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ATI GPU Client CPU Usage, whats the problem here?

W

Wind

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Mar 4, 2005
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Got the other box setup again finally and loaded up the gpu2 client for the 3870X2. The CPU usage is at 75-80%, running under vista64 here. It's on a E8400@3.6. The box I am typing on is happily running the nvidia side on this 280 at 7% CPU usage on the X3350@3.2. The core process is using about 50% and NT Kernal & System is at 25% give or take. I threw on the SMP also to check it out and it took over an hour to finish a frame with both clients going.

Anyone running a 3870X2 under vista64 that can comment? I'm thinking it's time to ditch this brick if that is the norm for the ati side and snagging a cheap 8800/9800GT if this is the case. Or ditching the gpu client for the SMP perhaps. Thoughts? Comments?
 
I don't run ATI but some of our team does, so I'm sure they'll chime in with better info But from what little I've read on the ATI side, it seems to me like the ATI client is MUCH more aggressive on the CPU usage than Nvidia. So your numbers MAY be spot-on.

Here is a link to the folding forum, specifically the ATI GPU forum. The place can be a PITA and I keep low key there and just browse occasionally IF I can't find what I need here. I could link you to the PPD comparison thread for ATI but I don't see any X2's there. Besides, it may just cause you to want to dump the card for another 280 and I'd hate to be the cause of that.. ;)

Seriously that 3870X2 might game really well, but ATI cards in general right now don't seem to fold as well as the Nvidia cards (from a speed/production standpoint) so I thought I'd get that out in the open and save you some reading time. Some of our members fold on ATI and it's all about the science performed anyway, so what you have is fine. Stanford/M.houston (the ATI driver? guru) are working on optimizations for the ATI hardware so with all the shaders on those cards, the landscape COULD change at ANY time.

Hopefully someone else with better overall knowledge about what's going on with ATI will pitch in here.

Meanwhile good luck!

 
nomad8u said:
I don't run ATI but some of our team does, so I'm sure they'll chime in with better info But from what little I've read on the ATI side, it seems to me like the ATI client is MUCH more aggressive on the CPU usage than Nvidia. So your numbers MAY be spot-on.

Here is a link to the folding forum, specifically the ATI GPU forum. The place can be a PITA and I keep low key there and just browse occasionally IF I can't find what I need here. I could link you to the PPD comparison thread for ATI but I don't see any X2's there. Besides, it may just cause you to want to dump the card for another 280 and I'd hate to be the cause of that.. ;)

Seriously that 3870X2 might game really well, but ATI cards in general right now don't seem to fold as well as the Nvidia cards (from a speed/production standpoint) so I thought I'd get that out in the open and save you some reading time. Some of our members fold on ATI and it's all about the science performed anyway, so what you have is fine. Stanford/M.houston (the ATI driver? guru) are working on optimizations for the ATI hardware so with all the shaders on those cards, the landscape COULD change at ANY time.

Hopefully someone else with better overall knowledge about what's going on with ATI will pitch in here.

Meanwhile good luck!

Click to expand...

You are right about the ATI GPU client. For all intent and purpose it needs all of it's own core. In your case, unless you move to a quad, you could probably get away with running one standard client on the unused core.

Even with the nVidia client two cores will hurt you running GPU and SMP, again, try one of the standard clients.

It's my guess you would do better simply running the SMP by itself.;)
 
You should be getting about 1500-1700 ppd per GPU core. The 3870x2 have 2 so you can run 2 GPU clients but since your processor is dual-core, you won't be able to run anything else. 3400 ppd out of the video card is not bad but the SMP client can get close to that with proper tweaks. Obviously, a 9800GT will wipe the floor while leaving a free core so you can even run a SMP client under Vista.

 
Currently, Ati is on Core 1.03 / 1.04 ...
nVidia is on 1.08 (I think)

These current ATI cores do not have the CPU tweaks that the nVidia has ...

In the begining ...
ATI decided to focus on most efforts on a stable core
Nvidia went for speed tweaks ...

Now, it is starting to reverse ....
ATI is working hard on getting the CPU usage down and trying to make full use of the extra shaders on the 48xx series
The nVidia guys are making sure the clients work is scientific useful and correct

You have already started to see a small drop in nVidia ppd, and it will contiune to go down and they work units get larger

ATI work units have been normal WU for a while, not smaller test units like nVidia.

In a few months, you will start to see each move toward each other in terms on PPD and preformance
 
Thanks for the replys! From what I have read only 1 client is supported on the 3870X2 at the moment so I didn't even bother for trying to get two working, did some searching this morning and seems to still be the case. Just trying to max out the science here and go with the most efficient option. Going to check out the SMP tomorrow for 24hrs and compare the two as it would definitely be much less heat/noise/power if it is comparable PPD wise currently to the 3870X2. Running both doesn't seem to be an option with the CPU usage currently so high, it's good to know they are working towards lowering it, hopefully drastically.




 
yeah i have sorta high cpu usage also with the gpu client but its only 30-45%

 
Well I ran the SMP only and it was at 2100ppd roughly so I will be sticking with that until they sort out the high ATI GPU client CPU usage in a future revision hopefully. I posted my problem on the f@h boards but no responses, but it's the weekend also. I am tempted to drop the OC on the E8400 to stock and check it out vs the 3870X2, but I think the SMP would still come out ahead using much less heat and power however.

After looking at the PPD averages for the different cards from some folks on the f@h forums it really seems there is no point to run the ATI GPU client currently if you are using a dual core C2D at or above 3ghz, quad is a different story of course. Thanks again for the feedback!

 
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