On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 14:07:29 +0100, Peter Smithson
<peter_smithson@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

>From the SETI FAQ we've got -

"
Will running SETI@home overload or burn out my CPU?

No. The CPU on most computers is always executing instructions (often the 
operating system's "idle loop") whenever the computer is turned on. It's 
no additional strain to execute SETI@home.
"

What are the computers that don't fit into "most" ?  (How can they say 
"No" and then contradict themselves in the next sentance?  Should be 
"Probably not").

A friend showed me that when he runs SETI on his laptop, the fan will cut 
in within 10 seconds or so.  I understand some laptops have power saving 
features so I guess that's the case here.  He's got an Intel Pentium of 
some sort in a Dell laptop.  My Dell laptop with a slower processor 
doesn't do the same thing - so I'm not sure.

The fan cuts in because the alptop is using its cpu and therefore
creating heat that then needs to be expelled, that is what the fan
does.

Reading about one of the add-ons at http://www.suggestie.nl/seti/ it says 

"The Seti client runs at low priority in order not to interfere with 
other software. It however uses all CPU power you have left at any time, 
which results in a constant 100% CPU load of your computer. This may 
result in overheating problems which may damage your pc."

So what's the story?

See above.

I'm interested in the effects on -

Intel Dell Laptops

My son has a Dell laptop, I have a Toshiba laptop, they both have been
running Seti non stop for over 3 years and are still crunching just
fine. The only issue with laptops is that the hard drive is not
designed to be run 24/7 and can have troubles over the long haul. The
constant read/write access is not what a laptop hard drive was desined
to do. I am knocking on wood here, but mine seem to be working fine.

AMD/Intel PC's running Windows or some UNIX variant.

I have a total of 17 computers including both AMD and Intel and they
work just fine and do not have overheating troubles. I do NOT
overclock either. Mine run Windows, from 98SE to 2000 to XP both home
and pro.

Itanium 2 with HPUX

One of mine is an AMD64 3200+ and it runs just fine.

Power PC - AIX.

Cheers

Peter