I think the new folding promotion is fair and good for the team. Thanks EVGA!!

This addiction is strong and gets most of us in trouble, i was hoping to have my next 100 evga bucks in time
for the fermi realease,but that won't be the case. :(

werty316

Yay! Thank you  EVGA!

How often does the "My Folding" webpage get updated? Its off by alot of points when compared to EOF stats

Quoted from the page you just linked to. "Page updates every 24 hours."

Thanks Shane and EVGA for the new promotion, it's appreciated.

I decided to build my rig to fold for the cause and had no idea you could get EVGA BUCKS which was a big and welcomed surprise.

I'm little confused by all the discussion regarding money, if it wasn't for money being the driving force in everything that gets accomplished in this world we probably wouldn't need to be folding.

What price to we place on finding a cure to save a loved one or another human being?

heydabop

werty316

Yay! Thank you  EVGA!

How often does the "My Folding" webpage get updated? Its off by alot of points when compared to EOF stats

Quoted from the page you just linked to. "Page updates every 24 hours."

I don't know how I missed that...
24 hours doesn't seem very accurate but whatever...

Horvat

Hey Shane, I think sirgrinalot has a valid point, I just checked the team stats on EOC and 80% of our current folders fold less than 6000 PPD and our team average is 5836 PPD. So that means that the vast majority of our team members will not be able to qualify for the 10 EVGA bucks per month. Would somone please verify that I am correct on this.

Some of those PPD's are from downtime on stanford servers/not getting work, etc and also the slow VMware units too, I used to be in the 16K average range and now I'm only half that at the moment I use to be able to get 1920 point units done in 6 /7 hours and now I have VMware units taking 20 hours each....

Those occurances would really hurt members that are tight on the 100K and 250K a month requirement now that i think about it. I would still make it but others may not.

Horvat

Hey Shane, I think sirgrinalot has a valid point, I just checked the team stats on EOC and 80% of our current folders fold less than 6000 PPD and our team average is 5836 PPD. So that means that the vast majority of our team members will not be able to qualify for the 10 EVGA bucks per month. Would somone please verify that I am correct on this.

 
 This is exactly what I have been trying to convey. Sorry I'm a little under the weather so my head isn't working totally right (damn drugs).
 
 If 80% of the people that fold for evga all of the sudden stop, then man that's a huge loss.

cam_jp

I enjoy folding. I like the nuances of figuring out how to maximise output and things like that. And ultimately I find the concept and science behind both distributed computing and protein folding interesting. But I am a student and my finances are tight to say the least. As such last year I was really only able to fold while I knew that the EVGA bucks were offsetting the power bill. This will change years into the future when I am more secure and able to contribute more consistently.

Anyway my point is, it's not particularly hard (for me) to slam 25 000 PPD for 10 days and then not do it the rest of the month - I'm just not in a position to do more. But doing so would not be difficult for those that only came for the million and left. I just don't see this new promo as a way to ward off that sort of behaviour at all. And for those that got the bucks and stopped altogether rather than going back to another team, this new promo might put them off in it's tedium. That could potentially be hundreds of people who would have contributed at least 3 million.

So having said that - why would it be any different to just pump out the 3 000 000 straight up? Arguably a straight up 3 million is far more valuable to Standford than the same amount over the course of the year. Also I can't fathom why it would not be reasonable for people in unsuitable climates to go into overdrive and compensate in cooler months, which they now can't. And as others have mentioned having to wait the whole 12 months to collect up all the bucks significantly diminishes the perceived reward in my opinion - it's just kind of impractical. 

 
 Thank you cam, that was very well put.

sirgrinalot

rcranfield

Wow. I just read the link page a little better. How incredible that EVGA contributed $50,000 to us for folding. I am pretty sure most of that went to additional folding gear. That is a lot of money.

I knew that there would be some folks unhappy about having to do 'endurance' folding to get the award, but in the end it will work out  for the best. While we will likely lose some folks who were planning to fold a short time, we will probably gain new loyal team members. That will serve us better in the long run, and serve Stanford better to have committed long term folders than those who would only fold a month and go away.

I feel like the smaller contributors are getting shafted not only would I have to fold almost the entire year, I have to get 200,000 more than last year, for 40 bucks less...

I have a feeling many smaller contributors such as myself will walk away, its just not worth that much time, I would have gladly folded 4 months nonstop to get the million before summer hits, b/c summer folding in Florida is nasty...

 
 Exactly this. The dedicated folders will definitely not have any issues attaining the 250k per month to get the bucks.
 
  I too believe that more people might stop folding altogether; not just switch to another team.

sirgrinalot

cam_jp

I was originally drawn to the EVGA team for the bucks, but I stuck around because the forum community here is great and extremely helpful and interesting all round.

