[Skimmertalk] Improvement of CPU consumption by RTTY Skimserv

Sun Jan 5 16:40:23 EST 2020

Yes, normal in contest conditions.

I have 71-79 excluded but that's not all.  I can't keep up with the 
various FTx frequencies - seems like they move around with each 
contest.  So there's probably some Ftx in that number as well.  ON the 
other hand this is the low of the cycle so unless FTx is the end of 
RTTY, I'll stick by the ~400/band needed to do the job fully.

Guess I'll have to get something with a bit more horsepower.  I think 
the AMD 3950 will drop-in the existing 2700x slot.  Or a rasberry pi.

73/jeff/ac0c
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
www.ac0c.com

On 1/5/20 9:58 AM, N4ZR wrote:
>
> Jeff, I assume the "normal conditions" you're speaking of are during 
> contests? Are you excluding the FT4 and FT8 frequencies from your 
> coverage?  On a typical non-contest day I only see a few decoders and 
> maybe 1 RTTY spot per hour.  Seeing all the people on this weekend is 
> downright startling!
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> Check out the Reverse Beacon Network
> at<http://reversebeacon.net>, now
> spotting RTTY activity worldwide.
> For spots, please use your favorite
> "retail" DX cluster.
> On 1/5/2020 10:40 AM, Jeff Blaine wrote:
>>
>> Pete there are.  Not sure how they correlate.  Much better than a 
>> general CPU benchmark though.
>>
>> The AMD 2700X at stock frequency, as a benchmark, runs about 
>> 1100-1200 decoders before RTTY SS starts to throttle.  That should 
>> work for the normal conditions.  I seem to need about 400 decoders 
>> per open & active band and another 50-150 for each of the other bands 
>> with some activity.  In peak solar condx, even this horsepower is 
>> going to be marginal if leaving SS set on 5 bands x 192.  Trimming 
>> back on the number of bands of course mitigates any shortcomings though.
>>
>> 73/jeff/ac0c
>> alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
>> www.ac0c.com
>>
>>
>> On 1/5/20 8:58 AM, N4ZR wrote:
>>>
>>> Jeff, what I was trying to point out is simply that judgments made 
>>> several years ago, that RTTY Skimserv would stop even the strongest 
>>> i7, perhaps need to be rethunk.
>>>
>>> Is there an available benchmark for FPU capability?
>>>
>>> 73, Pete N4ZR
>>> Check out the Reverse Beacon Network
>>> at<http://reversebeacon.net>, now
>>> spotting RTTY activity worldwide.
>>> For spots, please use your favorite
>>> "retail" DX cluster.
>>> On 1/5/2020 12:09 AM, Jeff Blaine wrote:
>>>>
>>>> The normal cpu benchmarks are worthless as predictors. Look for 
>>>> something that is a reflection of the FPU capability.
>>>>
>>>> That also explains why the Fx series were so poor.  They have 2 ALU 
>>>> for 1 shared FPU.  All of the Intels (and the newer Amd) are 1:1 
>>>> ALU:FPU.
>>>>
>>>> 73/jeff/ac0c
>>>> alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
>>>> www.ac0c.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 1/4/20 8:49 PM, N4ZR wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Before the RU started, I had CW Skimserv running on one receiver 
>>>>> of the RP-16, and RTTY Skimserv running on the other, both with 8 
>>>>> bands x 192 KHz  I forgot to rearrange the RTTY bands when the 
>>>>> contest started, although I did select the right Contest.ini 
>>>>> contest.  What I wanted to comment on is the much improved CPU 
>>>>> performance I'm seeing, compared with the last time I ran RTTY 
>>>>> Skimserv in a contest.  Currently I have 339 decoders open on 
>>>>> RTTY, and 444 spots in the last half hour. It's running 63-67% 
>>>>> CPU, with occasional excursions into the 70s.  Meanwhile, CW is 
>>>>> showing 410 decoders, with 340 spots in 30 minutes, and 6-8 
>>>>> percent CPU.
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't know how to account for this improvement.  It is a new 
>>>>> computer, running Windows 10 pro.  The processor is an  Intel Core 
>>>>> i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2808 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 6 Logical 
>>>>> Processor(s).  The machine has 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB solid 
>>>>> state drive, and the CPU has a passmark of almost 12,000.  My old 
>>>>> Skimmer machine has an AMD FX-8350 with a passmark of almost 
>>>>> 9,000, but there really is no comparison so far as RTTY performance.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm wondering if others have had similar experience with the i5 or 
>>>>> similar, newer CPUs.  Perhaps they are better adapted to running 
>>>>> the RTTY Skimserv code for some reason.
>>>>>
>>>>> A postscript - I just cut the RTTY Skimserv back to 6 bands x 
>>>>> 192KHz, and it is now drawing 55-61 percent CPU with 401 decoders 
>>>>> and 425 spots in the last 30 minutes.
>>>>>
>>>>> -- 
>>>>>
>>>>> 73, Pete N4ZR
>>>>> Check out the Reverse Beacon Network
>>>>> at<http://reversebeacon.net>, now
>>>>> spotting RTTY activity worldwide.
>>>>> For spots, please use your favorite
>>>>> "retail" DX cluster.
>>>>>
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