. Copy the folder named "Folding@home-gpu" and paste it in the "Roaming" folder. Rename this folder something simple and logical, such as "Folding@home-gpu 2."
You will have to copy this folder for as many GPUs as you have: for example, if you have two GTX260's, you will only have to copy it once (two folders total). However, if you run three 9800GTX's, you will have to copy it twice, renaming it logically (three folders total).
3. Open the start menu. Navigate to All Programs --> Startup, and then delete the file named "Folding@home-gpu." If you don't have this file, don't worry about it and continue to step 4.
4. Right click on the desktop, and create a new shortcut.
In the box that subsequently pops up, click browse. Then, point the target to the .exe file where the client is installed. On an x86 (32 bit) system, this will be found at "C:\Program Files\Folding@home\Folding@home-gpu\Folding@home.exe"
x64 systems, on the other hand, will be at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Folding@home\Folding@home-gpu\Folding@home.exe"
Name the shortcut something simple, such as GPU1.
5. Once the shortcut is created, right click on the icon, and open the properties. It should look like this:
You will have to make two changes to make the client work properly. First, add "-gpu 0" to the end of the target.
After that, change the start in box such that it says "C:\Users\Keith\AppData\Roaming\Folding@home-gpu", where "Keith" is your username used at login. The page should now look like this:
Click OK.
6. Run "Folding@Home.exe." It should bring up the Folding@Home Control Panel window. In this window, you can set your username, and team number. Username should be your unique name. Check here to see if your desired name is already in use. (XCPUs.com Folding@home Stats Search Engine) Assuming you want to fold for Team XCPUs, your team number should be set to 75255.
7. Click on the Connection tab of the Folding@Home Control Panel, and check the box next to "Allow receipt of work assignments..." This will allow the client to receive the largest, and thus, the highest point valued, work units.
8. Click on the Advanced tab of the Folding@Home Control Panel. If you are running any other Folding@home clients, set "Slightly Higher" under the Core Priority option. This will allow the GPU client higher priority to the CPU than the other clients. Since the GPU client almost always gets more points than any other client, this is the best option available.
Also, check the box labeled "Do NOT lock cores..."
At the bottom of this page is an option that is very important called "Machine ID." This must be set as a unique number from the rest of the Folding@Home clients installed on your PC. I personally used 3.
9. Press OK. Your GPU client is now installed! Since we installed the GPU tray client, it will now show a small icon in the system tray. By right clicking on this icon, you can access a lot of different functionalities, including viewing the log file, and the configuration page. With NVidia cards, you can also use the display option to view the somewhat nifty F@H Viewer, which shows real-time folding progress (NOTE: Please do not leave the viewer open for long periods, as it uses a lot of CPU and GPU power, effectively slowing F@H progress!).
You are now running the Vista NVIDIA GPU client! However, if you are running multiple GPUs, you are not quite done yet, please proceed to the next step.
10. Right click on the shortcut you created in step 4. Copy it, then rename the shortcut something logical, such as GPU2. You should now have two icons, such that they look like this:
Right click on the icon, and go to properties.
Change the Target to -gpu 1 instead of -gpu 0.
Change the Start In box to "...\Folding@home-gpu 2" instead of "...\Folding@home-gpu"
After both of these, the box should now look like this:
Press OK.
Run the shortcut, and complete steps 6-9 again, substituting a higher number for the "Machine ID." For example, if you used a machine ID of 3 on the first client, the second client would need to be 4.
You will have to do step 10 for as many GPUs as you have: for example, if you have two GTX260's, you will only have to do it once (two shortcuts total). However, if you run three 9800GTX's, you will have to do it twice, renaming the shortcuts and targets logically (three shortcuts total).
Once this is done, you have successfully installed the GPU2 client! Congrats.
Welcome to the Fold! 