100°

PS3 & Folding@Home reach 2 Petaflops

Folding@Home computing power reaches 2080 Terraflop mark (2 petaflops).

As of November 2007, the IBM Blue Gene/L at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is the fastest operational supercomputer, with a sustained processing rate of 478.2 TFLOPS.
The Folding@Home network is over 4x more powerful than the second most powerful supercomputer.

The PS3 is providing 81% of the computing power. In comparison, Windows PCs are providing 9%. This is especially amazing since there is almost 4 times less PS3 than computers contributing. Therefore the average computing power of a PS3 is approximately 32 times more than the average PC. This is due to recent updates to the Folding@Home application which make it more efficient.

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fah-web.stanford.edu
alexM5826d ago

simple math

4X< PS3s

4* 81/9 = 36x

issa30325826d ago

Well I rounded a little just to make the numbers cleaner. The exact proportion is 31.5 times.

TheEndzor5826d ago

Goes to Show the Processing power of the Ps3

PoSTedUP5826d ago

i hope you guys are contributing too. i know i am

PSWe605825d ago

and what not, but keeping my PS3 on all day to run F@Home while I was at work was breaking my light bill, so I stopped doing it about 2 months ago.

Cwalat5825d ago

anyone tell me what they've cured yet ?

mephixto5825d ago

At least we are trying to help

Real Gambler5825d ago

If you're not folding, what have YOU done to help getting rid of those stupid diseases... Sure, folding may never find a cure, but at least it's a step in the right direction. It's just one of the many ways to do it. You can also give money tons of money to science, and still they may not find a cure.

And you can do nothing, and hope you will never get cancer, parkinson, or all those stupid diseases that should have been cured by now. I do hope you're lucky!!!

Cwalat5825d ago

it was a joke lol..
i fold every day on my PS3... minimum of 30 min while i watch TV and eat something..

sonarus5825d ago

I need to get back to folding. Used to fold every time i wasn't playing ps3. Used to leave my ps3 on for days. Avg 10 days before i would get some random freeze or some game update or some sort to make me restart.

Sure feels good to know you have a reliable console:D

The_Firestarter5825d ago

"Sure feels good to know you have a reliable console:D"

lol So true! The PS3 is built pretty tough, I agree.

Hmmm, I wonder why folding@home never made it to the 360... *cough, cough*

MicroDeath SoftStar5825d ago

Curing stuff is great and all but leaving my ps3 on none stop uses electricity which causes global warming WHICH IS KILLING OUR PLANET. I would rather die of cancer then help take down my planet with me so i might have a chance to survive .
PS no disrespect to anyone suffering for a terminal illness

funkeystu5825d ago

Bah - Global warming has never killed anyone - fold on I say!! :p

I think the data has been used in quite a few research papers, all of which can be used to better understand various conditions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Cwalat5825d ago

got 2 disagrees back up there ^

i said; "it was a jk, i fold minimum of 30 min every day"

that was not a statement for you to judge, that was me saying what i do....

i will officially never understand this website or the sick ppl in here..

Merovee5825d ago (Edited 5825d ago )

1-The planet is not alive... therefore it cannot be killed.

2-What exactly is it that makes you think the current planetary temperature is the best climate for life?

3-The power consumption of a PS3 can be offset by replacing 4 lightbulbs with CFL bulbs and/or purchasing block energy from renewable sources (an option for a good number of people in many areas).

4-Distributed computing is 5 times more energy efficient than by having only reserved computers perform the tasks.

5-Even if global warming wipes out the human population there will still be life on earth, it just won't be yours, this in turn would cause an immediate drop in greenhouse gas emmissions,far more significant than the Kyoto accord so STFU.

6-It's my planet I'll kill it if I want to.

7-If your so concerned with how much impact technological use that is not directly needed for human life has on the planet WHY ARE YOU ON A SOCIAL SITE POSTING ADDED INFORMATION TO AN ALWAYS ON SERVER THAT USES MORE POWER THAN A PS3? Oh yeah, because your a hypocrite.

ban fans5825d ago (Edited 5825d ago )

I agree with most of your points except 1 and 6.

