Ati 4870

I'm not sure where to post this so here goes.

I'm running the ATI GPU optimized client for Milkyway@Home on an ATI 4870 graphics card. The Catalyst drivers are loaded, the operating system is Windows 7 Ultimate release 7000, CPU is a Q6600 G0 with Zalman 9700LED hsf, 4GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066 RAM with fan.

Milkyway downloaded lots of tasks and in BOINC manager messages tab it shows:
2/17/2009 6:15:01 PM|Milkyway@home|Found app_info.xml; using anonymous platform

as expected with the optimized client. When I check the task processing status on the Tasks tab it shows the tasks are taking 9 seconds each (which is a fib because the real "wall" time is 18 seconds). The ATI display GUI shows the GPU running at 60+ degrees C with the fan on 100% - all seems good
However, when I come back later and check, the tasks aren't being processed in 9 (or 18) seconds but take hours and the GPU is not hot at all, temp approx 50C. If I close BOINC and re-start it immediately all is OK again. It seems that the GPU goes into sleep mode but I cannot find the relevant setting for this.

Can anyone help?

You don't say how many WUs are running at once, but I suspect that it is too many.

There are some interesting hints in this thread:
http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/...ead.php?id=589

summary:
You may need to raise your avg_ncpus value. /* hint app_info.xml */
Try to make sure 1 CPU core is free for wu handling.
If the CPUs go to sleep they will not feed the GPUs fast enough.
Don't operate CPU-Z and try to lay off the CCC console.

OK, I had a mix of ABC and Spinhenge tasks running. BOINC decided to use 4 cores for the ABC and Spinhenge tasks and gave the GPU 4 tasks. I tried suspending the CPU tasks and BOINC then gave the GPU tasks 8 instances 0.5 CPU each it said. In this scenario the mouse was very laggy.

In both situations described the GPU went to sleep after a period of time and the tasks then took hours to run (one was 7 hours!). I don't know how long this time period was / is because I don't check that box very often, when I do its usually by Logmein.

New developing parameters in ongoing conversions to new stuff usually takes some getting used to. It would be great if it all worked like a clock, but we know better after all these years of frustration. BOINC took along time to get it right, rewrites upon rewrites - sometimes not always good rewrites. This GPU thing is the way everyone is looking to promote as a faster more reliable avenue but, it just is not a set in stone, no matter what platform your using, type of operating system quite yet.

Play time is not quite here for the majority of us who like to plug and play. We need to tinker and rethink how to approach this new GPU direction; ATI or Nvidia.

I feel confident the masterminded individuals who have brought us this far in real world crunching will solve these issues, its just how much time is the cause for urgency till the bottom falls out in energy costs and falling employment leaves many crunchers unable to participate... :(

As I'm leveraged (using wall street lingo) into the nvida world, I'm just gonna sit and watch the ATI world get itself straightened out a bit before I jump in to it. :icon_mrgreen: However I am a truly hardcore believer in the benefits of gpu's in the crunching world.:)

it wouldn't have anything to do with power management ? ie power scheme, i havent used windows 7 but on xp right click desktop then click properties which should bring up display properties then select screen saver button which should bring up display properties then click power button which brings up power options panel, and that sums up my shot in the dark lol

<Joke>
for the laggy mouse it might be due to heat stress so maybe leave a bowl of water out for it apparently plenty of fluids are the best way to combat heat stress
</Joke>