I run seti on my laptop as well as on my desktop and I have heating concerns with both. I didn´t have problems yet but I´m worried because is not only a mather of having enough cooling but the temperature arround is always higher and the life of all non-metalic components get shorter.

Please include cooling brake options within the preferences.

The cooling brake extension and the working intervals shall be of user choices. Maybe a reference table and tuning recomendations can be added.

For example, after many experiences, I have recomendations for computers like mines (see processors descriptions):
a)desktop: 5 minutes of break each hour (5X55, working 91.6% (5/60)of the time).
b)laptop: 8minutes of break each 42 minutes (8X42, working 84% (8/50) of the time).

We´re are donating time and it´s fair to make possible to do it without compromising the computers and computers components life.

Thank you ofr understanding,

Eduardo

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Many systems, if well designed, shouldn't need this option at all. There have been many users (myself included) that have run SETI-BOINC (and SETI Classic) for years without issue.

That being said, if you notice your computer getting hot, why not just suspend the program? Or if you will be away, simply suspend it until you get back.

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I have one computer that has been nearly 24/7 on either old SETI or BOINC at 100% for almost 3 years. No issues with heat.

The one machine I did have issues with was a laptop. The issue was dust related. Once cleaned it was back to normal. That's been running over 1.5 years nearly 24/7.

As OzzFan stated, a good computer, with the proper ventilation and cooling will last for a very long time. The processors are meant to be taxed (why would they build them with all the power if it wasn't usable?).

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My movie https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/502242

Actually cooling cycles makes the lifetime even shorter because it is the changes in temperature that wear components the most...
Instead you should use sub-second CPU load controlling software that will enable you to put a cap on how large a percentage of your CPU the application is allowed to use. Alternatively you can underclock your CPU using the BIOS.
As stated earlier most computers are designed to run 24/7 on full throttle, but some, poorly designed, systems cannot afford this because they lack the important air-flow through them or around them.

You can find such software in the addon-section.

Or do like I do now... leave the metal outside case off the computer (yes, it's probably not that good of an idea to do that, but it works a lot better for occasionally cleaning the CPU heatsink and any dust that's gathered on the boards) and don't have anything blocking the open side(s). Also, you may want to check out how clogged with dust your heatsink is and how well the processor fan works (is it noisy, bogged down with dust, is there a dead squirrel jammed in it, etc.). And, if you want, you can always add a case fan or two to the front and side of the case (push & pull... one sucks air in and one sucks air out of it). Also, might want to take a flashlight and peer into the poewr supply and see if the fan on it is choked with dust or even spinning.
Those few things can (depending on how hot it gets and the environment the computer is running in) keep the temperature down.

Hope those ideas help a little... if nothing else, just duct-tape an air conditioner to the thing.

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2.5GHz X2 32bit AMD Athlon|2GB RAM|WinXP Pro|2243.7GB total 3 SATA,2 IDE
1.6GHz Celeron|512mB RAM|WinXP Home|80gB SATA
3.1GHz X3 64bit AMD Athlon|4GBs 1066 RAM|ATI 4650 GPU

Alternatively you can underclock your CPU using the BIOS.

For those with mobile processors or recent desktop processors and Windows, there is also excellent RightMark CPU Clock Utility, which can underclock the CPU and/or lower it's voltage. This combination can lower the temperature of fully loaded CPU by up to 5-15 degrees Celsius (or Fahrenheit accordingly :) and simultaneously the necessary fan(s) speed and loudiness.

(Few might prefer Notebook Hardware Control doing essentially the same, maybe something less, something more...)

Peter

Or do like I do now... leave the metal outside case off the computer (yes, it's probably not that good of an idea to do that,

Actually, this is a bad idea. With the case on there is a flow, typically from front to back drawing the hot air out. When you take the case side off, there is no established flow, just the flow of the CPU cooling fan drawing off from the heat sink. This doesn't help the cooling of the motherboard, video card, memory etc. Most newer cases take this into account.

Best option is to add additional case fans to a closed case.

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If you're running Linux and it has the file /proc/i8k which shows the CPU temperature, you can use my revised 'cpulimit' command to limit the CPU usage based on CPU temperature. The tarball can be found here:

http://home.twcny.rr.com/setiatease/cpulimit-1.1c.tar.gz

This is a revision of the cpulimit version 1.1 that is found on the add-ons page (referenced above).

HTH,

Carl

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