HCC GPU Launched.

[Rob_B]

I have done a few test with my system today. I have been running a single WU on the GPU.

i7-860 @ 4.0 GHz no HT, ATI 5850 @ 900/1000 MHz.
Only GPU work, no CPU work.
At the start of a WU it runs 13 seconds on the CPU. After that it uses on average 51 seconds during and after GPU use. Average GPU time = 120 seconds.
The picture shows Total time and (CPU time)
HCC_GPU_4GHz_noHT.PNG

i7-860 @ 3.3 GHz HT, ATI 5850 @ 900/1000 MHz.
Only GPU work, no CPU work.
At the start of a WU it runs 19 seconds on the CPU. After that it uses on average 58 seconds during and after GPU use. Average GPU time = 120 seconds.
HCC_GPU_3.3GHz_HT.PNG

i7-860 @ 3.3 GHz HT, ATI 5850 @ 900/1000 MHz.
GPU and CPU work.
At the start of a WU it runs 25 seconds on the CPU. After that it uses on average 87 seconds during and after GPU use. Average GPU time = 131 seconds.
HCC_GPU_CPU_3.3GHz_HT.PNG

i7-860 @ 3.3 GHz no HT, ATI 5850 @ 900/1000 MHz.
GPU and CPU work.
At the start of a WU it runs 16 seconds on the CPU. After that it uses on average 62 seconds during and after GPU use. Average GPU time = 128 seconds.
HCC_GPU_CPU_3.3GHz_noHT.PNG

[Conquistador SW]

Gentlemen. Would you all be kind enough to publish your CPU times. I have a feeling that we will see that regardless of GPU used we can get a clear picture of the effect of platform. So, what is needed is from observation ...

primary cpu time, secondary cpu time, cpu type, cpu speed and whether ht is on or off.

I would love to give this information but I don't know where to find these numbers except for measuring by hand.
Also , what do you mean with primary and secondary cpu time? The time it takes before the GPU usage goes to 100% and after it stops?

CPU: 3770K, 4.8GHz, HT on
And I am running WU's on the other 7 threads, so the CPU is at 100% load most of the time. I have to see if it stays at 100% while running a GPU WU.

[kjeldoran]

I would love to give this information but I don't know where to find these numbers except for measuring by hand.
Also , what do you mean with primary and secondary cpu time? The time it takes before the GPU usage goes to 100% and after it stops?

CPU: 3770K, 4.8GHz, HT on
And I am running WU's on the other 7 threads, so the CPU is at 100% load most of the time. I have to see if it stays at 100% while running a GPU WU.

This is my experience as well, you decrease CPU time if you free up one thread for the GPU.

[Rob_B]

I want to try 2 GPU WU at once. How do I accomplish that and still run 6 WU GFAM on CPU?

bluestang: I believe that it is not possible to run 2 wu at once and have cpu wu's running too

I think it is, but I don't know how to do that. AFAIK you need to add the CPU projects to that app_info file. I thought the app_info file for nvidia cards had the GFAM project in it too.

[Rob_B]

I would love to give this information but I don't know where to find these numbers except for measuring by hand.
Also , what do you mean with primary and secondary cpu time? The time it takes before the GPU usage goes to 100% and after it stops?

CPU: 3770K, 4.8GHz, HT on
And I am running WU's on the other 7 threads, so the CPU is at 100% load most of the time. I have to see if it stays at 100% while running a GPU WU.

I use BoincTasks for that. But the same info is shown in BoincManager. Stop network communication so it doesn't upload the WU when they are done. Now you can look at the properties of a WU when they are done and you can see the Total time (GPU and CPU) and CPU time. The only thing you need to check is the CPU time when a WU starts before the GPU work starts. That is where BoincTasks is handy as you can see Total time and CPU time next to each other on the screen.

[Conquistador SW]

I use BoincTasks for that. But the same info is shown in BoincManager. Stop network communication so it doesn't upload the WU when they are done. Now you can look at the properties of a WU when they are done and you can see the Total time (GPU and CPU) and CPU time. The only thing you need to check is the CPU time when a WU starts before the GPU work starts. That is where BoincTasks is handy as you can see Total time and CPU time next to each other on the screen.

Thanks, I will check out BOINCtasks.

For now I see that BOINC manager only reports CPU time which it seems is 90% of the total time and "time elapsed" (translated from dutch).

