Points are a key aspect of many distributed computing projects, including Folding@home (FAH), because it both works to indicate to donors how much they have contributed, as well as foster friendly competition between donors. These have always been essential parts of distributed computing. One important aspect of this is the choice of a method for determining the points. Folding@home’s point system is based on the concept of a benchmark machine, i.e. a particular class of hardware which we use as a standard to help define how many points a given calculation should get. The choice of this benchmark machine has implications for points for donors. Moreover, how we use this benchmark is important.
Our benchmarking philosophy tries to balance two elements: keeping a system reasonably simple and fair (both for donors and for the FAH team to calculate) as well as keeping points in alignment with the scientific value of the results. Indeed, donors will optimize their machines (e.g. choice of hardware, choice of clients, etc) based on points, so it is important that points awarded be reflective of the scientific gain