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Team 6100 @300 Units
Low End Mac Reader Specials
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Dan Knight
- Team launched 2000.05.02 Page updated 2001.08.14
Team 6100 has 18 members and has completed 301 work units
since May 2, 2000. Over the last dozen work units, we are averaging
111 hours, 42 minutes. The total contribution of Team 6100 is 3.68
years of CPU time.
The Power Macintosh 6100 (a.k.a.
Performa 611x), with either a 60 or 66 MHz CPU, was the slowest*
Power Mac Apple ever made, but it's fast enough to contribute to
SETI@home and Team
Mac Observer.
* Some will challenge this. We don't consider a PowerPC
upgraded Quadra a true Power Mac and have not seen any evidence
that the "Road Apple" Performa
6200/75 runs SETI@home any slower than a 6100.
On May 1, 2000, I set up my 6100/66 with Mac OS 8.1, 40 MB of
memory, a 256K L2 cache, Virtual Memory turned off, and SETI@home
2.0.4 software (version 3.0.3 is now mandatory - and much slower).
For maximum efficiency, I turned off AppleTalk and run SETI@home as
an application, not a screen saver. By doing this, setting graphics
to 640 x 480 and 1-bit color, and then rolling up the SETI@home window
when the program is running, the 6100 is able to run through work
units as efficiently as possible.
I was unable to connect to the SETI@home server that evening, but
did start the following afternoon. My 6100 completed its first work
unit in 59 hours, 23 minutes, 13.3 seconds - not bad for a computer
introduced six years earlier. This is a good fraction of the speed of
my PowerBook G4/400.
Under SETI@home 3.0.3, work units are running 107-151 hours and
averaging 121.3 hours. That's much slower than with the old
software, but it's apparently doing a lot more work, too.
Still, an average of 121.3 hours is fast enough. SETI@home assumes
a work unit has been lost if it doesn't come back in a week - seven
days - 168 hours. Even with SETI@home 3.0.3, these 6100s continue
contributing to the effort.
The 6100 can do that. In fact, each 6100 can do about 1.4 units
per week, about 70 per year. My three 6100s should be able to
complete 4 units per week between them. It's not a huge amount, but
if enough 6100 owners band together, it will continue adding up.
Joining Team 6100 is easier than joining other SETI@home teams.
You don't need a password; you just need to sign on as "team
6100@reformed.net" when you first launch SETI@home.
Here's all you have to do:
Have a 6100/60 or 66 that can connect to the Internet and can
run SETI@home uninterrupted for at least 120 hours per week. (No
chipped or otherwise accelerated 6100s, please, this is very much
a low-end project.) You should have 40 MB of physical memory so
you can turn Virtual Memory off. Between the OS and SETI@home, you
need about 28 MB of RAM.
Configure your 6100 to run efficiently: turn off AppleTalk,
QuickTime, Virtual Memory, and other unnecessary control panels
and extensions. You need Internet access and should have Window
Shade (which is part of the Mac OS these days).
Install SETI@home and restart your computer.
Sign on as "team6100@reformed.net" (without quotes).
Run SETI@home as an application, not as a screen saver, for
fastest performance.
Once SETI@home is successfully loading the first work unit,
scroll up the application window. This greatly reduces the load on
your 6100. (In screen saver mode with graphics running, I've heard
it can take 400 hours to complete a work unit!)
Email me at >dan.knight@lowendmac.com
with "Team 6100" as the subject to let me know you're joining the
team. I'll add you to the list below, along with details about
your computer and OS.
Optional: once you've completed your first work unit, let me
know how long it took so I can list times on this page.
Members
Dan Knight, Low End Mac, 6100/60
& 66 (3 machines), 256K L2 cache, 40 MB RAM, OS 8.1, VM
off
Brett Stroup, 6100/66
Michael Bearpark, 6100, System 7.5.5
Kevin (in Canada), 6100/60
John Tomlinson, 6100/60, 256K L2 cache, 40 MB RAM, OS
8.5.1
Daniel Anthony, 6100/66, 256K L2 cache, 40 MB RAM, OS 8,
running at 256 colors in blanked screen saver mode
Serge Rochat, 6100/66, 256K L2 cache, 40 MB RAM, OS 8.1,
running at 1-bit color
Melissa McGuire, 6100/66 40 MB RAM, OS 8.1, running as an
app/screen saver
Scott Earleywine, Performa 6115CD, 72 MB RAM, OS 8.6, HPV
video card
Kevin Arnold, 6100/66, 256K L2 cache, 134 MB RAM, OS 9.0.4, VM
on, AppleTalk on/ FileSharing on, Personal Web Sharing on,
XTension on. SETI@home running as a screen saver
Marco Bakker, 6100/66, 1 MB L2 cache, 72 MB RAM, OS
8.6, SETI in screen saver mode, virtual memory on
Brian J. Swets, 6100/60, 256K L2 cache, 40 MB RAM, System
7.5.5, running windowshaded, virtual memory off
James Walters, Performa 6116, 256K L2 cache, 72 MB RAM, Mac OS
9.1, virtual memory off
Eric Carlson, 6100/66, 256K L2 cache, 72 MB RAM, Mac OS 9,
virtual memory off, running as application/screen saver
John Leiher, 6100/60, 1 MB L2 cache, 72 MB RAM, Mac OS
8.6, virtual memory off, 256 colors, AppleTalk active. First unit
took 115 hours, 53 minutes.
Jason Wertenberger, Performa 6110, 136 MB RAM, Mac OS 8.1,
virtual memory off.
Ian of Fantastic
Things is running a 6100/60 with 72 MB RAM, a 256K L2 cache,
Mac OS 8.1, virtual memory off, AppleTalk off, and SETI@home
running as an application. He's also running SETI@home on the DOS
card installed inside his 6100.
Based on traffic to the 6100 page
on Low End Mac, I believe the 6100 is the most widely used Macintosh
out there (pre-iMac, at least), so I'm hoping Team 6100 will expand
to at least 100 computers.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Recent articles about SETI@home
Team 6100 Update, 2001.12.20. We've
completed over 500 units and donated over 5 years of CPU time to
SETI@home since May 2000.
Team 6100 @300 units, SETIonMac,
2001.08.14. Team using old Power Macs has passed the 300 unit mark
running SETI@home.
SETI@home monthly update,
2001.08.01. Sad news -- Team Mac Observer has fallen to #26 in the
team standings.
A look at SETI Checker,
2000.04.25. This freeware program lets you follow your favorite
SETI@home teams.
Links
SETI Station,
a site for Mac SETI@home enthusiasts. Includes full instructions
for speeding things up with a RAM disk.
TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct
from Strider Software.
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.