From the last results I get this:

CPU time / time elapsed:

7.58 / 8.38
6.56 / 7.28
7.31 / 8.11
6.45 / 7.04
5.55 / 6.38

I don't know what to make of this.

Edit: was thinking what this would mean. Does this mean the GPU takes 7.58 min and the CPU 40 sec (first result)? This would be the opposite of what you measure. You said the difference between the 2 times mentioned is the GPU time and the time between the brackets is the CPU time (both before and after GPU starts). I am confused lol.....

Added a screenshot to make it clear:

(3770K 4.8GHz + GTX 260)

[Gamekiller]

Worth anything? ==> http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/8142...rd-gvr667d31gi

[Rob_B]

CPU time / time elapsed:

7.58 / 8.38
6.56 / 7.28
7.31 / 8.11
6.45 / 7.04
5.55 / 6.38

I don't know what to make of this.

Edit: was thinking what this would mean. Does this mean the GPU takes 7.58 min and the CPU 40 sec (first result)? This would be the opposite of what you measure. You said the difference between the 2 times mentioned is the GPU time and the time between the brackets is the CPU time (both before and after GPU starts). I am confused lol.....

Added a screenshot to make it clear:

(3770K 4.8GHz + GTX 260)

Those times look very different from what I'm seeing on my system. Yoy can rightclick a WU in BoincTasks and open the properties of that WU. It will show total time and CPU time. Those should match the times in the main screen in BoincTasks.

Or mayby it is shown different on an nVidia card.

This is from the last WU in my system.
HCC_GPU_WU.PNG

[mreuter80]

That is with the iGPU only. The APU is not overclocked and stock CPU Clock speed is 2600 MHz. Youtube videos lag badly when running HCC GPU and make the PC unusable. I'm going to check the CPU/GPU/CPU times on the project and I'll post them up shortly.

Update: I watched a few WUs at the start and toward the end, and it looks like the first ~40 seconds and last ~60 seconds are CPU time and the rest is GPU. This was observed on 2 WUs that completed in ~12:40 seconds. It's hard to gauge when it CPU started and GPU stopped as the CPU utilization barely changes through the entire run time of the WU.

thanks one.shot. what are the PPD of that machine?

[bluestang]

Worth anything? ==> http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/8142...rd-gvr667d31gi

2 in one machine...yes, I would think so.

[Conquistador SW]

Those times look very different from what I'm seeing on my system. Yoy can rightclick a WU in BoincTasks and open the properties of that WU. It will show total time and CPU time. Those should match the times in the main screen in BoincTasks.

Or mayby it is shown different on an nVidia card.

This is from the last WU in my system.
HCC_GPU_WU.PNG

Weird, mine looks the same, but no way that CPU time is actually the time the CPU spends on the WU. It must be the GPU.

[bluestang]

Elapsed time - CPU time = GPU time

[Conquistador SW]

Elapsed time - CPU time = GPU time

Normally that would seem logical, but I have a 3770K at 4.8GHz and GTX 260 and according to what you said, my CPU would take over 6 minutes while the GPU only takes 30-40 sec. I would guess it is the other way around, which would make the CPU time the GPU time and elapsed time - CPU time the actual CPU time.

[nanoprobe]

I started to use this app_info this evening. Yes, you lose your work for your CPU, but if you are focusing only on HCC then you will complete more WUs than using both your CPU and GPU based on my observations with my setup.

Previously, I was doing GPU WUs around 1:56 with only one WU and 7 CPU threads. Using the above app_info, I lose all of my CPU threads but I work on 2 GPU WUs at once. Completion times around around 2:06 to 2:20 per WU. Yes, it is slower but I am completing two WUs at once. Even if I had the max of 2:20 per WU that is over 1200 WUs in one day. Of course, there will be variations and even if it was only 1100 WUs it is still more than what I would get with 7 CPU threads and 1 GPU thread running HCC (which is around 900 WUs in one day at 1:56 per GPU WU). I'd really only recommend the above app_info if you run HCC only and your GPU is able to handle the work.

You can also do more than 2 GPU WUs at once if you change <count>0.500000</count> to .33 (3 at once) or .25 (4 at once). Info was taken from nanoprobe on WCG forums for increasing the number of WUs beyond 2.

Pros:
Decreased power consumption since only 2 threads are being used on the CPU
More WUs completed

Cons:
Only able to run HCC GPU at this point in time, maybe there can be code added to run another project later on.
More stress on the video card
Some video cards may not benefit from this app_info

I am still in the testing phase of this and I will see how the results are in the next few days. I might see if changing the count to 3 or 4 can increase overall WU completion.