And the promotion is a cool thing to do, attracts good will and all.... but make no mistake, it would seriously surprise me if by 'giving away' $50 000 they have not made that many, many, many times over by attracting new customers. Especially in the long run. It's marketing really. Someone who came to EVGA for the bucks who didn't normally care what brand their gear was and gets a $400 card for $300... EVGA isn't giving away $100, they're making $300. And if that customer is impressed with the product and comes back for other parts, then they have made thousands and lost nothing. I don't fault them for it, it's clever business.

As far as promoting folding with the new promo, it seems like the people who are most enthused to be folding all year round are the people that were already doing that anyway. Seems like there are a lot of people who are prepared to walk away over it though.

I too was originally drawn because of the points, I said to myself well EVGA has given me good hardware in the past (socket 939 amd board still working to this day) I might as well fold for them, the points was a bonus.

I wasn't necessarily "ready to walk away" it just seems like it rewards the large contibutrors a lot more than the small contributors. a small contributor that makes around 6,000 ppd would have to work the entire year only to make 60 bucks, whereas a large contributor (some of you) would only need to fold for one day to meet the entire months milestone, someone who makes 250,000 ppd for example. I think the majority of the team makes up the small contributors, it should have focused more towards them.

 
 Once again it surfaces. I forsee the team losing a lot of folders.
 
 And once again Cam very well put. I think some of the other people are seriously disillusioned about what the Evga buck actually does for EVGA.  It's a very good marketing strategy.
 I seriously wonder how many people used that $100 to buy something crappy like a 240? Not many as there's plenty of them in stock. What's gone? 260's. Going by the price of it, the average folder spent more out of pocket money than Evga bucks they received. And mind you thats MSRP not what it goes for on newegg (which is usually $30+ less).
  And the other great thing for Evga is that, they're not cash redeemable.
 
 
 Afterburner, I don't think it's your place to question anyones morality. Even if people fold for the wrong reason they're still folding. I think you miss that point. Sure it's supposed to be about giving, but if there's something offered in return, that is always nice.
 
  
 
 I don't want you guys to think I am ungrateful, because I am not. I think it's very cool for Evga to do this; I just don't find it small time folding friendly. The few big guys that can max out the points, I believe, screw it up for the rest.
 The reason I have been arguing the point is more for the little guys. Some of these guys only fold because they get this small little incentive for doing so. Now if their lowly 9600GT wont even be able to make $5 evga bucks a month, they'll probably stop altogether.
 
 I'm not arguing this point to be difficult, I'm simply trying to help keep people folding for Evga.
  I will have no issues attaining the required points to make the full amount, but the people that can't afford to have spare rigs running 24/7 will get shafted, disheartened, and probably stop.
 
 And like Cam asked before, what is the difference if I make 3mil over the course of 6 months or 30 days? 3 million is 3 million.

promotion or not, I am back folding b/c of Afterburners tragedy, plain and simple. It made me re-evaluate things in my life and cutting back on junk food and such to offset a higher electricity bill seems like a no brainier to me, especially when it is for the possibility of helping fight diseases.

I just purchased a GTX275 from Mr.Riddler and plan to take my 8800Ultra up to my workstation at work and swap it in from the QuadroFX1700 and fold my computer over night and on the weekends. I just hope the boss doesn't find out. :) So I will have my home rig and my work rig GPUing away!

theGryphon

The few big guys that can max out the points, I believe, screw it up for the rest.

I invite you to think over this statement and see how ridiculous it is...

I too believe that more people might stop folding altogether; not just switch to another team.

I don't believe this will be the case. In fact, I believe the opposite will happen; many (if not most) of those small-time folders will upgrade their hardware and they will be able to collect the whole 120 bucks.

By the way, those average PPD numbers are misleading; most of those 3K-6K PPD people have rigs that can produce much more. They just don't fold full-time and I think they will be compelled to fold more with this new promotion.

In any case, folding just for EVGA bucks doesn't make sense at all. Electric bills due to folding is at least five times greater than the EVGA bucks you can collect. So, if a person decides to stop just because the EVGA bucks he can collect over the year dropped by 40 ( see my example above )... I don't know, it just doesn't make any sense to me...

 
 I think they mess it up for the little guy that would benefit more from the bucks, because now, obviously the PPD requirement is higher.
 
 
 
 At any rate, folding is folding, so your argument is just as ridiculous; folding for money/prizes? As you've said yourself, this is a horrible way of getting "free" hardware.
 
 I believe that it's more symbolic than anything else in a persons head. I do x and I receive y.  It is for a good cause afterall.

I'm happy that there is a continuation as I just got started in this a few short weeks ago and could only get to the $10 mark for the 09 program. 

One thing to consider is people that stumble upon this promotion mid-year.  They can at least get 5-10 per month vs. possibly not being able to reach a big milestone in only a few months.  I think this is good for attracting new team members which is really the best thing to do.  If you lose a few good producers, but gain 1,500 new ones even at low ppd you are ahead and so is the whole folding effort.

