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defjam

macrumors 6502a
Sep 15, 2019
795
735
Because this is how they operate, and leaked internal slides from a couple of months ago have outright stated that their strategy vs. AMD right now is "financial horsepower".

Do i need to get the crayons out?
If that's what you need to do in order to support your position because you have yet to do so so far.
 

th0masp

macrumors 6502a
Mar 16, 2015
839
505
On the subject of raw single core performance of Intel chips I recall hearing that some of the common dev tools in use are actually done by Intel. Just wondering if the compilers/middleware would be giving them any advantage in this?
Just like Nvidia are writing drivers specifically to boost games and have a team tasked with helping studios to optimize games for their GPUs.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
On the subject of raw single core performance of Intel chips I recall hearing that some of the common dev tools in use are actually done by Intel. Just wondering if the compilers/middleware would be giving them any advantage in this?
Just like Nvidia are writing drivers specifically to boost games and have a team tasked with helping studios to optimize games for their GPUs.
Intel compilers traditionally favor Intel processors.

But I think not that many people use them.
 

danwells

macrumors 6502a
Apr 4, 2015
783
616
Finally 12-core laptops again. But now cheaper and with actual mobility:

That's not a laptop any more than a 21.5" iMac is - that's a desktop CPU stuffed in a (somewhat) portable case.

I think AMD's 4000-series true laptop CPUs are a big step forward (and there's some chance of AMD-based Macs now because of them).

a junk-maker like Clevo stuffing desktop CPUs in something that looks like a laptop case, creating an unreliable hybrid between a computer and a space heater that barely runs on batteries, however, is not news.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
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That's not a laptop any more than a 21.5" iMac is - that's a desktop CPU stuffed in a (somewhat) portable case.

I think AMD's 4000-series true laptop CPUs are a big step forward (and there's some chance of AMD-based Macs now because of them).

a junk-maker like Clevo stuffing desktop CPUs in something that looks like a laptop case, creating an unreliable hybrid between a computer and a space heater that barely runs on batteries, however, is not news.
That is definitely a laptop. Lighter than a 17" MBP.

The 12-core Xeon laptops that existed before weighed 5kg and the battery only lasted for half an hour. They also used a 350W charger. That is why I did not buy one. But this new stuff would seem acceptable.

EDIT: I thought if this XMG provided 1.5 hours of battery it would be usable. They quote 2 (real life?).
 
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AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
3990X: I think Windows limits an application to 64 threads.
Have you ever thought about checking facts before you type?


The correct answer is many thousands to tens of thousands.

In my toolkit I have a "broadcast ping" tool that I wrote to scan entire subnets. I limit it to 512 threads because it isn't any faster with more threads.

Jesus H. Christ riding a bicycle - how can you type such nonsense?

threads.jpg
 
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goMac

Contributor
Apr 15, 2004
7,662
1,694
Because this is how they operate, and leaked internal slides from a couple of months ago have outright stated that their strategy vs. AMD right now is "financial horsepower".

Do i need to get the crayons out?

Should note: AMD has publicly complained Apple has an exclusivity agreement with Intel that includes incentives.

Neither Intel or Apple have said anything, but AMD themselves is pretty sure it’s why they don’t have business with Apple.
 
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cube

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May 10, 2004
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Have you ever thought about checking facts before you type?


The correct answer is many thousands to tens of thousands.

In my toolkit I have a "broadcast ping" tool that I wrote to scan entire subnets. I limit it to 512 threads because it isn't any faster with more threads.

Jesus H. Christ riding a bicycle - how can you type such nonsense?

View attachment 888856
I did search before posting. HARDWARE threads.
 

AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
I did search before posting. HARDWARE threads.
Windows 10 supports four sockets and 256 logical cores. Windows Server supports up to 64 sockets.

Note that the kernel is basically the same, so increasing the core count over 256 is a licensing matter, not engineering.
 
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cube

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May 10, 2004
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Windows 10 supports four sockets and 256 logical cores. Windows Server supports up to 64 sockets.

Note that the kernel is basically the same, so increasing the core count over 256 is a licensing matter, not engineering.
I know about the total limit, but it seems one process is limited to one Processor Group and one Processor Group limited to 64 logical cores.
 

jinnyman

macrumors 6502a
Sep 2, 2011
762
671
Lincolnshire, IL
I know about the total limit, but it seems one process is limited to one Processor Group and one Processor Group limited to 64 logical cores.
That's true only when such program is not programmed (or optimized) to assign process affinity to other processor group isn't it? I'm not that familiar with the concept, but what you say is only applicable for apps written in such way that doesn't utilize the possibility. So I don't know how you can say Windows not supporting it.
 

AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
I know about the total limit, but it seems one process is limited to one Processor Group and one Processor Group limited to 64 logical cores.
The default is to limit to one processor group, but applications can ask to use multiple groups.

By default, an application is constrained to a single group, which should provide ample processing capability for the typical application. The operating system initially assigns each process to a single group in a round-robin manner across the groups in the system. A process begins its execution assigned to one group. The first thread of a process initially runs in the group to which the process is assigned. Each newly created thread is assigned to the same group as the thread that created it.

An application that requires the use of multiple groups so that it can run on more than 64 processors must explicitly determine where to run its threads and is responsible for setting the threads' processor affinities to the desired groups. The INHERIT_PARENT_AFFINITY flag can be used to specify a parent process (which can be different than the current process) from which to generate the affinity for a new process. If the process is running in a single group, it can read and modify its affinity using GetProcessAffinityMask and SetProcessAffinityMask while remaining in the same group; if the process affinity is modified, the new affinity is applied to its threads.
 

danwells

macrumors 6502a
Apr 4, 2015
783
616
That is definitely a laptop. Lighter than a 17" MBP.

