I'm talking about AP here.

I have never experimented with -use_sleep much because I find with my setup the AP cpu usage is low unless there is blanking and I don't have the problem with low gpu usage that some AMD users see.

Should I look into it more? Could it reduce cpu usage when there is blanking?

I think sleep is more an nVidia thing. The only cure for Blanking is AstroPulse version 7 currently in Beta. If you want to experiment, come on over and test Blanking's worst nightmare, Astropulse 7,00 released for Linux 32&64, Win 32&64, Win32+AMD/NVIDIA/Intel GPU

Thats correct.
AMD cards dont need use_sleep.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

With recent NV drivers (not sure of the exact version - maybe 275 onwards) AstroPulse tasks on NV GPUs use a full core of CPU processing, it has something to do with the way the drivers handle waiting. I can't remember the exact details right now - those more experienced can give more information on this.

The use_sleep parameter helps reduce CPU usage significantly in these situations, often to the point where CPU usage is negligible (on a zero-blanked task). The down-side is that - depending on your specific hardware/software configuration - there may be a considerable increase in the run-time of the GPU processing overall. One would need to test NV GPU processing with and without the use_sleep switch to decide whether or not the reduction in CPU usage sufficiently offsets the potential increase in GPU processing time.

As far as I know, AMD GPUs generally don't have this issue, so use_sleep isn't really needed or recommended.

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Soli Deo Gloria

Nvidia cards can get similar run times like AMD cards using use_sleep.
I tested a lot of different NV hosts.
You need to try different ffa_block values.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Interesting!
Is there any direct download link for Astropulse v7.01 for NVidia available?

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Aloha, Uli

Thanks for the replies everyone, I learned something.

Interesting!
Is there any direct download link for Astropulse v7.01 for NVidia available?

AP v7 is to be used only at SETI Beta. The change in processing would make many tasks invalid in comparison to AP v6 processing.

Those who want to participate in the Beta testing (and perhaps help it get released earlier here) should attach there.

                                                                   Joe

AP v7 is to be used only at SETI Beta. The change in processing would make many tasks invalid in comparison to AP v6 processing.

Those who want to participate in the Beta testing (and perhaps help it get released earlier here) should attach there.

Thanks, got it over there at seti beta. It is running smooth on both NVidias GT 640 & GT 430 but "-use-sleep" still leads to a drop to ~50% in GPU usage. The behavior is similar to astropulse V6, no real improvement seen on my side.

[edit]
Forgot: I'm using driver 337.88

[edit2]
For reference here the host:
http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/results.php?hostid=4982

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Aloha, Uli

AP v7 is to be used only at SETI Beta. The change in processing would make many tasks invalid in comparison to AP v6 processing.

Those who want to participate in the Beta testing (and perhaps help it get released earlier here) should attach there.

Thanks, got it over there at seti beta. It is running smooth on both NVidias GT 640 & GT 430 but "-use-sleep" still leads to a drop to ~50% in GPU usage. The behavior is similar to astropulse V6, no real improvement seen on my side.

[edit]
Forgot: I'm using driver 337.88

[edit2]
For reference here the host:
http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/results.php?hostid=4982

No use_sleep in use on your units Uli.
You also have to increase ffa_fetch and ffa_fetch block using use_sleep.
Add the params into ap_cmdline_win_x86_SSE2_OpenCL_NV.txt.

-use_sleep -ffa_block 4096 -ffa_block_fetch 2048 -tune 1 64 4 1

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

No use_sleep in use on your units Uli.
You also have to increase ffa_fetch and ffa_fetch block using use_sleep.
Add the params into ap_cmdline_win_x86_SSE2_OpenCL_NV.txt.

-use_sleep -ffa_block 4096 -ffa_block_fetch 2048 -tune 1 64 4 1

Hi Mike,

i'm now using

-use_sleep -ffa_block 2304 -ffa_block_fetch 1152 -tune 1 64 4 1

I can't go any further, cause i'm streaming DVB-C on this PC and if i go higher, the stuttering becomes unbearable. Unfortunately i can't use different parameter sets for the different cards like i can do with Lunatics seti v7 executable in mbcuda.cfg:

[bus1slot0]
;;; Optional GPU specifc control (requires Cuda 3.2 or newer app), example
;processpriority = abovenormal
pfblockspersm = 1
pfperiodsperlaunch = 50

[bus5slot0]
;;; Optional GPU specifc control (requires Cuda 3.2 or newer app), example
;processpriority = abovenormal
pfblockspersm = 4
pfperiodsperlaunch = 200

So i can take load from the primary card, which is streaming the DVB-C data. I would really like to see this feature also implemented in the astropulse executables.

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Aloha, Uli

Lets see.

I will check later.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Lets see.

I will check later.

Great! *thumbsup* :)

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Aloha, Uli

To Mike:

I have been searching for information on the parameters on the "-tune" that explain what they actually do. Is there a source I can read?

Check the AstroPulse_OpenCL_NV_ReadMe.txt from app package.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Lets see.

I will check later.

Great! *thumbsup* :)

With such low ffa_block values use_sleep doesn`t help.
I have tested r_2399 on a 640 and it worked perfectly with 4096 2048.
Maybe the 430 is slowing you down but i`m no nvidia expert.

You can try -tune 1 32 8 1 and -tune 1 16 16 1 to see if this helps.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Looks much better Uli.

I think -tune 1 16 16 1 is a good value for your configuration.
At least CPU time looks O.K.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Looks much better Uli.

I think -tune 1 16 16 1 is a good value for your configuration.
At least CPU time looks O.K.

Yes, i tried 2560 and 1280, but there was still stutter. I'm now using

-use_sleep -ffa_block 2304 -ffa_block_fetch 1152 -tune 1 16 16 1

With this setup i reach >90% GPU load and the streaming is stutter free.
Thanks a lot! :)

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Aloha, Uli

Interesting side note:
The very moment i stop streaming DVB-C data, the GPU load drops to exactly 50% on both(!!) cards.
So, the system throughput for seti is higher with streaming than without it! I'm puzzled. :?
This is new with version 2399. So for now i'll only use the sleep function when streaming data.

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Aloha, Uli

You can try higher tune values whilst not streaming.
I would create another ap_cmdline_win_x86_SSE2_OpenCL_NV.txt file with
-tune 1 64 4 1 or 1 128 2 1 and try if this speeds things up.
Just rename one to tx1 if not in use the other in tx2 if not in use.
So you only need to rename the file and have 2 different configurations.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.