Standard
maxMemoryUsedPercentBusy = '50'
maxMemoryUsedPercentIdle = '75'
maxVmMemoryUsedPercent = '50'
throttlePercent = '60'
runIfUserActive = true
idleTimeInMinutes = '3'
suspendIfNoRecentUserInput = '0'
leaveAppsInMemory = false

Min
maxMemoryUsedPercentBusy = '40'
maxMemoryUsedPercentIdle = '60'
maxVmMemoryUsedPercent = '30'
throttlePercent = '60'
runIfUserActive = false
idleTimeInMinutes = '5'
suspendIfNoRecentUserInput = '0'
leaveAppsInMemory = false

Max
maxMemoryUsedPercentBusy = '75'
maxMemoryUsedPercentIdle = '90'
maxVmMemoryUsedPercent = '75'
throttlePercent = '100'
runIfUserActive = true
idleTimeInMinutes = '3'
suspendIfNoRecentUserInput = '0'
leaveAppsInMemory = true
percentCpus ='100'

PowerSaving
maxMemoryUsedPercentBusy = '50'
maxMemoryUsedPercentIdle = '75'
maxVmMemoryUsedPercent = '50'
throttlePercent = '60'
runIfUserActive = true
idleTimeInMinutes = '3'
suspendIfNoRecentUserInput = '20'
leaveAppsInMemory = false

The "custom profile" option doesn't work especially well for me either. When I tried to use it to switch from the standard profile to a custom profile, the CPU use percentage wouldn't go above 99%. I finally got it to go to 100% by selecting the maximum performance option, saving it, then selecting the "custom profile" option again.

However, now that I need to set it to less than 100% for test purposes, even entering a smaller percentage and then saving it shows no sign of actually decreasing the percentage of time my CPU is active.

I've tried this with the default profile, the home profile, and even created a new work profile (even though I'm retired). I've also tried this for the web settings of all the active BOINC projects I participate in; still no decrease of actual time used, even though it is able to remember that I want a lower CPU usage.

How can I tell it to decrease the percentage in a way that will actually work? I'd like to do it in a computer-specific way, in case the computer I plan to order soon needs different settings.

I'm using BOINC 6.2.28 under 32-bit Vista SP1.

The change saved, and I used the Update function. I even saw the web-site change on some of the other BOINC projects I participate in, just no sign that the CPU use actually decreased.

Of course you have to tell BOINC to run based on preferences in the activity menu.

You can confirm the settings copied to your client by opening the global_prefs.xml file and look in the section that has the name of the device profile associated with the device.

Added: Of course the start up message log of BOINC shows which profile is in use and when last updated e.g.

2/7/2009 11:28:44 PM||General prefs: from World Community Grid (last modified 05-Feb-2009 23:52:58)
2/7/2009 11:28:44 PM||Host location: school
2/7/2009 11:28:44 PM||General prefs: using separate prefs for school