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View Full Version : Does SAW take advantage of hyperthreading etc?



celebritymusic
07-25-2005, 01:37 AM
Hi

I'm thinking of upgrading to the AMD 4800 X2, and was wondering if SAW is programmed to take advantage of this type of dual processor?

If so, do all three versions of SAW benefit from this?

Thanks!

Shaun

antiClick
07-25-2005, 02:23 AM
I think that Bob (the developer) suggested to disable it from the Bios...
that means no.

Cheers!

PD: i thought tha hyperthreading was only offered by Intel

Bob L
07-25-2005, 04:24 AM
There are many threads here concerning dual processors and HyperThreading.

Yes, SAWStudio is very dual processor aware, but in the long run, I have seen many stability issues with duals, due to driver issues and other plugins that might not be.

HyperThreading has been discussed also, and in general, I recommend defeating it... it is not quite the same as a physical dual processor, and any real performance gains are quite debatable.

Bob L

celebritymusic
07-25-2005, 08:28 AM
OK

I think computers see the X2 as a single processor (it fits on a 939 single processor board), yet somehow it is able to process multiple threads at the same time. I think that driver problems are minimised due to the computer seeing it as one processor.

So driver issues aside, would SAWStudio take advantage of this multiple thread processing, and if so, which versions of SAW would use it out of Basic, Lite and full?

Thanks!

Shaun

Bob L
07-25-2005, 10:47 AM
All versions of SAWStudio currently use multiple thread design technology... everything about the engine is multi-threaded and carefully prioritized to do what it does.

I don't know what else is special about the processor you are describing, but I would imagine everything will do fine.

Bob L

AudioAstronomer
07-25-2005, 01:41 PM
SAw performs very well on dual cores. I just got to run on a system today and it rocks.

ttako
07-25-2005, 04:22 PM
Hi,

Did you tried the AMD x2 with SAWstudio? Thats great!
Just if one x2 processor works as it would be one, does this means that using a dual Opteron board (TYAN 2895) with two dualcore CPUs would be a great solution? I know, that SAWstudio can use two CPUs where one CPU is used for the main engine and the second CPU for display and metering process (and VST or DX uses both DSPs)... The question is, if two DC Opterons would be considered as two CPUs or as Four?
Allowing to use one whole DC opteron CPU just for the main engine would be a killer horsepower setup....

Just try to find out if I could build such a dual dualcore DAW PC???

cheers,
Tamas

celebritymusic
07-25-2005, 05:08 PM
Hi Ttako


The guy to talk to would be Scott from ADK. His email address is 4daw@adkproaudio.com
They are well reputed DAW workstation builders, and have dual opteron systems (and I think dual core dual systems too). Their website: www.adkproaudio.com (http://www.adkproaudio.com/) . Scott is one of the best DAW builders around (I have been following his work in different forums for a while now).

Systems utilising dual core and dual cpu's like this should be investigated re: SAWStudio. AMD's X2 dual core chips are about the fastest single processor you can buy today, and dual opterons are pretty mad setups too.

Scott was one of the first to try the 4800+ X2 (fastest in the range), and has sorted through some teething probs matching it would motherboards etc. He also sells DAW software with their systems, so perhaps it would be worthwhile inviting him to the forum to have a chat about these high end systems, and seeing if he'll test SAW on them? MAybe he'll even end up selling SAW with some of his systems!

I know SAW is probably the most efficient CPU DAW on the market today, so why not set up some forum talk with Scott, someone who is building the most efficient DAW systems?

After all, as DAW engineers, we're generally all after the fastest, most capable system we can afford. That way we can get on with being artistically creative instead of being creative when it comes to conserving CPU etc.

What do you all think?

Shaun

ttako
07-27-2005, 12:52 PM
Hi,
I mailed with Scott from ADK, and he told me SAWSTUDIO uses the increased CPU power of Dual CPU DualCore PC. (Tyan S2895 with 2x dualCore Opterons)
I will talk to him again to ask if this is based on his tests or just a guess...
Will post then.