Retesting AMD Ryzen Threadripper’s Game Mode: Halving Cores for More Performance
by Ian Cutress on August 17, 2017 12:01 PM ESTCPU Encoding Tests
One of the interesting elements on modern processors is encoding performance. This includes encryption/decryption, as well as video transcoding from one video format to another. In the encrypt/decrypt scenario, this remains pertinent to on-the-fly encryption of sensitive data - a process by which more modern devices are leaning to for software security. Video transcoding as a tool to adjust the quality, file size and resolution of a video file has boomed in recent years, such as providing the optimum video for devices before consumption, or for game streamers who are wanting to upload the output from their video camera in real-time. As we move into live 3D video, this task will only get more strenuous, and it turns out that the performance of certain algorithms is a function of the input/output of the content.
All of our benchmark results can also be found in our benchmark engine, Bench.
7-Zip 9.2: link
One of the freeware compression tools that offers good scaling performance between processors is 7-Zip. It runs under an open-source licence, is fast, and easy to use tool for power users. We run the benchmark mode via the command line for four loops and take the output score.
At the request of a few users, we've gone back through our saved benchmark data and pulled out compression/decompression numbers for 7-zip. AMD clearly makes a win here in decompression by a long way with all the threads, and the 1800X beats the 1950X in Game Mode due to frequency.
WinRAR 5.40: link
For the 2017 test suite, we move to the latest version of WinRAR in our compression test. WinRAR in some quarters is more user friendly that 7-Zip, hence its inclusion. Rather than use a benchmark mode as we did with 7-Zip, here we take a set of files representative of a generic stack (33 video files in 1.37 GB, 2834 smaller website files in 370 folders in 150 MB) of compressible and incompressible formats. The results shown are the time taken to encode the file. Due to DRAM caching, we run the test 10 times and take the average of the last five runs when the benchmark is in a steady state.
WinRAR encoding is another test that doesn't scale up especially well with thread counts. After only a few threads, most of its MT performance gains have been achieved. The balance here is with memory and frequency, to which the 1800X wins. The 1800X takes a sizeable gain over the 1950X in Game Mode too, likely due to far memory latency.
AES Encoding
Algorithms using AES coding have spread far and wide as a ubiquitous tool for encryption. Again, this is another CPU limited test, and modern CPUs have special AES pathways to accelerate their performance. We often see scaling in both frequency and cores with this benchmark. We use the latest version of TrueCrypt and run its benchmark mode over 1GB of in-DRAM data. Results shown are the GB/s average of encryption and decryption.
HandBrake v1.0.2 H264 and HEVC: link
As mentioned above, video transcoding (both encode and decode) is a hot topic in performance metrics as more and more content is being created. First consideration is the standard in which the video is encoded, which can be lossless or lossy, trade performance for file-size, trade quality for file-size, or all of the above can increase encoding rates to help accelerate decoding rates. Alongside Google's favorite codec, VP9, there are two others that are taking hold: H264, the older codec, is practically everywhere and is designed to be optimized for 1080p video, and HEVC (or H265) that is aimed to provide the same quality as H264 but at a lower file-size (or better quality for the same size). HEVC is important as 4K is streamed over the air, meaning less bits need to be transferred for the same quality content.
Handbrake is a favored tool for transcoding, and so our test regime takes care of three areas.
Low Quality/Resolution H264: Here we transcode a 640x266 H264 rip of a 2 hour film, and change the encoding from Main profile to High profile, using the very-fast preset.
High Quality/Resolution H264: A similar test, but this time we take a ten-minute double 4K (3840x4320) file running at 60 Hz and transcode from Main to High, using the very-fast preset.
HEVC Test: Using the same video in HQ, we change the resolution and codec of the original video from 4K60 in H264 into 4K60 HEVC.
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Lieutenant Tofu - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
"... we get an interesting metric where the 1950X still comes out on top due to the core counts, but because the 1920X has fewer cores per CCX, it actually falls behind the 1950X in Game Mode and the 1800X despite having more cores. "Would you mind elaborating on this? How does the proportion of cores per CCX affect performance?
