Hi:

I recently upgraded to the latest BOINC client. After doing this seti@home suddenly decided to start using CUDA on my video card. I do have an 8000 series nVidia grahpics card. But it is not on nVidia's list that supports CUDA (8500GS very low end $35) due to it's low power. Even so seti@home insists on completing every work unit with CUDA. On any other card this would be fine, but it is KILLING my system performance so much I have had to suspend ALL seti@home work. So my question is HOW THE H**L do I turn CUDA off??? If that is not possible, then you just lost my computer and I will switch to another project instead.

Regards
Very Annoyed

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Welcome to DA's world....Cudamatic tag............

If you got one, you're it.......what a wonder, eh?

But don't get me started now........LOL.

Being right does not keep you from being banned...........

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Hi:

I recently upgraded to the latest BOINC client. After doing this seti@home suddenly decided to start using CUDA on my video card. I do have an 8000 series nVidia grahpics card. But it is not on nVidia's list that supports CUDA (8500GS very low end $35) due to it's low power. Even so seti@home insists on completing every work unit with CUDA. On any other card this would be fine, but it is KILLING my system performance so much I have had to suspend ALL seti@home work. So my question is HOW THE H**L do I turn CUDA off??? If that is not possible, then you just lost my computer and I will switch to another project instead.

Regards
Very Annoyed

You can disable CUDA by going to your SETI@Home preferences and unchecking the box for "Use GPU if available".

This preference will not change any existing workunits on your computer, so if you're that adamant about it you should simply abort them after you update your preferences (to ensure you do not download more CUDA work). To update your preferences immediately, open BOINC Manager, click on the Projects tab, select SETI@Home then click the Update button on the left.


Mark - you're not helping.

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But it is not on nVidia's list that supports CUDA (8500GS very low end $35) due to it's low power.

Actually, according to your computer you have an 8400GS, which is on the list of CUDA capable cards. AFAIK all the 8x00 cards are CUDA capable.

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Ageless, he has an 8400 but it's only got 255MB memory which is on the very edge of enough for cuda work. It is probably using all that and doesn't have enough for anything else. My 8500gt with 512MB has enough trouble it slows me down even playing solitaire.

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PROUD MEMBER OF Team Starfire World BOINC

Most people around here have a 256MB card.

But that's aside the issue. Slowdowns and all that are expected, as you are using the GPU, that is drawing all that happens on screen, to do complex calculations under full continuous load.

Seti never said to use it while your system is in use, yet everyone is doing that anyway. Same goes for using your spare CPU cycles, which most people around here (vocal, in the forums) have set to do work while the computer is in use.

But all that's explained in my CUDA FAQ, which also shows how to completely disable it here in Seti, as well as lots of other things.

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I thought I had read that this model was not supported. You are correct I have a 8400GS and it is on the list of CUDA supported cards. However, it would be nice if seti@home did not enable CUDA automatically. Since this causes unexceptionable video performance degradation even with normal use (not gaming).

I have been with seti@home for years and running it all the time without problems. To suddenly have a new feature enabled is very annoying especially since I was not given any warning or an opportunity to disable the CUDA BEFORE the new client started downloading CUDA enabled WU and slowing the heck out of my PC. The arrogance!

I've had this video card for almost a year now, what made seti@home decide to enable CUDA now I wonder? Oversight? Next time please let people know these thing before turning them on by default! >:-|

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I've had this video card for almost a year now, what made seti@home decide to enable CUDA now I wonder? Oversight? Next time please let people know these thing before turning them on by default! >:-|

I agree that it shouldn't be enabled by default for the very reasons you stated (though I have no control over the defaults used by the project), but I wouldn't ascribe this to malice when it can be explained by naivety of learning a new experience.

What made SETI to enable CUDA now? Simple. They just got the CUDA client working within the last month or so, and they didn't even code the app, nVidia did.

I wouldn't call it arrogance more than I would call it short sightedness.

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Well guess what? Not wanting to abort the current CUDA enabled WU I let them finish, even though I can't really use my PC while this is happening. I did disabled the CUDA option in my preferences. And low and behold what do you think happened once the BIONC client requested more WU's? It down loaded more CUDA WU's!!! HOW DO I PERMANENTLY KILL CUDA ONCE AND FOR ALL???? Since seti@home seems to be ignoring my preferences settings and sending CUDA WU's anyway despite the fact I turned it off, or so I thought. >:-<

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Since seti@home seems to be ignoring my preferences settings and sending CUDA WU's anyway despite the fact I turned it off, or so I thought. >:-<

make sure you set that option in the same venue as that your computer is living in. If your computer is living in the home venue and you set those preferences in the default venue, then that change will never be followed.

Also make sure you save the changes to the web site, with the Update preferences button at the bottom of the page.

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