Nvidia's calling on gaming PC owners to put their systems to work fighting COVID-19

News
By
published

Folding@home has new projects for the study of coronavirus

(Image credit: Nvidia/CDC)

If you have a gaming PC, you can lend your graphical power to fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. That's not a thing I ever thought I'd write, but it turns out 2020 is occasionally weird in good ways too.

Nvidia is putting out a call to PC gamers everywhere to download the Folding@home application and start putting their spare clock cycles toward advancing humanity's scientific knowledge of coronavirus. The program links computers into an international network that uses distributed processing power to chew through massive computing tasks - something that gaming-grade GPUs are quite good at, as it turns out. You can still turn the application off and reclaim your GPU's full power for playing games whenever you want.

Folding@home has been around for years - it was also available on PS3 back in the day - with users lending their distributed power to all kinds of research. A new wave of projects "simulating potentially druggable protein targets from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and the related SARS-CoV virus (for which more structural data is available)" were made available on the service earlier this week.

These projects could help researchers better understand coronavirus, and eventually even develop effective therapies against it. If you've been grappling with feelings of helplessness in the face of the worldwide outbreak, this is a small but real way you can lend your aid to the world without any medical experience. It also doesn't hurt that you don't need to leave your house to do it, since we're supposed to avoid that as much as possible anyway.

Pokemon Go is making some changes to help players keep enjoying the game while allowing for social distancing. Staying at home this weekend? Maybe you need a Disney Plus bundle to pass the time. Or if you've been thinking of upgrading your gaming PC check out our picks for the best graphics cards or best gaming laptops.

See more Games News
CATEGORIES
Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Games
soldiers dropping in from the sky and looking over verdansk
Warzone's original map is returning next month, but it's still not enough: "We don't just want Verdansk back. We want everything back"
Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 packs on a third obvious Metal Gear Solid reference with cover art throwing back to MGS2's bizarre box art featuring Japanese pop superstar Gackt
People playing Finspan, the new game in the Wingspan series
The must-have fishy successor to Wingspan and Wyrmspan is discounted for the first time
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree final boss Radahn stares into the camera, holding a sword in each hand.
After 423 hours and over 15,000 total deaths, Elden Ring player finally beats Shadow of the Erdtree without the upgrades FromSoftware urged everyone to use: "Never give up"
Latest in News
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State star Giancarlo Esposito explains why adapting the bleak novel into a family friendly adventure was the right decision: "I'm going to bring my children with me"
soldiers dropping in from the sky and looking over verdansk
Warzone's original map is returning next month, but it's still not enough: "We don't just want Verdansk back. We want everything back"
Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 packs on a third obvious Metal Gear Solid reference with cover art throwing back to MGS2's bizarre box art featuring Japanese pop superstar Gackt
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in Joker 2
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega teases Lady Gaga's appearance in season 2 of the Netflix show: "It was just a really, really special environment"
People playing Finspan, the new game in the Wingspan series
The must-have fishy successor to Wingspan and Wyrmspan is discounted for the first time
Lego Mario & Standard Kart being held by a person sat at a table
The new Lego Mario Kart set is so much better than I was expecting it to be
More about games
Death Stranding 2

Death Stranding 2 packs on a third obvious Metal Gear Solid reference with cover art throwing back to MGS2's bizarre box art featuring Japanese pop superstar Gackt
People playing Finspan, the new game in the Wingspan series

The must-have fishy successor to Wingspan and Wyrmspan is discounted for the first time
soldiers dropping in from the sky and looking over verdansk

Warzone's original map is returning next month, but it's still not enough: "We don't just want Verdansk back. We want everything back"
See more latest
Most Popular
soldiers dropping in from the sky and looking over verdansk
Warzone's original map is returning next month, but it's still not enough: "We don't just want Verdansk back. We want everything back"
Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 packs on a third obvious Metal Gear Solid reference with cover art throwing back to MGS2's bizarre box art featuring Japanese pop superstar Gackt
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State star Giancarlo Esposito explains why adapting the bleak novel into a family friendly adventure was the right decision: "I'm going to bring my children with me"
Absolute Batman in the snow.
Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder teases the arrival of Robin, crossovers with Superman and Wonder Woman, and building up to the Joker
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in Joker 2
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega teases Lady Gaga's appearance in season 2 of the Netflix show: "It was just a really, really special environment"
People playing Finspan, the new game in the Wingspan series
The must-have fishy successor to Wingspan and Wyrmspan is discounted for the first time
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree final boss Radahn stares into the camera, holding a sword in each hand.
After 423 hours and over 15,000 total deaths, Elden Ring player finally beats Shadow of the Erdtree without the upgrades FromSoftware urged everyone to use: "Never give up"
Lego Mario & Standard Kart being held by a person sat at a table
The new Lego Mario Kart set is so much better than I was expecting it to be
Daniel Craig in No Time to Die
James Bond will reportedly remain male and British under new Amazon management, as Pierce Brosnan says it's "a given" that the next actor must not be American
Chris Cocks with a transformer grimmacing behind him
Hasbro CEO, D&D DM, and self-professed "AI bull" Chris Cocks says AI is "supercharging fandom" which is "just net good for the brand"