Last thing, I would imagine using this tweak will show a greater effect when the core clock is increased since the GPU is being utilized more.

Just an FYI. An app_info to run multiple tasks on a GPU is best suited for the higher end cards like the GTX670/680 and HD 7950/7970. If your GPU load is in the 94-96% running 1 task this app_info will not help and in fact may lower efficiency and cause invalid results. If your single task load is below 90% running more than 1 task may work but once your load gets to 95% +/- 2% don't attempt to run more. The above app_info is for 2 tasks. A 7970 can run 4, putting the GPU load @ 96%
To add more or less tasks change the <count>N</count> string to 1 for 1 task, .50 for 2, .33 for 3 or .25 for 4. Use at you own risk and watch temps. I would also not use this file on an overclocked card to start with until you see how it runs.

[Rob_B]

Weird, mine looks the same, but no way that CPU time is actually the time the CPU spends on the WU. It must be the GPU.

What does your CPU usage look like in Task Manager? On my system the CPU usage is just 1% while the GPU is working. And goes up to 24% (one core of 4) at the start and end of the WU.

Are the CPU and GPU both used on a system with an nVidia card? That would explain the high CPU usage.

[nanoprobe]

What does your CPU usage look like in Task Manager? On my system the CPU usage is just 1% while the GPU is working. And goes up to 24% (one core of 4) at the start and end of the WU.

Are the CPU and GPU both used on a system with an nVidia card? That would explain the high CPU usage.

Yes they are both used on Nvidia and ATI. The task starts on the CPU, is then handed off to the GPU which then sends it back to the CPU for final processing.

[Movieman]

Yes they are both used on Nvidia and ATI. The task starts on the CPU, is then handed off to the GPU which then sends it back to the CPU for final processing.

Listen to this guy folks, he knows his stuff..
Also include him in your prayers tonight as he's had a terrible day..An attack of Davecalledmeonthephoneitis..

[Conquistador SW]

What does your CPU usage look like in Task Manager? On my system the CPU usage is just 1% while the GPU is working. And goes up to 24% (one core of 4) at the start and end of the WU.

Are the CPU and GPU both used on a system with an nVidia card? That would explain the high CPU usage.

I also run normal WU's and the CPU usage seems to stay at 100% all the time. I will have to test without running normal WU's. I will try this now, give me a few minutes.

[Rob_B]

Yes they are both used on Nvidia and ATI. The task starts on the CPU, is then handed off to the GPU which then sends it back to the CPU for final processing.

That is what I see on my ATI system. I thought that maybe on a nVidia system the CPU usage is higher during GPU work. And that that is what causes the CPU time to be much higher.

Did you hear that, or do we have to speak a little louder after Dave's call?

[nanoprobe]

That is what I see on my ATI system. I thought that maybe on a nVidia system the CPU usage is higher during GPU work. And that that is what causes the CPU time to be much higher.

Did you hear that, or do we have to speak a little louder after Dave's call?

The CPU usage with Nvidia cards is much higher than ATI because ATI has much better OpenCL driver support.

[nanoprobe]

Listen to this guy folks, he knows his stuff..
Also include him in your prayers tonight as he's had a terrible day..An attack of Davecalledmeonthephoneitis..

Thanks for the vote of confidence MM. My ear has finally stopped ringing.

[Conquistador SW]

It seems like my CPU indeed stays at 100% load all the way through the GPU WU and only dipping to 98% for a few seconds.

I understand it is not possible to only run the GPU without modifying a file, so I did not try that.

[nanoprobe]

It seems like my CPU indeed stays at 100% load all the way through the GPU WU and only dipping to 98% for a few seconds.

Thank Nvidia for that.

I understand it is not possible to only run the GPU without modifying a file, so I did not try that.

The GPU must have CPU support or the app will not work.

[Mydog]

nanoprobe I'm trying your script now but it doesn't seem to be working, I've still got the CPU WU's running not sure how to stop them. I just copied your XML into the Boinc folder under Program data.

Test rig consist of:

3770K @4,7GHz and a 7970 @stock

[Conquistador SW]

Thank Nvidia for that.

Well, thank Nvidia.....

The GPU must have CPU support or the app will not work.

I understand, but I would like to pause all CPU WU's and only run the GPU WU (and accompanying CPU part), but there is no way to do this without modifying a file it seems.
This way I could how much the CPU is used while running the GPU WU.