Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
(OP)
Hey guys..me agian 
So I tried to compare my new machine to my old one....
I was able to run the Piston MES
Old Machine completed with a time of 49 min 10 seconds. Constant CPU Usage 55-61%
New Machine completed with a time of 44 min 9 seconds.
Constant CPU Usage 15-20%
Is there something im doing wrong with my workstation configurations? The only option I see is to select the number of processors right before I begin the analysis. Is there a setting somewhere that im not seeing. I thought by buying faster hardware the system would process the MES faster...
My Specs are
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Memory: OCZ 12GB DDR3 1600mhz
Hard-Drive: 3x Western Digital 320GB in RAID5 Configuration
Video-Card: ATI FireVL 5100
Powersupply: OCS 700watt
OS: Windows XP 64bit SP2
Old Machine:
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.40 GHZ
Memory: DDR2 667mhz
Hard-Drive: 1 Western Digital 320GB
Power-Supply: 450 watt
OS: Windows XP 32bit SP3
So I tried to compare my new machine to my old one....
I was able to run the Piston MES
Old Machine completed with a time of 49 min 10 seconds. Constant CPU Usage 55-61%
New Machine completed with a time of 44 min 9 seconds.
Constant CPU Usage 15-20%
Is there something im doing wrong with my workstation configurations? The only option I see is to select the number of processors right before I begin the analysis. Is there a setting somewhere that im not seeing. I thought by buying faster hardware the system would process the MES faster...
My Specs are
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Memory: OCZ 12GB DDR3 1600mhz
Hard-Drive: 3x Western Digital 320GB in RAID5 Configuration
Video-Card: ATI FireVL 5100
Powersupply: OCS 700watt
OS: Windows XP 64bit SP2
Old Machine:
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.40 GHZ
Memory: DDR2 667mhz
Hard-Drive: 1 Western Digital 320GB
Power-Supply: 450 watt
OS: Windows XP 32bit SP3





RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
Your old machine is 32bit whilst your new machine is 64bit, therefore have you installed exactly the same software on both or does the 64bit machine have a 64bit version of the software installed? If you have done the former then the 64bit machine cannot be expected to run the code much faster than the old machine!
www.Roshaz.com
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
I still say that you situation is RAM related. This model is small enough that it is likely staying "in core", which means the model is solving in the RAM. As johnhors points out, your clock speed hasn't really changed between the two computers and if both computers maintain the model "in core", then the only thing affecting solution time is the bus speed. You won't see significant improvement until one of your computers goes "out of core" while the other one stays "in core" because of the quantity of RAM that you have in each machine.
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
Im sorry I didnt really understand the in core vs out of core. I assume you mean the model is small enough to be In core \ cache on the processor or out of core \ cache on ram? I run Passmark Bench Mark and my new machine is faster in everyway. (hd i/o speed, ram i/o speed, cpu power etc...)
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
www.Roshaz.com
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
Well, I do have access to more efficient software packages that better utilize multiple processors...even one that I consider much better for MES, but Algor does use multiple processors during the analysis phase.
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
I tried what you said and only selected 1 CPU. I ran the analysis agian for 10 minutes.
Results after 10 minutes:
Old System - 18.75%
New System - 20.63%
New System with Affinity set to use 1 Core - 15%
I attached the model incase you wanted to give it a try...
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
www.Roshaz.com
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
Just curious what FEA program do you use that can better utilize multiple processors for MES type of analysis? NeiNastran, Nx Nastran, ANSYS, maybe ABAQUS??? Just curious because I'm looking into FEA software and I'd like to get the most bang for my bucks.
Also as a side note: LongLe that is a nice system you set up for running FEA. I don't know a great deal about Algor however I do know that they offer a choice of solvers, some of the older solvers may not take advantage of the multiprossor systems like the one you have set up. How many DOF was your model?
JP
RE: Increase Processing Speed in FEA MES
Algor's user interface is better and it's mesh control is a bit easier, but the engine of AMPS is nice. I use Algor for dynamic analysis (because I've been using it for over a decade and can pretty much run it in my sleep), Roshaz for certain linear static problems (CAD clean-up tools are impressive for the price), and AMPS for any impact/MES problems (algorithm is similar to LS-DYNA).