1 - "The planet is not alive" - While the actual rock and elements that make up our planet are not alive, the life on this planet as a whole can be viewed as a single organism. If a certain organism dies out completely (like trees), all others will follow, just as in a human, if the brain dies, the body soon will follow. In another point of view, our planet is alive because it is active geologically; the moving and shifting within the core of the planet and weather. Some astrological bodies, such as our own moon, are considered "dead", due to its lack of activity, and thus can not support any (known) type of life (without external support) because it does not "renew" itself.

6 - This is not your planet. We all share it. You can even say we rent it, as geologically, we are not even a blip on the screen. We do not have the right to destroy our planet even if we have the ability to do so. While I don't think you intended it that way, your comment comes across as being very short sighted, arrogant, and selfish.

But, as I said, I do agree with most of your points. If we can further medical science with this technology, that is a good thing. There are far worse global warming offenders than electrical consumption.

And MDSS - you have obviously not seen some one close to you suffer from the diseases that these scientists are working to prevent / cure. I have lost several family members to cancer, and it is not pretty. There is no reason why we can't stop these diseases AND cut back on greenhouse gases at the same time. We all should do our part on ALL fronts. If you felt as strongly about it as your statement suggests, you would not be on your computer right now wasting time and electricity with a video game forum.

yanikins1115822d ago

Global warming has never killed anybody?

Katrina.

Sure cyclones.... sorry, hurricanes are a fact of life, but they are becoming more frequent and severe. Hell didnt a typhoon just wipe out 50 thousand people in burma? Yes these things have always happened, but most scientists agree that they are becoming more frequent.

Anywho, my only gripe with folding at home is the idea of networking hundreds of thousands of cell processors. The same processors that run advanced Artificial Intelligence simulations in labs. <shivers>

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 5822d ago
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20°

Maximum Interview: the Science Behind Folding @ Home

Maximum PC: Walking into the Pande Lab at Stanford University is somewhat of a hardcore geek’s ultimate dream. This is, after all, where the real work gets done—or should we say, work units. For the various desktop systems and consoles scattered around the area are all a part of a larger initiative that likely you and I, as well as Stanford graduate students, researchers from around the globe, and consortiums of geeks and enthusiasts alike, have all contributed to.

Dr. Vijay Pande, an associate professor of chemistry, structural biology, and computer science over at Stanford—as well as the longtime director of the Folding@Home distributing computing project, which his aptly titled “Pande Lab” oversees—estimates that around 400,000 systems actively “fold” at the current moment. Given the program’s fairly linear growth of around 40,000 new systems a year, Folding@Home should be able to push past half a million “connected” PCs easily before its crystal anniversary.

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maximumpc.com
ALFAxD_CENTAURO4915d ago (Edited 4915d ago )

Amazing project.

Amazing feature on PS3 to help the project.

310°

The healing power of PlayStation 3

Critical Gamer writes: There has been a lot of hype about the power of the Cell processor residing inside the PlayStation 3. Whether or not we will see its full power being exploited remains to be seen, but it has been put to good use by medical researchers in America with the folding@home project.

I’m sure a lot of PS3 owners are unaware of the program folding@home residing on their PS3. This little piece of software has been designed by boffins at Stanford University in the USA, and is used to perform mathematical calculations of proteins when they misfold in the human body. I know you’re probably wondering what I’m wittering on about, so here’s what it is all about.

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criticalgamer.co.uk
Jim Crikey4936d ago

Why don't all machines do this?

Shadow Flare4936d ago (Edited 4936d ago )

I know that pc's use folding@home as well. I think all computers should use this as every little helps. Wii doesn't have it as it doesn't really have the power for the tasks at hand, and Stanford university said that the 360 is of limited help to them

http://n4g.com/news/37648/x...

ImpartialMan4936d ago

PS3 CPU is 3 times more capable than Xbox.
"And in terms of performance measured in gigaflops, the PS3 tops out at nearly three times that of the Xbox. "- IGN
http://gear.ign.com/article...

for a same gen console, that is extremely large difference. Also the reason why 360 does not have folding@home as Shadow Flare said

Anton Chigurh4935d ago (Edited 4935d ago )

Didn't heal my shoulder injury. I better go to a real doctor. /s

ImpartialMan4935d ago

do you realize the importance of protein folding to finding cure to many diseases and many other scientific advancements??

