Multiple Core support
Hello,I was just testing Bricscad V7 on a multiple core CPU machine (Core 2 duo) and noticed that Bricscad is not using the second core, is this correct? if so, will this be any different in upcoming versions? It is no secret that faster machines from hardware manufacturers are counting more on the addition of cores than increasing CPU clock speed so the use of the multiple core availability seems to be the way of the futureBest Regards,José
Comments
-
Everything I've read so far has indicated that multiple cores are not really helping much. Writing software that can successfully take advantage of them seem to be a major challenge. I wonder if doing stuff like overclocking and water cooling the best way to go for 2d CAD work?Perhaps someone from bricscad can comment about the optimal platform for Bricscad. - Is there any advantage to a multi-core processor at all?- Is processor speed the most important issue? - Is there any advantage to buying anything but the most basic grapics card?Joe Dunfee
0 -
Concerning multi-core processors: at present there are very few applications that effectively use a second (or multiple) processor cores. Main problem is that it is surprisingly difficult to architect an application for multi-processing while avoiding pitfalls like deadlock and race conditions. Instead of forcing every application developer to jump through these hoops, a new generation of compilers is coming up which will try to make optimal use of the available cores. In fact, in preparation of improving the efficiency (and robustness) of our application, we completely reworked and simplified the threading architecture in the upcoming V8. It will not yet make use of multiple cores, but later this year we plan to try out more recent compilers.Is processor speed the most important? Yes, if 'speed' is to be interpreted as 'performance', and if combined with ample RAM, which is just as important: the moment a system needs to swap RAM everything becomes a 1000 times slower.Comparing processor performance is not straightforward: clock speed means different things to different processor families, the cache(s) type, size and speed are important, the bus speed, ... Concerning graphic cards: these days even basic cards indeed will do nicely for a cad application like Bricscad.
0 -
Could Bricsys update the info on how the works are on developing BricsCAD for multicore platform?
0 -
Looking to buy my new lap I am considering a quad core machine so I wanted to ask Hans if there is an update on multicore support for Bricscad, if not yet available any information on future plans on this matterBest Regards,Jose
0 -
The most demanding and also most frequently used part of a CAD application is its graphics engine. A.o. it takes care of display operations (zoom, pan, ...). These are operations that are well-suited to be executed by multiple cores working in parallel. Other operations that involve creation or modification of entities, must follow a strict sequence: one step cannot be executed before or in parallel with another step. As such, it is hard to make them benefit from multicore processors.That being said, at present we are trying to integrate a new high-end commercial graphics engine that leverages all extra power offered by modern multicore machines. Quite obviously it is our goal to achieve considerable performance improvements, but today it is a bit early for figures or dates. Expect more news after summer. Bottomline is that we are indeed working towards better use of the power offered by multicore machines.Best regards.
0 -
Bricscad screams on my new Quad core I7 box, with Win7x64 : )
0