The 12-core Xeon laptops that existed before weighed 5kg and the battery only lasted for half an hour. They also used a 350W charger. That is why I did not buy one. But this new stuff would seem acceptable.

EDIT: I thought if this XMG provided 1.5 hours of battery it would be usable. They quote 2 (real life?).
NOTHING without a power-optimized mobile CPU is a laptop... Is it "portable" - yes, in the same sense an Osborne 1 was. Is it capable of getting meaningful work done away from an outlet? No...

2 hours of idle power means no more than 30 minutes on anything you'd buy this machine for.

A 16" MacBook Pro has an honest 10+ hours in Word, Mail, Safari - and a couple of hours in heavy use in Lightroom, Final Cut, Logic, etc. It can also use USB-C power packs to improve that. With 85%+ the performance of a big iMac (or, embarrassingly, a base Mac Pro) - that's a real high performance laptop.

There may be reasons to buy a portable computer with a big Ryzen (a machine that needs to be used in two places, both with outlets)... I'd look carefully at the cooling - Clevo doesn't have the best of reputations.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
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4,972
NOTHING without a power-optimized mobile CPU is a laptop... Is it "portable" - yes, in the same sense an Osborne 1 was. Is it capable of getting meaningful work done away from an outlet? No...

2 hours of idle power means no more than 30 minutes on anything you'd buy this machine for.

A 16" MacBook Pro has an honest 10+ hours in Word, Mail, Safari - and a couple of hours in heavy use in Lightroom, Final Cut, Logic, etc. It can also use USB-C power packs to improve that. With 85%+ the performance of a big iMac (or, embarrassingly, a base Mac Pro) - that's a real high performance laptop.

There may be reasons to buy a portable computer with a big Ryzen (a machine that needs to be used in two places, both with outlets)... I'd look carefully at the cooling - Clevo doesn't have the best of reputations.
A 5kg machine is portable like an Osborne. A 3kg machine can be a real laptop even if it uses a desktop CPU.

If 12-core Xeon could run for half an hour 6 years ago, I can believe 3900X@65W can run for 2 hours now.

I care about power, not 8-hour battery. Not even cMBPs were powerful machines.
 
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cube

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May 10, 2004
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The default is to limit to one processor group, but applications can ask to use multiple groups.


Now that CPUs can have 128 threads on one socket, maybe it is time for a bigger mask.

But I guess it would have to be kept to 128-bit.

I don't expect a core bump for a couple years, but maybe AMD will increase to 4 threads per core sooner. Maybe 256-bit for the server and workstation versions would not cause much trouble.
 
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AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
Now that CPUs can have 128 threads on one socket, maybe it is time for a bigger mask.

But I guess it would have to be kept to 128-bit.

I don't expect a core bump for a couple years, but maybe AMD will increase to 4 threads per core sooner. Maybe 256-bit for the server and workstation versions would not cause much trouble.
Maybe when we get 128-bit or 256-bit ISAs! ;)

There are several problems with the approach of making processor groups larger:
  • The scheduler is one of the most performance critical pieces of the OS. By limiting the processor group to the size of the largest supported integer, far fewer instructions are needed at each scheduler tick.
  • Processor groups allow parallel, rather than serial scheduling. Each group is an independent kernel thread.
  • Most bigger systems have non-uniform memory access at main memory and/or cache. Processor groups provide a natural way to group memory and compute allocations to NUMA nodes.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
Maybe when we get 128-bit or 256-bit ISAs! ;)

There are several problems with the approach of making processor groups larger:
  • The scheduler is one of the most performance critical pieces of the OS. By limiting the processor group to the size of the largest supported integer, far fewer instructions are needed at each scheduler tick.
  • Processor groups allow parallel, rather than serial scheduling. Each group is an independent kernel thread.
  • Most bigger systems have non-uniform memory access at main memory and/or cache. Processor groups provide a natural way to group memory and compute allocations to NUMA nodes.
I thought that maybe they could use XMM and YMM.

I don't think Linux has these problems?
 
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AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
I thought that maybe they could use XMM and YMM.

I don't think Linux has these problems?
What problem? And if it's a problem, can you say the Apple OSX doesn't have the same problem?

(And since Apple OSX has never supported 64 logical cores - how would you know?)
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
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What problem? And if it's a problem, can you say the Apple OSX doesn't have the same problem?
The problem would be commercial massively multi-threaded programs that don't deal with Processor Groups.

I don't care about OSX.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
In mathematics, we call this the "null set". ;)


We're on the same page.. But seriously, you're knocking Windows for their solution for a problem that Apple OSX has never addressed?
I'm not knocking Windows, I think the hack is past its prime.

People have upgraded machines just to see their software run slower.

I think this might be blocking the release of 48-core Threadripper.
 
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AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
I'm not knocking Windows, I think the hack is past its prime.
"Processor groups" is not a hack - it's an elegant solution to the problem of how to schedule large numbers of cores that are bigger than the largest integer mask supported by a processor.

It "simply works" for most apps. For apps that create huge numbers of threads, it adds a minor extra bit of complexity when creating threads on processors with more than 64 logical cores.

People have upgraded machines just to see their software run slower.
Links? With supporting evidence that processor groups is the problem?

I think this might be blocking the release of 48-core Threadripper.
Links? Or is it just the lack of real world applications that can exploit 48 cores?

What if Intel/ATI/VIA announced a 640 core processor (2560 threads) at 4.0 GHz. Would anyone care?
 
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