Multi-core advantage?

[sculptor310]

Is FFMP able to take advantage of multi-core processors? If one were to upgrade their system does it pay off to have an 3.0ghz 8 core machine, or is this just as good for running FFMP as a 3.0ghz 4 core machine?

To expand this topic even further, which system upgrades will yield the best results in FFMP: RAM, Graphics Card, Vista, adding cores, or hard drive speed.

Thanks in advance!

[a3dcreator]

i would also like to know this type of information...

[freeformguru]

FreeForm Modeling Plus definitely takes advantage of multicore processors. We require at least two "cores" (or physical processors) as the haptic device has a real-time thread that works best when there is always an available core to service it. Several operations within FreeForm are designed to take advantage of multiple processors, and we are working to add this capability to more operations, as well as using more of the available processing power (cores).

Operations such as "Reduce for Export" are designed to divide the work across a few cores.

Currently (with FreeForm Version 10.x builds) you will see enhanced performance as you add cores up to 4 cores. In the future we plan to take advantage of more of the available processing power on today's advanced machines.


As for the question of what gives the most "bang for the buck", faster processors will give you the most overall improvement in system throughput. So, for version 10.x, having a machine with 4 faster processors versus a machine with 8 slower processors, the 4 processor machine will, in general, perform "better". (Having more processors of the same speed will not slow down the application at all though).

RAM, both the amount available, and the speed of the RAM and system bus, is probably the next biggest factor.

Hard drive speed should really only be a factor when loading and saving files, provided that you have sufficient physical memory to keep the application from swapping out memory to disk.

With version 10.x we have started to take advantage of some of the advanced rendering options of the newer graphics cards, which is why we now require cards and drivers that support OpenGL version 2.1 and higher. We are also currently investigating ways to take advantage of the processing power of the graphics cards "GPU", which could eventually greatly speed some of the complex operations in FreeForm.

As for Operating System, we have seen some performance improvement using Vista versus Windows XP for some very specific operations and model types, but given the "pain points" of using Vista, we still recommend Windows XP/Windows XP x64. We do fully support Vista and Vista 64 with FreeForm version 10.x using the latest PDD. Claytools version 2.0 (about to be released) will also fully support these Operating Systems.

I hope that answers your questions.

[sculptingman]

I have been tweaking my FFMP for 8 years now.

Here's what I find.

The single biggest improvement in performance that you can get will be adding RAM. 32 bit system will not give FF any more than 2GB of ram.

64 bit systems will give it as much as you can afford.
A 64 bit machine running XP64 with 14 gb or RAM or more will make FF an entirely different animal.

Assuming you are wanting to run FF10, Rather than spend on more than 4 processors... upgrade to a 2.1 video card on a 64 bit machine and load it with RAM.

I run on Intel Macs... but you can get great deals on re-furbished 64 bit HPs with the graphics cards and RAM you want online at HP.

What you want to see is that even when you are working on a 30 million polygon model, that number down at the right corner stays around or under 10%...


I also noticed a significant improvement in running windows XP64 from a 10,000 rpm Raptor drive.- In fact- if you are running Vista, they pretty much require it to avoid a lot of problems. ( most noticeable with really large files where both FF and the OS are swapping to the hard drive constantly.

Also- one reason most PCs have trouble with Vista can be traced to the fact that, originally, MS was going to require a specific graphics card subsystem to qualify for the Vista compliant sticker....
Turns out there was a shortage of those chips, so MS relaxed that requirement... resulting in a lot of Vista stickered machines that were not actually up to spec.
If you can find one of those rare machines that actually HAVE the correct graphics chip, Vista actually runs tolerably well ( or so I am told )


Other issues?
Turn OFF any pieces you are not actively working on- this speeds performance.

When you find yourself working on a single piece that is so high res that it is bogging your machine down, cut that piece into several parts that OVERLAP each other by a little bit, and turn off those parts you are not actively working on...

You can merge them back together when you are done with the memory intensive modeling.



Also- if you think you will need to use the Fairing tool... do so when the model is at lower resolution... I have waited up to and hour and a half for a fairing operation to clear at the resolution limit of my machine...

[Harryman]

Some good tips, thanks. I'm running XP64 and really haven't had any issues, but I think I'll order up some more RAM anyhow.

I have waited up to and hour and a half for a fairing operation

[sculptor310]

Great info.

Any recommendations on specific graphic cards you all are happy with?

[Toymaker]

Anyone out there know if Freeform will run on the i7 processors? Currently I am using a dual Xeon system with 4 cores each @ 2.6GHz but I thought a i7 with 6 cores @ 4.15GHz might work much better. Can anyone confirm if it even runs on a single i7?

Also is there an upper limit to the RAM that Freeform can use? I know they recommend a 16 GB system but is that the most or can Freeform use more?

[Toymaker]

I'm now using an i7 six core processor at 4.15GHz, 24GB RAM, Quadro FX3800graphics card and so far this system rocks!
It seems for now Freeform utilizes 4 cores so my last system wasn't well matched. I don't know how much of the performance boost is related to the higher clock speed or double the RAM but it definately works well.

Just an FYI- Hope this helps someone