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Message boards : Number crunching : XP - Lets fight a step (back)forward

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Message 52458 - Posted: 11 Aug 2019 | 16:42:03 UTC

In an ideal world I shouldn't be writing this, but I'm used to dealing with the real one.
I work as Service Engineer, maintaining devices theoretically designed to be fail safe... And no time to be bored ;-)
At this moment, ACEMD short and long tasks are failing for current Windows and Linux systems due to expired license.

In the meantime till ACEMD3 is available, I read that license for XP systems is still working:
http://www.gpugrid.net/forum_thread.php?id=4954&nowrap=true#52433
So I rescued from my shelf an original Windows XP Home SP2 x32 installation CD, and a spare 64 GB SSD from a drawer...
I used as guinea pig one of my currently running Linux computers.
It took two hours from beginning installation and the first long WU started to process, including:
- Installing 64 GB SSD in a mainboard's spare SATA port
- Installing Windows XP SP2 from CD
- Installing motherboard drivers for XP (Chipset, sound, LAN)
- Installing XP SP3 - KB936929
- Installing some security patches, KB4012598 (MS17-010 - Wannacry), KB4500331 (CVE-2019-0708)
- Installing GPU drivers, Nvidia 368.81 (last XP compatible for GTX 950 GPU)
- Installing BOINC V7.14.2 and attaching GPUGrid
Related system is this:
http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=510717
At this time the first long WU is finished in 24H bonus, and the second is running.

This is only a temporary bypass to continue processing GPUGrid, and nice opportunity to remember old XP times.
When ACEMD3 be operative for Linux, this Cinderella-system will return to this (more efficient) other:
http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=480458

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Message 52461 - Posted: 11 Aug 2019 | 18:25:56 UTC - in response to Message 52458.

...When ACEMD3 be operative for Linux, this Cinderella-system will return to this (more efficient) other:
http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=480458

why do you think that GPUGRID crunching with Linux is more efficient than with XP? I doubt it.

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Message 52462 - Posted: 11 Aug 2019 | 19:50:51 UTC

why do you think that GPUGRID crunching with Linux is more efficient than with XP? I doubt it.


In my particular case, there is a heavy reason: My XP version is a 32 bits one.
This, in most cases, reduces computing performance for a 64 bits processor, and I collaborate with several CPU BOINC projects.
And XP 32 bits, due to its limitation to 4GB, is not able to manage the whole 8GB RAM for this system.
For the same system, I use a Linux x64 version that evites theese two bottlenecks.

On the other hand, I was positively surprised for the execution time of GPU task processed so far.
It achieved 24H bonus easily:
http://www.gpugrid.net/result.php?resultid=21296157

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Message 52467 - Posted: 12 Aug 2019 | 1:42:02 UTC - in response to Message 52462.

I was positively surprised for the execution time of GPU task processed so far.

The execution time of your task on WinXP, using GTX950 is equivalent to execution time of a GTX960 on Win7.
Example of a Win7 host with GTX960 processing equivalent task (PABLO_V4_UCB_p27_sj403_no_salt)
http://www.gpugrid.net/result.php?resultid=21212947
Demonstrates how much power Windows WDDM sucks out of the GPU!

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Message 52470 - Posted: 12 Aug 2019 | 10:41:39 UTC - in response to Message 52467.

I was positively surprised for the execution time of GPU task processed so far.

The execution time of your task on WinXP, using GTX950 is equivalent to execution time of a GTX960 on Win7.
Example of a Win7 host with GTX960 processing equivalent task (PABLO_V4_UCB_p27_sj403_no_salt)
http://www.gpugrid.net/result.php?resultid=21212947
Demonstrates how much power Windows WDDM sucks out of the GPU!


WDDM started with Vista. The lack of WDDM is why some GPUGrid crunchers stayed on XP vs newer OSs until the Linx version of SWAN_SYNC was found. Linux is probably just more efficient though.

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Message 52473 - Posted: 12 Aug 2019 | 11:34:14 UTC

Linux is probably just more efficient though.

+1
Only using 90 day trial of Win10 until Linux tasks are back up and running.

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Message 52477 - Posted: 12 Aug 2019 | 13:58:54 UTC - in response to Message 52467.

Demonstrates how much power Windows WDDM sucks out of the GPU!

which is too bad, indeed :-(
I am wondering what WDDM is really good for.

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Message 52511 - Posted: 15 Aug 2019 | 12:20:25 UTC
Last modified: 15 Aug 2019 | 12:23:55 UTC

In the wait for ACEMD3 be available, and thus support for Linux OS:
I installed XP to another of my systems, following the same steps than in first post of this thread.
This system has two Maxwell GPUs installed, one GTX 750 and one GTX 750 TI.
I was surprised again for GTX 750 TI finishing a long ACEMD WU in full bonus (download - wait to start - execution - upload time less than 24H):
http://www.gpugrid.net/result.php?resultid=21312539
GTX 750 GPU is not powerful enough for this feat, but it is able to get easily middle bonus (download - wait to start - execution - upload time less than 48H)

This Jekyll-Hyde system has now two personalities.
This one when running Linux:
http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=325908
And this other when running XP:
http://www.gpugrid.net/show_host_detail.php?hostid=510813
Is there any XPsychiatrist onboard, please?

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Message 52898 - Posted: 26 Oct 2019 | 10:32:41 UTC

It was beautiful while it lasted.

But currently all ACEMD CUDA65 WUs started to fail, and I'm not expecting them to work again.
CUDA65 is not supported by ACEMD3 apps either.

So I'm returning my both 32 bits Windows XP systems to their original 64 bits Ubuntu Linux OS, and I'll wait for ACEMD3 tasks come into production.

In their 11-weeks-lasting XP season, they crunched a total of 191 ACEMD WUs (87+104). For me, it was worth the job...

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Message 52899 - Posted: 26 Oct 2019 | 13:57:41 UTC - in response to Message 52898.

It was beautiful while it lasted.

But currently all ACEMD CUDA65 WUs started to fail, and I'm not expecting them to work again.


it's really too bad that something like this once more happens without any announcement by the GPUGRID people.

I also guess that ACEMD CUDA65 won't come back :-(

Anyway, would just be great if someone from the team could let us know.

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Message 52907 - Posted: 28 Oct 2019 | 17:09:25 UTC - in response to Message 52899.

It was beautiful while it lasted.

But currently all ACEMD CUDA65 WUs started to fail, and I'm not expecting them to work again.


it's really too bad that something like this once more happens without any announcement by the GPUGRID people.

I also guess that ACEMD CUDA65 won't come back :-(

Anyway, would just be great if someone from the team could let us know.

https://www.gpugrid.net/forum_thread.php?id=5002#52865

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Message 53030 - Posted: 22 Nov 2019 | 6:41:05 UTC

For all those XP users:
Remind that XP is not supported by new ACEMD3 app any more.
Time to migrate to other OS...
Currently all of my systems are switched to Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS and they have received tasks when available.

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Message boards : Number crunching : XP - Lets fight a step (back)forward

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