# ATTN: SETI@home Straight Dopers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035 "2002-10-20T01:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/41 "2002-10-28T16:08:10Z")
Oh gawd. I left it running in my office over the weekend. That P3-450 is long in the tooth. . 70 hours to do a unit? Eeeek! ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/42 "2002-10-28T21:24:33Z")
Ok, how is this thing adding up the total results? The site shows us with **6202** results received. But I added up the everyones totals and got **11243**. What gives? \*\*MEBuckner \*\*, can you try and refreshing the page and try and regenerate the results? (I did this with the _other guys_ group and their total is still 44996. We are catching up!) ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/43 "2002-10-28T21:35:09Z")
Also, they have 21 active users with an average time of 18 hours per unit. We have 27 active users, but our average time per unit is 28 hours. Just FYI. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/44 "2002-10-28T21:52:18Z")
Hmmmā€¦I did the ā€œEdit this Groupā€ thing, and it didnā€™t really change the totals. I agree with your math thoughā€“it would appear weā€™ve already shattered **brachyrhynchos** ā€™s ā€œ10,000 units by the end of the yearā€ challenge. I just read someone on their message boards saying new members of the group arenā€™t properly credited until a week later, but I donā€™t know how authoritative (or ā€œtrueā€) that statement isā€“it does look to me as if itā€™s all the old units racked up by our two new guys that arenā€™t being credited properly. Possibly this will work itself out in a few daysā€“Iā€™ll keep checking on it. ---
**Author:** ![Arcturis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arcturis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcturis)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/45 "2002-10-29T03:14:39Z")
hey heyā€¦ ok, iā€™m running this on three machines now, t p3 733ā€™s and one huige rockinā€™ 166 (my win 2000 web/coldfusion server). lol Iā€™m gonna try to get it on another machine sometime this week, depends on when itā€™s gonna be ready. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/46 "2002-10-29T13:28:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\*Oh gawd. I left it running in my office over the weekend. That P3-450 is long in the tooth. . 70 hours to do a unit? Eeeek! \*\* Donā€™t use the screensaverā€¦it takes FOREVER. If you do use the screen saver, set it to go to black after a few minutesā€¦itā€™ll cut processing time in half. I use the WinNT command line client on WinXP, with SETI Driver to cache work units (so I donā€™t need to do much). With that setup, I was taking about 14 hours per unit on my old PII-350. A PIII - 450 should do one in around 11 hours. My AthlonXP 1900+ takes about 3 hours and 50 minutes to do a unit. Jman ---
**Author:** ![Bean\_Counter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bean\_Counter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bean_Counter)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/47 "2002-10-30T04:38:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by brachyrhynchos \* > \*\*Stayā€¦stayā€¦stayā€¦stayā€¦ > **Bean Counter** , I bet your new machine will go through units like a hot knife on summer butter. When I first started, it took me nearly _two days_ to complete a unit. Sputter, groan, choke. Now I can do units in the background, and it takes between 5 and 6 hours. \*\* Ok, you persuaded me. Iā€™m staying with the old team. Besides, I have the new computer up and running after some amount of grief. I really cannot wait to see what this baby can do! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/48 "2002-10-30T14:24:30Z")
Well, Iā€™m back in (at #5!šŸ†’ ) ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/49 "2002-10-30T16:50:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jman \* > \*\* > > Donā€™t use the screensaverā€¦it takes FOREVER. If you do use the screen saver, set it to go to black after a few minutesā€¦itā€™ll cut processing time in half. I use the WinNT command line client on WinXP, with SETI Driver to cache work units (so I donā€™t need to do much). With that setup, I was taking about 14 hours per unit on my old PII-350. A PIII - 450 should do one in around 11 hours. My AthlonXP 1900+ takes about 3 hours and 50 minutes to do a unit. > > Jman \*\* Downloaded the commandline executable. Thanks for the tip! Here is another question though: Would there be any benefit to saving the client to a few different directories and running them each in their own DOS session at the same time? Or would that just make them all run too slowly? ---
**Author:** ![Bean\_Counter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bean\_Counter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bean_Counter)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/50 "2002-10-30T18:47:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bean Counter \* > \*\*I really cannot wait to see what this baby can do! \*\* I did not have to wait long! Eight hours! From just under thiry-one hours on my old machine to eight on the new. Life is good! All I need to do is jockey Windows XP to connect auto-magically and I will really be in business. Does anyone have any hints or tips? I am new to XP so any help would be greatly appreciated. [sub]Eight hours! hee hee hee. From five units a week to over twenty! Iā€™m giddy with excitement![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Hattrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@Hattrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hattrick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/51 "2002-10-31T16:11:29Z")
well Iā€™m in the group now but I couldnā€™t bring over my work units!! argggh. so Iā€™ll start again. Hope it helps the cause! ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/52 "2002-11-02T18:17:16Z")
It still hasnā€™t updated out total score yetā€¦ Hmmmmā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/53 "2002-11-02T18:19:30Z")
ā€œourā€ evenā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/54 "2002-11-03T01:18:04Z")
Iā€™m in. Iā€™ve been runnig SETI@home since, man and boy, waaay back in November 2002. šŸ˜ƒ Iā€™m still on my first unit. I heard about it years ago, but thanks go to **LeeJam** for reminding me to finally sign up. ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/55 "2002-11-03T01:46:32Z")
Woo hoo!! Finally updated!!! 12212 baby! ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/56 "2002-11-03T02:16:03Z")
Thanks to my tireless leadership, our totals have finally updated. (Huh. I wonder why the totals finally updated?) > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by brachyrhynchos_ > Perhaps you can break 10,000 units by the end of the year (when pigs fly!). Hah! Heretical alt.fan.cecil-adams splittist! The tireless Adamsist-Zottiist toilers of the SDMB have easily surpassed your quota, with two months left in this year! ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/57 "2002-11-03T16:54:38Z")
I just brought my paltry 631 WUā€™s to the team. (frightneningly, making me the 6th highest on the list - I usually tend to shy away from that much limelightā€¦) ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/58 "2002-11-03T17:29:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\* > > Downloaded the commandline executable. Thanks for the tip! > > Here is another question though: Would there be any benefit to saving the client to a few different directories and running them each in their own DOS session at the same time? Or would that just make them all run too slowly? \*\* BTW - does anyone know the answer to this? ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/59 "2002-11-04T12:37:10Z")
Well, I ran this prog when it first came out for a LONG time. Then, I decided to begin the quest for the perfect computer. Of course, I screwed everything up for months on end and forgot all about it. Welp, here are my (very) few units to add to the total. I seem to be completeing them about once a day or so. Hopefully this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Hattrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@Hattrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hattrick)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035/60 "2002-11-04T13:20:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\* > > BTW - does anyone know the answer to this? \*\* If the Program is using spare CPU cycles then it would be pointless to have 2 sessions running at once. as your computational power is effectively halved for each of the processes. so the answer is run only one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attn-seti-home-straight-dopers/133035.md?page=4)