First off, there are a few thanks in order:
@Thor for bring this amazing cause to my attention 6 years ago.
@frank for allowing the platform to share with the rest of the community, along with the permission for branding.
What is Folding@Home
Folding@home is a distributed computing project run through Stanford, they explain it best so check it there:
Stanford:
Folding@home is a distributed computing project – people from throughout the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer takes the project closer to our goals. Folding@home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems millions of times more challenging than previously achieved.
It is widely used for medical and scientific advancement for diseased such as Alzheimer’s, Mad Cow, CJD, ALS, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s disease, and many Cancers and cancer-related syndromes. You can find more information about the advancements made HERE, and anymore information about the program.
Basically it just runs in your taskbar or (optional GUI) and uses idle power for your PC to fold, while not interfering with your regular use. You can rack up points for each work unit you complete, and can compete to see who can get the most, or just do it for the good cause.
Why should I fold? What’s in it for me?
In addition to the knowledge that you’re contributing to a very good cause, I plan to offer prizes, and have contests exclusive for folders. And if you keep reading you’ll find out about some awesome new ways get Diamond. Everyone knows someone affected by one of the diseases I listed before, so get out and do it for them!
Can folding damage my equipment, or does it cost money?
Not at all! Folding is completely safe and people are running over 350 million processing units to fold. The software doesn’t cost any money, and it the client just runs while you use your computer, but if you want you can always run it 24/7!
Will folding slow my computer down?
The folding application only uses idle clock cycles, meaning that if another application has need of the CPU, the folding application will decrease its usage until the other application’s needs have been satisfied. The only drain on system resources is the RAM that’s utilized, which remains utilized even when other applications are using the CPU. However you most likely will feel a little decrease in performance while it’s running, but you can easily pause it and resume it later when your intensive tasks are finished.
How can I join?
That’s easy just start folding for team (Team WeMod [232653])! Just read below and I’ll explain how to fold. Once you finish one work unit you’ll be added to the list.
How do I earn points, and when will I see my name on the team page?
You earn points by completing work units, work units are the Project the Folding clients downloads and are what it works on. Each one has it’s own amount of points you get for completing.
When you first start to fold, your user name will not appear in the statistics until your FAH client has completed its first work unit. And because the stats pages are updated every few hours, your stats may not appear immediately. Please be patient.
How do I fold?
Well it’s really easy, but there are a lot of different ways you can fold with varying degrees of involvement, and with various pieces of equipment (CPU, GPU, and PS3)
How can I keep track of my points?
The easiest way is to visit our team page HERE.
Ok, you said rewards, where are they?
Ok, here’s the deal. The first 5 people who reach 75,000 points will receive a month of Diamond or $5 to Paypal. Simple as that. Greater points values acheived will come with greater prizes (i.e. Steam Keys, 3 or 6 months of Diamond, etc…)
Rewards/Prizes are listed HERE
