PrefsReference

Preferences

Global Preferences

These preferences apply to all BOINC projects in which you participate.

General Options

Setting	Values	Default	Description
Work Buffer: Buffer at least X days	0.0 - 10.0	0.25 days	BOINC will try to buffer at least this much work at all times. This is in addition to the work buffered based on your network settings. The maximum buffer is 10 days, but some projects may have a lower limit.
Application Switching: Switch between applications every X minutes	0.0 +	60 minutes	If you are attached to more than one project, BOINC uses this value to balance the load between your projects. BOINC will not switch exactly at this interval, it is only used as a guide.

Processor Usage

Setting	Values	Default	Description
CPU Limits: Use no more than X% of processor time	0 - 100%	100%	BOINC has a built-in throttle that can limit the CPU time used. This is commonly used to reduce the risk of overheating. The throttle is coarse-grained; you may see a sawtooth profile if you graph CPU usage.
CPU Limits: On multiprocessor systems, at most use X processors	1 - available processors	16	This limit specifies the number of processors or individual processor cores that BOINC will use. Many projects will run one process on each permitted core.
Processing Restrictions: Suspend while computer is in use	Yes/No	No	Use this option if you want BOINC to behave like a screensaver, only working when you are away from your computer.
Processing Restrictions: Resume if computer is idle for X minutes	0.0 +	3 minutes	This option prevents BOINC from starting if you are only away from your computer briefly.
Processing Restrictions: Suspend while computer is running on batteries	Yes/No	Yes	Generally, laptop users don't want BOINC to run while on battery power.
Processing Restrictions: Suspend if computer is idle for X minutes	0.0 +	60 minutes	The period until power saving is allowed to go into effect.
Custom Times: Allow BOINC to do work during these times	Time format	Always	You can specify time restrictions and optionally a weekly schedule.

I think we should merge boolean ("run only on idle") and value ("if idle for X minutes"), putting the checkbox and the textfield on the same line.

[x] Run only after computer has been idle for [] minutes [ ] Suspend if computer is idle for [] minutes (The proposed UI has the "Resume if computer is idle for X minutes" disabled (greyed out) unless the box is checked. This won't work on a single line. But for clarity, I may merge the table entries above.) It does work on a single line. For example, Firefox's privacy preferences: http://tinyurl.com/3ahvg4

And use checkboxes, not radio buttons with yes/no! (We already do.) Not on the uglee web preferences ;-)

Network Usage

Setting	Values	Default	Description
Connection: Confirm before connecting to Internet	Yes/No	Yes	BOINC will only try and get an Internet connection when it needs one.
Connection: Disconnect when done	Yes/No	No	BOINC will only disconnect if it initiated the Internet connection.
Connection: Connect about every X days	0.0 +	0.1 days	BOINC will use this as a hint for buffering work between connections. BOINC will still use the Internet more frequently if a connection is available.
Bandwidth Limits: Maximum upload rate X Kbytes/sec	0.0 +	Unrestricted	Zero means upload is unrestricted.
Bandwidth Limits: Maximum download rate X Kbytes/sec	0.0 +	Unrestricted	Zero means download is unrestricted.
Bandwidth Limits: Transfer at most X Mbytes every Y days	0.0 +	Unrestricted	Zero means no limit.
Error Checking: Skip image file verification	Yes/No	No	Some dialup Internet Service Providers compress image downloads on the fly. If you can't use a better ISP, use this option to ignore the modified images until you can switch to a better ISP.
Custom Times: Allow BOINC to perform network activity during these times	Time format	Always	You can specify time restrictions and optionally a weekly schedule. For convenience, these settings can be copied from the processor time settings. Some user actions override this setting.

Memory Usage

Setting	Values	Default	Description
Memory Limits: When computer is in use, use no more than X% total memory	0.0 - 100.0%	50%	Limits the amount of RAM used by BOINC applications when your computer is in use (i.e. when there has been recent mouse or keyboard activity). Setting this to a low value lets you run BOINC all the time without impacting your computer's performance.
Memory Limits: When computer is idle, use no more than X% total memory	0.0 - 100.0%	90%	Limits the amount of RAM used by BOINC applications when your computer is not in use.
Application Switching: Leave applications in memory while suspended	Yes/No	No	This improves CPU effectiveness at the cost of virtual memory. This option is not relevant if you are only attached to one project.

Disk Usage

Setting	Values	Default	Description
Disk Quotas: Use no more than X Gigabytes of disk space	0.0 +	10 Gigabytes	This option is combined with the other disk restrictions to determine the maximum space BOINC may use for project application data.
Disk Quotas: Leave at least X Gigabytes of disk space free	0.0 +	0.1 Gigabytes	This option is combined with the other disk restrictions to determine the maximum space BOINC may use for project application data.
Disk Quotas: Use no more than X% of total disk space	0.0 - 100.0%	50%	This option is combined with the other disk restrictions to determine the maximum space BOINC may use for project application data.
Disk Access: Write to disk at most every X seconds	0.0 +	60 seconds	This setting is not observed by all projects. Use this setting to prevent the drive spinning up unnecessarily. Also refer to your power management settings.
Virtual Memory: Use no more than X% of page file	0.0 - 100.0%	75%	Restrict the amount of virtual memory that BOINC may use. This setting should be used with care if your page file size is managed by the operating system.

day_prefs added 5.8 fixed 5.10

Project preferences

There is a separate set of project preferences for each project in which you participate.

Resource share	If projects contend for resources, the amount allocated to a project is proportional to this number.
Email prefs	Whether the project should send you newsletters by email.
Hide computer information	Whether the project should show information about your computers (their CPU and OS type, benchmark ratings etc.; not their names or addresses) on its web site.
Default computer location	The location assigned to computers that attach to this account.
Project-specific preferences	Defined by the project; e.g., to specify color schemes for the screensaver graphics.