BOINC works better if you have multiple computers. The advanced settings are an advantage, but the actual crunching should be indistinguishable from UD.

If you have no special requirements, use either.

If you use UD as a screensaver, it definitely steals CPU cycles, which can kill your crunching power.

Also, if you have dual Core processor (AMD X2 or P4 Hyperthread) you can crunch 2 WU at the same time. I am not sure of the performance increase on P4 Hyperthread, because it is really only one processor, so it may just be 1/2 as fast at crunching two WU. On the other hand, if you really have two processors (Like AMD X2) then you bust out twice as many WU, along with the gratifying feeling of having both CPUs pegged for days on end. I once ran UD on a 4X XEON Dell 2650 Server, and it only used 25% of the computing power of the box (which was awesome). I only wish I had known about BOINC back then.

UD is nice because they have cute little graphics (especially hpf2) but I think Boinc is better because it ISNT graphics intensive. I would rather expend CPU Cycles making cures rather than making pictures.

I like the advanced settings, although for my purposes i just give it unlimited power over my boxes (max drive space, 99.9% of virtual memory, connect to network anytime, etc, etc)

I dont know if it is better or worse, but probably more of a personal preference. I think BOINC is the logical progression for somebody that just wants to crunch and doesnt mind losing the graphics. It gives you more flexibility with configs and whatnot.

My $0.02 Take it with a grain of salt. I am a noob here.

Yeah better go with AMD Dual Core..

Snipes of TW, if concerned of running hot on BOINC, try Threadmaster, available here. When on juice, your cooling is likely to always run at max on your laptop when BOINC runs 100% utilisation, or should i say 200% on your dual......craving for a quad, but i'm resisting temptation until it shows up in an sff type pc like shuttle.

With Speedfan, you can monitor CPU temp continuously in your systray....been using it for quite a few years....is able in fact to read many system temps like board & harddisk.

UD has a throttle function, BOINC seems to get one soon build in.

I use both UD-agent and BOINC sw and I find this most remarkable differences:

- BOINC ups memmory ussage 275MB!! its a lot for a production PC so I use it only in off-business hours; UD-agent has no impact in memmory ussage (apparently)

- most important: you can install BOINC as a SERVICE. This means that it can run when no session is open (ie no user is logedd). In a business enviroment this is very important because users usually close their sessions when they left office for security reasons.

So I have found best solution in a mixed of both solutions to get 100% of CPU time without disturbing users work, getting CPU cycles when no user has logged in and without buying extra memory...

Julio