I'll make a stab at it, although I'm not an expert at this. To begin with, here are a few links that might fill in some gaps:
http://support.stockfishchess.org/kb/advanced-topics/engine-parameters
The following link gives a short discussion of "move overhead":
https://komodochess.com/store/pages.php?cmsid=14
Here's a thread on the "slow mover" option:
http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?start=0&t=42308&topic_view=flat
Finally, here's a thread on "nodestime" that's about as clear as mud:
http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?start=0&t=55742&topic_view=flat
My comments & opinions on each setting:
hash - If performance isn't critical, you can set this to something fairly low. I typically use 128 MB. I could probably set it quite a bit higher, but this setting seems to work OK for me. (Some people use gigabytes of hash.) The only thing to watch out for is that you don't set it so high that you run out of free RAM when you're running the engine and any background applications.
ponder - If you're playing two engines against each other, I'd recommend that you use "ponder off". If you're playing against the engine and you want the engine to think on your own time, then use "ponder on".
minumim thinking time - I always just leave this on the default setting.
nodestime - Good luck understanding this option from the link above. It's apparently only an issue if you're running background processes that might prevent the engine from using all of its needed resources. I'd think as long as you don't max out the CPU usage, you won't have to worry about this setting and you can just leave it on the default setting.
SyzygyProbeDepth - I don't know the details of this setting; I just leave it on its default, and it seems to work OK.
SyzygyProbeLimit - Ditto, same as above.
Threads - One thread is the default, and it would be safe to use that setting. If you need better performance, you can increase the number of threads. However, using too many threads might max out your CPU usage, and some PCs could overheat if not cooled sufficiently.
Clear hash - Self explanatory. Click the button to manually clear the hash, if that's what you want to do. I usually only use this if I'm running manual analysis on a position and need to restart the engine with no previous lines in the hash memory.
MultiPV - This setting specifies how many principal variations are to be displayed. Using greater than one will slow down the engine's calculations somewhat. It's a useful setting if you need to see more than just the best line.
Move Overhead - Refer to the applicable link above.
Slow Mover - Refer to the applicable link above.
SyzygyPath - If you downloaded the Syzygy tablebases, this specifies the path to those tablebase files.
Syzygy50MoveRule - I don't know the details of this setting; I just leave it on its default, and it seems to work OK.
Hey, I'm new to this site, so hopefully this is the right place to post this. Anyway, I wanted to set up stockfish 8 on Lucas chess UCI, but it brings up so many parameters (hash, threads, nodestime, etc.) which I have no idea what to do with. I tried googling, and while I found some info (hash is the amount of memory being used,but I don't know what's the right amount; I read that threads should be set to how many cores you have) , most of it was over my head. If anyone could explain in layman's terms what this list of terms mean and/or how I should set them up (I can provide specs, if I know what to look for) I would be immensely grateful.
hash
ponder
minumim thinking time
nodestime
SyzygyProbeDepth
SyzygyProbeLimit
Threads
Clear hash
MultiPV
Move Overhead
Slow Mover
SyzygyPath:
Syzygy50MoveRule