Quad Core only 50% faster???? at DVinfo.net

Stacy Rothwell · March 1st, 2007, 08:14 PM

Hi!

I had a CORE2 DUO E6700 CPU until tonight when I upgraded to a QX6700 Quad Core.

However, I am only seeing a 50% improvement when measuring exporting a M2T file. Also, when I look at a CPU monitor (which correctly registers all 4 cores) it is only showing that each core is only working at 25%.

Is there a trick or something to getting Premiere, after effects, or Windows in general to fully utilize all 4 cores at 100% when rendering or did I just flush $1000 down the drain?

thanks for any help!

PS: Running WinXP SP2 with 2GB DDR6400

Steve Montoto · March 1st, 2007, 10:29 PM

Hi Stacy,

I found this review you might want to read.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/11/...ield_released/

Mikko Lopponen · March 2nd, 2007, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stacy Rothwell

Also, when I look at a CPU monitor (which correctly registers all 4 cores) it is only showing that each core is only working at 25%.

That is how it should be. 25% is one core. It is utilizing itself fully. If everything is 100% that means all cores are at 25%.

Marco Wagner · March 12th, 2007, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikko Lopponen

That is how it should be. 25% is one core. It is utilizing itself fully. If everything is 100% that means all cores are at 25%.

I'm not totally sure that is correct, if the app calls for it -all cores can and should run up to 100%. Stacy, download SuperPI and you should be able to run 4 instances of it before your machine bogs down. THAT should max all your CPUs out to 100%. 2 instances should yield you a 50% load on your system and so on... If your CPU monitor shows only 25% with one instance of SuperPI than each core is working at 6.25% OR one core is at 100% and the other three are sitting in wait state. What CPU monitor are you using? Taskmanager?

If I'm wrong about this, I'm sorry, but I believe that is correct. The problem is that Intel's multi-core chips don't talk to each other as well (fast) as AMD's multi-core chips, so you will see some latency here and there.

Ben Winter · March 12th, 2007, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco Wagner

I'm not totally sure that is correct, if the app calls for it -all cores can and should run up to 100%. Stacy, download SuperPI and you should be able to run 4 instances of it before your machine bogs down. THAT should max all your CPUs out to 100%. 2 instances should yield you a 50% load on your system and so on... If your CPU monitor shows only 25% with one instance of SuperPI than each core is working at 6.25% OR one core is at 100% and the other three are sitting in wait state. What CPU monitor are you using? Taskmanager?

If I'm wrong about this, I'm sorry, but I believe that is correct. The problem is that Intel's multi-core chips don't talk to each other as well (fast) as AMD's multi-core chips, so you will see some latency here and there.

Yes, that's correct. I have a quad core system and all are shown to work at 100% individually rather than 25% each. Haven't noticed if it happens in Premiere though...

Marco Wagner · March 12th, 2007, 09:10 PM

I thought so, mine max out out 100% when using the Windows Media Encoder x64 Edition. Premiere Pro hits 100% on mine a few times here or there. I assume usually one core can handle a pretty good load. With a quad-core it would probably bounce the threads around balancing the load. 64bit software will help kill this issue. You can also try what I do:

Open task manager and give Premiere Pro one or two cores all to itself. Then set it to HIGH or REALTIME. If you do REALTIME, test first. You should see a slight boost.

Tim Kolb · March 13th, 2007, 08:39 PM

Keep in mind that when you are video editing, the speed of the buss and the drives are key. In cases where the buss can't haul it, the processor won't run at full utilization. From what I've seen, the earliest crop of Quad cores actually has a slower buss and slower RAM...getting the math on and off the chip is the issue. Adding an engine to your car and putting a 'Y' in the fuel line and merging the exhaust pipe won't create extra power...neither will more processor cores with a slower buss to bring information.

Keep in mind that software applications need to be designed to include this many processing threads as well. Some tasks are very linear and breaking them apart into 4 or 8 separate threads isn't always possible.

3d guys will love Quad cores as they aren't pushing data through like a video editor does...they actually trickle data in and process the heck out of it to render. This is where a Quad core will shine at the moment...

TimK

Marco Wagner · March 13th, 2007, 10:10 PM

Yep that too, at this point we need 64 bit, multi-threaded software to really see some boost until Intel at least gets their act together. AMD's HT is pretty decent. The hard disk and BUS speeds have been a bottleneck forever, hello solid state drives!!! My next purchase for the system. Want to see a slight boost, up your BUS speed if your memory can handle it. I get 3 seconds knocked off of every 1 minute render with just a couple MHz increase.

March 1st, 2007, 08:14 PM	#1
Stacy Rothwell Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 112	Quad Core only 50% faster???? Hi! I had a CORE2 DUO E6700 CPU until tonight when I upgraded to a QX6700 Quad Core. However, I am only seeing a 50% improvement when measuring exporting a M2T file. Also, when I look at a CPU monitor (which correctly registers all 4 cores) it is only showing that each core is only working at 25%. Is there a trick or something to getting Premiere, after effects, or Windows in general to fully utilize all 4 cores at 100% when rendering or did I just flush $1000 down the drain? thanks for any help! PS: Running WinXP SP2 with 2GB DDR6400

March 12th, 2007, 09:10 PM	#6
Marco Wagner Trustee Join Date: May 2005 Location: Saint Cloud, Florida Posts: 1,043	I thought so, mine max out out 100% when using the Windows Media Encoder x64 Edition. Premiere Pro hits 100% on mine a few times here or there. I assume usually one core can handle a pretty good load. With a quad-core it would probably bounce the threads around balancing the load. 64bit software will help kill this issue. You can also try what I do: Open task manager and give Premiere Pro one or two cores all to itself. Then set it to HIGH or REALTIME. If you do REALTIME, test first. You should see a slight boost. __________________ www.facebook.com/projectspecto

March 13th, 2007, 10:10 PM	#8
Marco Wagner Trustee Join Date: May 2005 Location: Saint Cloud, Florida Posts: 1,043	Yep that too, at this point we need 64 bit, multi-threaded software to really see some boost until Intel at least gets their act together. AMD's HT is pretty decent. The hard disk and BUS speeds have been a bottleneck forever, hello solid state drives!!! My next purchase for the system. Want to see a slight boost, up your BUS speed if your memory can handle it. I get 3 seconds knocked off of every 1 minute render with just a couple MHz increase. __________________ www.facebook.com/projectspecto

March 1st, 2007, 10:29 PM	#2
Steve Montoto Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 302	Hi Stacy, I found this review you might want to read. http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/11/...ield_released/

March 13th, 2007, 08:39 PM	#7
Tim Kolb Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Neenah, WI Posts: 547	Keep in mind that when you are video editing, the speed of the buss and the drives are key. In cases where the buss can't haul it, the processor won't run at full utilization. From what I've seen, the earliest crop of Quad cores actually has a slower buss and slower RAM...getting the math on and off the chip is the issue. Adding an engine to your car and putting a 'Y' in the fuel line and merging the exhaust pipe won't create extra power...neither will more processor cores with a slower buss to bring information. Keep in mind that software applications need to be designed to include this many processing threads as well. Some tasks are very linear and breaking them apart into 4 or 8 separate threads isn't always possible. 3d guys will love Quad cores as they aren't pushing data through like a video editor does...they actually trickle data in and process the heck out of it to render. This is where a Quad core will shine at the moment... TimK