only injury you have is stupidity. and no doc can fix that

Hideo_Kojima4935d ago

Calm down he was just joking :-/

scruffy_bear4936d ago

My problem is I can't do anything with my PS3 when using folding@home if it was in the background I would use it more

Shadow Flare4936d ago

If I'm using my ps3 just to play some music in my room, then I'll put on folding@home since it plays music while it does it

rdgneoz34935d ago

Yep, I do the same. Turn folding@home on and play a little music.

lolzers4935d ago

I'm going to start doing it because my ps3 is very rarely on. Might as well do some good for the world.

jneul4935d ago

that is because you own a 360 and pretend it's a ps3 every day....

lolzers4935d ago (Edited 4935d ago )

I don't own a 360 you spacker. It may come as a blow, but some people don't worship a piece of plastic and metal the same way you do.

EDIT:It's amusing how you get labeled as being a 360 owner because you dare to downplay anything wrong with the ps3. I haven't owned a 360 for over 2 years, I sold it because it had nothing out I wanted.

Which would be the same fate for my ps3 if it had nothing coming out next year. This year has been dismal.

jneul4934d ago

yeah gow iii, heavy rain, 3d dot heroes, wkc, rof, ffxiii, modnation racers, 3d dot heroes, demon souls (eu), move, sports champions, start the party,tumble
thats alot of game/peripherals already out this year that i bought alone, not to mention upcoming games such as time crisis, the fight, gt5.
if that is a lack of games then i call you blind

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4934d ago
Dan504935d ago

You can play music you have on the HDD and use the web browser. :D

Cubes4936d ago

Microsoft should be supporting folding@home as well on the 360. Bill Gates is always seen donating money to charity, so why not help with this project? They should try and get it integrated into the OS of PC's, Mac's and all the consoles, and have it running in the background.

metsgaming4935d ago

yea the 360 fans would never us it. Not because they dont care per say but because they dont want to risk it overheating and causing RROD.

Mr2Good34935d ago

there to busy play modern warfare 2.

Trroy4935d ago (Edited 4935d ago )

MS won't support folding @ home on the 360, and I'll tell you why:

The TFLOPs fact reports like this one.

A task like protein folding is something the Cell processor is exceptionally good at (as you can see from the numbers) -- and the 360 would look weak, in comparison, despite its being a decent games console.

MS will never, ever, do something that would make the 360 look markedly inferior to the PS3. Like having folding@home. Doesn't matter to them if it saves lives or not. It would be bad publicity, and would hurt their brand, and that's all they care about. Sad but true.

Honestly the RRoD issue mentioned in a comment above is also a concern. MS doesn't want *every* old 360 coming back for a free refurb. The publicity issue is the main reason, though.

Dan504935d ago

They hate the word free its their other F word. :P

Truth4934d ago

+Bubbles

I spit Rockstar through my nose. It burns, but it was worth the laugh.

oguzsasi4935d ago ShowReplies(5)
ElementX4935d ago

I use my console for gaming and blu-rays, sorry. I also turn off my console when it's not being used for said activities.

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160°

How Folding@home Turned Friends Against One Another

How a couple of egos and extrinsic motivations turned Folding@home into a bloody cold war competition, where work units were as valuable as kill counts.

Sadie21004942d ago

Ha. Well, at least they're doing some good in the world!

valanceer4942d ago

I wonder how many people would fold is they gave out trophies for certain number of work units....

DigitalAnalog4941d ago (Edited 4941d ago )

Looking at the lights (Places where Folding@home users are supposed to be). I noticed a few of them where in places I don't think I'd ever expect them to have any sort of technology, much less a PS3, EVEN moreso Folding@home. Such as:

- An isolated island
- The middle of Atlantic (No Island here, WTF)
- Some where in the nether mountain regions of Nepal (possibly Shangri-la)

Damn, PS3 you scary...

-End statement

garrod4942d ago

lls good post. Funny story. I'm tempted to start a Folding war with some of my buddies now :)

Ocelot5254942d ago (Edited 4942d ago )

it's all fun and games until your PS3 gets YLOD from folding 12 hours a day :(

HSx94942d ago

it's a PS3 not an Xbox 360

LockeCole4942d ago

Interesting thoughts on competitive nature. I dig it.

illegalyouth4942d ago

I really enjoyed this story. Great writing!

cmrbe4942d ago

This is the kind of war the world needs.

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