JasonMZW20 - Sunday, August 20, 2017 - link
The only thing I can think of is CCX cache locality. Given a choice, you want more cores per CCX to keep data on that CCX rather than using cross-communication between CCXes through L2/L3. Once you have to communicate with the other CCX, you automatically incur a higher average latency penalty, which in some cases, is also a performance penalty (esp. if data keeps moving between the two CCXes).Lieutenant Tofu - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
On the compile test (prev page):"... we get an interesting metric where the 1950X still comes out on top due to the core counts, but because the 1920X has fewer cores per CCX, it actually falls behind the 1950X in Game Mode and the 1800X despite having more cores. "
Would you mind elaborating on this? How does the proportion of cores per CCX affect performance?
rhoades-brown - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
This gaming mode intrigues me greatly- the article states that the PCIe lanes and memory controller is still enabled, but the cores are turned off as shown in this diagram:http://images.anandtech.com/doci/11697/kevin_lensi...
If these are two complete processors on one package (as the diagrams and photos show), what impact does having gaming mode enabled and a PCIe device connected to the PCIe controller on the 'inactive' side? The NUMA memory latency seems to be about 1.35 surely this must affect the PCIe devices too- further how much bandwidth is there between the two processors? Opteron processors use HyperTransport for communication, do these do the same?
I work in the server world and am used to NUMA systems- for two separate processor packages in a 2 socket system, cross-node memory access times is normally 1.6x that of local memory access. For ESXi hosts, we also have particular PCIe slots that we place hardware in, to ensure that the different controllers are spread between PCIe controllers ensuring the highest level of availability due to hardware issue and peek performance (we are talking HBAs, Ethernet adapters, CNAs here). Although, hardware reliability is not a problem in the same way in a Threadripper environment, performance could well be.
I am intrigued to understand how this works in practice. I am considering building one of these systems out for my own home server environment- I yet to see any virtualisation benchmarks.
versesuvius - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
So, what is a "Game"? Uses DirectX? Makes people act stupidly? Is not capable of using what there is? Makes available hardware a hindrance to smooth computing? Looks like a lot of other apps (that are not "Game") can benefit from this "Gaming Mode".msroadkill612 - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
A shame no Vega GPU in the mix :(It may have revealed interesting synergies between sibling ryzen & vega processors as a bonus.
BrokenCrayons - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
The only interesting synergy you'd get from a Threadripper + Vega setup is an absurdly high electrical demand and an angry power supply. Nothing makes less sense than throwing a 180W CPU plus a 295W GPU at a job that can be done with a 95W CPU and a 180W GPU just as well in all but a few many-threaded workloads (nevermind the cost savings on the CPU for buying Ryzen 7 or a Core i7).versesuvius - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
I am not sure if I am getting it right, but apparently if the L3 cache on the first Zen core is full and the core has to go to the second core's L3 cache there is an increase in latency. But if the second core is power gated and does not take any calls, then the increase in latency is reduced. Is it logical to say that the first core has to clear it with the second core before it accesses the second core's cache and if the second core is out it does not have to and that checking with the second core does not take place and so latency is reduced? Moving on if the data is not in the second core's cache then the first core has to go to DRAM accessing which supposedly does not need clearance from the second core. Or does it always need to check first with the second core and then access even the DRAM?BlackenedPies - Friday, August 18, 2017 - link
Would Threadripper be bottlenecked by dual channel RAM due to uneven memory access between dies? Is the optimal 2 DIMM setup one per die channel or two on one die?Fisko - Saturday, August 19, 2017 - link
Anyone working on daily basis just to view and comment pdf won't use acrobat DC. Exception can be using OCR for pdf. Pdfxchange viewer uses more threads and opens pdf files much faster than Adobe DC. I regularly open files from 25 to 80 mb of CAD pdf files and difference is enormous.