http://worldcommunitygrid.org
help fold protiens in your computers spare time to try and find a cure for AIDS :clap:

Many other BOINC things here :

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/

I used to have climate prediction, Einstein, LHC and SETI running at home but stopped as I used to spend hours watching them doing their stufff and seeing my life pass by :)

I stopped using these sort of tools when I worked out what it was doing to my electricity bill! ;)

(plus I like to keep my machines as silent as possible, which isn't easy when it's permanently generating maximum heat!)

Originally posted by rich951
I stopped using these sort of tools when I worked out what it was doing to my electricity bill! ;)

(plus I like to keep my machines as silent as possible, which isn't easy when it's permanently generating maximum heat!)

Are there 'bandwidth' issues if you are capped?

Originally posted by Draggletail
Are there 'bandwidth' issues if you are capped?
I can't remember exactly how much data was involved, but I very much doubt it unless you plan on running a network of a few hundred machines :) I used to use SETI over dial-up and didn't have much patience, so the files it downloaded must have been pretty small.

Originally posted by Draggletail
Are there 'bandwidth' issues if you are capped?
that all depends on both the speed of your computer and the frequency that you use it. for WCG the dls are about 4Mb typically and it takes me about a day to fold the protien at full pelt.

the most power you would consume running your computer full pelt is about the same as having 6 incandessant lights switched on. not a great deal for most users, but yes £ if you leave it running 24/7.

i generally run it as a screensaver. i also sometimes switch it on if im doing something with low CPU usage.

On the electricity side of things; I used to have 7 overclocked PC's running SETI 24/7 - certainly made a big difference to the bill!!

Just having something like this running in the background during your usual usage will make no dicernable difference though, and won't slow down your PC either, as many people seem to think, as most are set as 'low priority' and will 'give way' to any other programs that need the CPU.