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Scientific & Engineering Computations, & HPC Performance
For these tests, we’re using the SPECwpc benchmark suite for workstations with its wide variety of tasks. It tests a number of very different mathematical computations optimized for parallelization. They typically make heavy use of available memory bandwidth and cache, plus expose issues with latency.
Rodinia
The pre-Euler3D CFD test (Computational Fluid Dynamics benchmark) runs very well, with AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper posting great results. It’s interesting to see that the overclocked processors don’t really improve performance all that much.
Convolution
In this benchmark, a mathematical operation is performed on two functions (convolution), which results in a third function. Performance scales similarly well with core count and clock rate.
CalculiX
This test is based on the finite element method for three-dimensional structural computations. The Ryzen Threadripper 1950X does edge out Intel’s Core i9-7900X flagship.
Poisson's Equation
Poisson's Equation is a second-order partial differential equation widely used in physics for boundary value problems.
Overclocking AMD’s Threadripper processors doesn’t yield much of a performance increase. Meanwhile, Intel’s Core i9-7900X dominates the field. The Threadripper chip posts better results than Intel’s remaining Core i9 CPUs, but it needs a lot more cores in order to keep up.
Sequential Reweighted Message Passing (SRMP)
These are algorithms for discrete energy minimization. None of AMD’s processors do well. However, the Threadripper CPU is able to compensate to some degree using core count, whereas the Ryzen 7 CPUs fall way behind.
Kirchhoff Migration
The earth’s subsurface structure can be determined via seismic processing. One of the four basic steps in this process is the Kirchhoff Migration, which is used to generate an image based on the available data using mathematical operations. This benchmark and its underlying computations turn out to be a great fit for AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper processor.
The Threadripper 1950X is a good choice for these tasks. The only exceptions are software packages that just aren't well-optimized for it, such as the SRMP test. Surely, developers will be more cognizant of AMD's hardware moving forward, now that the company has a competitive architecture designed to tantalize this market.
Consequently, negative outliers should become a less and less frequent, just as they have on the desktop with Ryzen 7, 5, and 3. Bottom line: the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is a great choice when computing power and easily parallelized tasks are involved.
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