RC5 Info

Since I dumped SETI, thinking of joining RC5. (CPU-Central of course!)
I've clicked the "Join" link, copied down the info, downloaded the client, installed, configured my email, downloaded packet, it's crunching. I'll do the next steps next few days.
THEN, what do I do?
Will it let me know when it needs to "Phone Home" like SETI? If not, how do I tell?
Does it launch on Startup, or do I shortcut to it? (No prob).
Should I leave the various settings on Auto, or how to I decide?
The benchmarking, what's it for, how to use?

Confused , as usual.