So Ido plan to participate and I am looking forward to it.  I'll just have to see if it works for me to shoot for the $5 or $10 target any given month (like summer I may only fold overnight when it's cooler and I'm not in the room with this heater.)

Some kind of a hybrid approach might be something to think of for the next year.  Or offer a way to catch up or smooth out production to step around the hot months.  I think there are ways to give this one or 2 more little tweaks to make it even better, but as many have said it's great there is a promotion like this and a team like this to be a part of.

heydabop

blackomega  I think they mess it up for the little guy that would benefit more from the bucks, because now, obviously the PPD requirement is higher.

Please stop saying that the big folders are ruining or messing anything up.

 

 Don't get me wrong, I think they're doing something awesome that is benefitting humanity. I'll do my part too.
 
 IMO, the guys that run really big folding farms ruin the promo for the little guy. 
 Lets say you fold 24/7 and are only able to manage 99k per month. You'd fold all year and not get a dang thing to show for it.  The points should be cumulative. This is where the big folders screw it up for the rest because they can achieve the max in very little time.
 
 Like I said, this doesn't pose a problem for me, but I think it'll fail to attract a new folder, as in someone whos never folded before.
 Most think of things financially, they will immediately realize that it's not a very good incentive. Especially if they research electrical costs.
 
 I'll bet that initially they might fold for a month then the electric bill comes and off folding goes.
 
 

Guess I'm in the minority in that this new program will end my participation. I don't have the latest greatest GPU, but I have a very serviceable machine. Folding full time, I was able to put out a best case in the area of 2K PPD on good days, and less on others. It averaged about 50K monthly the past three months. The jump from rewarding 100K annually to 100K monthly is enormous and eliminates the loyal but less fortunate folder. I'd like to see a reward for 100K quarterly, at least, if I am to continue.

I can see that this is a less valuable contribution with the faster GPUs out there, and I am not familiar with the issues that seem to be discussed here with regard to people stopping in long enough to earn a reward and jumping to another team. If this is how it has to be, then that's fine, but I'm out.

Since I like numbers I looked at individual stats to see how many current active folders will qualify and how much this will cost EVGA if we stay pretty static in terms of team members and folding numbers.

I hope everyone would agree that an 'incentive' shoud not be just a gift given for no reason to anyone who folds reardless of how much or how little they fold. If you acept there need to be parameters, then you also accept that there will be some people who fall below the cut off line of those parameters. So if you are the one making the rules, you have to (1) set up the rules in a way that you are comfortable with, and (2) realize that you will not make everyone happy.

But from the standpoint of our numbers this morning on Kakao it looks like  20% of our active folders will qualify for some or all of the incentive. That would be 316 out of our 1548 total. That is a pretty good number. 124 will qualify for the $120 and 192 will qualify for the $60. Based on what I recall to be the complaints when EVGA announced last years folding incentive, the concerns with this are much the same. We had folks complaining that they would not get the bonus based on the cut off EVGA put in place. The end result was we went from 4 million PPD to nearly 6 million PPD. If these numbers hold up through the year EVGA will pay out an additional $26400.

Will we lose some folks because they are upset about the cut off ? Probably. Will current folders below the cut off step up to make the incentinve? Many will. Will we get new team members for the long haul because of this promotion? I think it is likely. Are there people who folded under the last incentive who never qualified for the incentive money but kept folding anyway? Yep. And finally will there be people who fold below the incentive threshold who cannot make the threshold no matter what, but keep folding anyway? I am certain of this.

In a few weeks the complaints will die down and everyone that stays will be happy with the fact that we are part of a team that kicks hiney.

Not for nothing but I really don't see any reason why anyone should be upset if someone was willing to donate 1million points to the evga folding team "fair weather folder" or even if they are from another team, 1 mil is still a huge donation even if it is just for the bucks. I put up 2 mil last year in the matter of a few months and had to stop because heat and cost, I can put up 250K in 4 days and shut down for the rest of the month, quite frankly that is what I may do, I'm sure most of you might find that offensive or selfish but that's my contribution and it's a nice way to spread out the electric bill over the 12 months. I was planning to run for a few solid months non stop but not so much now.

Hello my name is Tom and I am a "fair weather folder" for evga only.

Last year some people only got 10 EVGA bucks, or 40... this year you can get anywhere from 5-120.

If we decided to aim at the power folders, we would have a total of 20 million as the reward.

We designed this promotion to reward people that were going to fold for us long term ANYWAY, this is just a bonus and a way of thanking them.  That said, the previous promotion was made to do that as well - we thought 1 million was a big commitment, but people cranked it out like you wouldn't believe.

I'm expecting the same here.  Some might not be able to get 10 EVGA bucks for the first part of the year, but then they will for the second half, that's 90 EVGA bucks for half and half... not bad eh?  

Yes, but you have until the end of the year to claim all of them.

You can wait till the end of the year and claim all at once or do each month.  Up to you.