"Run only the selected applications" problem
7 Jun 2014 15:54:36 UTC
Topic 197602
(moderation:
I'm on a laptop with an Intel GPU which cannot process the Binary Radio Pulsar Search (Arecibo GPU) tasks. I went to "Run only the selected applications" in my E@Home preferences and changed "Binary Radio Pulsar Search (Arecibo, GPU)" form "yes" to "no". Then i went into BOINC Manager and aborted all the GPU tasks that were running or ready to run and then i updated. Everything seemed ok for the night but then i woke up this morning and noticed i have 13 new GPU BRP tasks. What did i miss? Is there a step that i overlooked while trying to get my computer stop accepting GPU BRP tasks?
"Run only the selected applications" problem
)
In this particular case, there's a problem with the terminology - it is confusing, and they haven't found a succinct way of explaining it.
Binary Radio Pulsar Search (Arecibo)
and
Binary Radio Pulsar Search (Arecibo, GPU)
are effectively the same application: it's just that the 'big' GPUs - NVidia and AMD - are so darn fast that the tasks finish almost before they begin. So, the (..., GPU) variant packages 16 of the individual CPU tasks into one big bundle.
The Intel GPUs, on the other hand, are slower, and closer in runtime to the CPU cores. So, Intel GPUs get allocated tasks from the non-GPU queue.
That, of course, is the same queue that CPU tasks are drawn from, so you can't use that option to choose CPU but not iGPU. Instead, use the options towards the top of the preferences screen: uncheck "Use INTEL GPU".
I wonder why you can't use your INTEL Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 GPU? Mine works just fine. Might simply be a driver issue.
Thanks for the fast reply. I
)
Thanks for the fast reply.
I did what you suggested and switched the "use intel GPU" to "no" then aborted tasks and updated. Looks good now. If i end up getting more tasks tomorrow i'll post again on this thread.
Thanks Richard,
Andy
P.S.
I don't know why my GPU doesn't work but yours does. I keep getting "computation error" for every GPU task my laptop crunches. So now i'm just trying to only crunch tasks that produce valid results.
A question for both Andrew
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A question for both Andrew and Richard or any one else running a Intel HD4000:
What driver version are you using for the iGPU?
I'm on version 9.18.10.3257 and that's working fine.
I've been looking to update the driver for other reasons than crunching but have had problems with the 10-series before and now I can't find a working download for my current one so I'm not comfortable trying a update that I might have problems reverting.
ASUS laptop Intel(R) HD
)
ASUS laptop
Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Version: 10.18.10.3308
I know next to nothing about computers but Mike sent me this when i told that all my BPR wus were/are having computation errors.
" Short Answer : Sad Panda. The Intel graphics facilities on laptops of that series/class do not work with Einstein At Home. We can't change that, alas. :-(
Long Answer : Each device on a computer requires a program called a 'driver' to operate it. Typically the manufacturer of a device will provide that in the knowledge of it's construction and operation. Other computer components will use that driver through what is called an 'interface', in order to communicate to it, instruct it, and receive information from it. The Intel drivers for the HD Graphics 4000 GPU are perfectly adequate for the purpose of providing graphics in the usual laptop operations. However some E@H work units require the presence of extended facilities in the interface which are not provided by Intel. That would because either the card is not capable of such functions, or Intel can't be bothered writing the relevant functionality into the driver.
Your laptop should be fine for non-GPU work units though. If you need, I can advise you on how to set that.
Cheers, Mike ( Hewson )"
You guys can probably get more out of that response than i did. What i got was, stop trying to crunch GPU tasks, LOL. Everything else went right over my head, but i think i got the important part.
RE: A question for both
)
My HD 4000 is still on 9.18.10.3257, same as you, on the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principle.
But I also have an HD 4600 (host 8864187), which is running 10.18.10.3496 dated 11 March 2014. It's working fine, but I had the devil's own job installing it.
Machine is a Dell Optiplex 9020. People have reported having difficulty getting the automatic setup utility to run on Dells, but I'm beginning to feel that this is not a deliberate policy on the part of Dell - it's just a crappy installer provided by Intel. Anyway, I downloaded the .zip format driver package and tried running setup.exe, but that failed. The download page has a link to a 'Read Me' text file with manual installation instructions, and that did work (if you follow them exactly.....)
My download file was win64_153318.zip: I see the current download for 64-bit Windows is win64_153322.zip. I might try that later - this is a test machine I can afford to mess with.
RE: My download file was
)
Please do report on how the new driver behaves if you decide to try it!
You wouldn't happen to have the installer for 9.18.10.3257, would you?
I'd be willing to test a newer driver if only I had the installer for the current one so I could back down again if the newer driver won't work.
RE: RE: My download file
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Yes, I've got
in both .zip and .exe formats - file is Win64_153117
It's about 140 MB in either format, so would take time to upload to a dropbox. Unless you have an FTP server?
I've downloaded 153322, but not tried installing it yet. Maybe after the next coffee...
Holmis wrote:A question for
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I have an Intel HD4400, so possibly not an answer that interests you, but just in case, my driver version is reported as 10.18.10.3412.
I've not touched the driver since I got the machine up and running about three months ago.
I've bitten the bullet, and
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I've bitten the bullet, and installed
from the win64_153322.zip: this time the setup.exe worked properly, and I didn't have to resort to a manual install.
First task is running now, apparently without problems. Timings won't be comparable, because the CPU is doing some heavyweight Albert testing at the moment, and I find that affects things. Previously, timings were tightly clustered around 660 seconds (11 minutes) when running 'lightweight' BOINC CPU tasks on three of the four cores: they rose to over an hour when all four cores were loaded. I suppose I should repeat that test with the new driver sometime.
OK, first task finished successfully in 13:38, against a 'current configuration' estimate of 13:21. Not fair to judge on that basis, because I was typing on the keyboard and had multiple windows open for at least some of the time - but not a disaster. Task 439781685, if you want to watch for validation.
RE: Unless you have an FTP
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PM sent.