Questions on folding@home

[Gamekid]

I have two questions on folding@home.

1) If I run folding@home, go to options, information, and then certificate, the certificate says that I have completed 0 points, what does this mean?
2) When I run folding@home, I fold by myself. It is better to fold by yourself or fold on a team?

[witheygull]

1) The certificates are just to show off how many work units you've completed. They have no significance in and of themselves.

2) It doesn't really matter. The purpose of the teams is just to stir up some friendly competition.

Both the certificates and teams are ultimately about bragging rights, which can be fun, but are not nearly as important as your contribution to the project.

Welcome aboard and keep folding.

[BorrowedTime]

1) Each work unit has a point value depending on the size and number of folding calculations the work unit requires. A 1000000 calculation WU (which takes a little over 24 hours to complete) is obviously worth more than a 100000 calculation WU (3-4 hour completion time). If you have 0 points then it just means that you haven't completed a Work Unit yet. So you know, a WU needs to be completed within a certain timeframe, and returned to the Stanford University servers in that time for it to count as completed. If it isn't, then the WU is assigned to another folder. I think you have 3-5 days to complete a WU and upload it to the F@H project. For example if you have a 250000 calc. WU (8-10 hours) and fold for only 1-2 hours a day, by the time it gets completed and uploaded to the main servers 5-7 days later, the WU may have been re-assigned to another folder and your WU won't count and you won't be awarded any points.

2) In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter if you fold on your own, or as part of a team. All of the WU you complete go towards the same goal of potentially finding cures for Huntington's and Parkinson's Disease, and some forms of cancer. Joining a team, however, will help that team win some bragging rights on the points rankings against other teams for most WUs completed.

[stenk]

Originally Posted by Gamekid

2) When I run folding@home, I fold by myself. It is better to fold by yourself or fold on a team?

You could set up your own team and any family member with a PS3 or from PC for that matter, could join your team.

BorrowedTime pretty much summed it all up!


All the best!