22 Replies Latest reply on Oct 17, 2018 2:58 PM by Jay Seaglar

Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Mahir Abrahim Jan 31, 2018 1:03 PM

I'm running the same version of SW (2016) on a computer with an i7-8700K (3.7GHz, 6 cores) and an i6-4690 (3.5GHz, 4 cores). The i5 can mesh my study in about 9 minutes. The i7 takes 12 minutes. Same model, same mesh settings. Both PCs are running off an SSD. Is there some magic setting I'm missing here? The mesh in question is mostly shell elements with several solid parts, 14k total elements, high quality, no automatic transitions. Color me confused. My client put some serious dough into a quality workstation for this project that should be at least 20% faster, but it's actually 20% slower???

Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Christian Chu Jan 31, 2018 1:07 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

How many cores in your i5?
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- Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
  
  Bob Van Dick Jan 31, 2018 1:20 PM (in response to Christian Chu)
  
  Just guessing he meant to type i-6 not i-5....
  
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  - Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
    
    Christian Chu Jan 31, 2018 1:23 PM (in response to Bob Van Dick)
    
    It doesn't make sense since there are more core in i7 which is better for both calculations and meshing
    
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    - Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
      
      Bob Van Dick Jan 31, 2018 1:27 PM (in response to Christian Chu)
      
      That's why he is asking the question.....the slower CPU is outperforming the faster one...
      
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Loren Swensen Jan 31, 2018 1:15 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

Are you running the same GPU on both machines?
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Christian Chu Jan 31, 2018 1:30 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

Can post both of the computers specs here ?
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Christian Chu Jan 31, 2018 1:33 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

Also are you running other apps while performing FEA on SW?
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Mahir Abrahim Jan 31, 2018 2:56 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

Oops, I meant i5, not i6. Here are the specs.

i5-4690, 3.5GHz, 4 cores
16GB RAM
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
nVidia Quadro 4000
gigabit ethernet

i7-8700K, 3.7GHz, 6 cores
32GB RAM
Samsung 850 EVO M.2 1TB SSD
nVidia GTX 1080Ti (soon to be replaced by a Quadro M4000)
5G wireless NIC

I wouldn't think that the GPU matters much. I always thought meshing and solving relied purely on CPU? The i7 has a faster SSD and more RAM. There are some non-processor intensive programs running in the background on the i5, but hardly anything on the i7 since it's a new build. The i7 doesn't even have antivirus. All the variables point to the i7 being significantly faster, but that's not what I'm seeing.
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- Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
  
  Jacob Corder Jan 31, 2018 5:43 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)
  
  that samsung M.2 is actually just a sata III (6g/s) drive. its not really an M.2. A M.2 will always say PCI-E.
  i cant find one online that is a 850 Evo that is PCI-E based M.2
  
  just so you now the ssd might not be faster.
  one possible reason is your I7 is heating up. what type of cooling do you have on the I7?
  
  Also make sure that the hyperthreading is turned on on the I7. if it is, it will show up as 12 Cores
  
  i would strongly suggest a liquid cooler. make sure you get a good one. i had a thermaltake clog up a few weeks back. just full of gunk inside.. i only use corsair, someone here though thermaltake was better. they were wrong
  
  who built the new system?
  
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Loren Swensen Jan 31, 2018 3:02 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

I cant say I know why your i5 is faster, but this article might shed some light on the matter.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Solidworks-2016-Multi-Core-Performance-741/
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- Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
  
  Mahir Abrahim Jan 31, 2018 3:40 PM (in response to Loren Swensen)
  
  Good article. It did point me to a possible solution. When I look at performance in the task manage, I only see one CPU. There should be 6. I didn't build this PC, but I know there was some meddling around in the BIOS. It's possible that there is only 1 core available for processing. I also only see one CPU in Task Manager. I can definitely believe that 4 i5 cores would outpace a single i7 core. I'll check back once I take a look at the BIOS.
  
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  - Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
    
    Bob Van Dick Jan 31, 2018 5:18 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)
    
    How many cores does the task manager say you have on the i-5 computer? Does it say 4?
    
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    - Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
      
      Mahir Abrahim Jan 31, 2018 5:49 PM (in response to Bob Van Dick)
      
      Yes, the i5 shows 4 CPUs. And I was wrong about the inactive cores on the i7. Task Manager was just showing overall CPU utilization, but the other cores were there. The i7 actually has 12 total logical CPUs (2 per core).
      
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  - Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
    
    Jacob Corder Jan 31, 2018 5:46 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)
    
    in resource monitor on the right it will show you cpu. you should see 12 with that processor
    go to resource monitor
    click monitor up top.
    select Select Processors....
    you should see CPU 0 through CPU 11
    
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    - Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
      
      Mahir Abrahim Jan 31, 2018 5:51 PM (in response to Jacob Corder)
      
      Yesk you're right. Task manager just wasn't set to individually show each processor. Back to square one. No idea why the new PC is lagging. It's not like I'm overclocking or doing anything special to tweak my i5's settings.
      
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Mahir Abrahim Jan 31, 2018 5:54 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

I'm going to run a benchmark on both computers. I don't know if it will tell me anything, but more info can't hurt.
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Mahir Abrahim Feb 1, 2018 1:05 AM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

Yep, this is what I would expect, but it's not what's happening in real world performance. Although, the I/O performance is puzzling. You'd think a faster newer Samsung drive would outperform the older Samsung drive.

i5 Results

i7 Results
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- Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
  
  Jacob Corder Feb 1, 2018 9:22 AM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)
  
  make sure power options in windows isn't set to save power mode. set it to high performance if it isn't.
  
  IN REGARDS TO YOUR IO BEING SLOWER.
  the IO performance is as i said before. you don't actually have a Real M.2. you have a SATA III M.2 which is a Msata. the industry is stupid right now and they are calling everything that fits in a M.2 slot, and M.2.
  
  Everyone reading this, make sure that if you buy a M.2 SSD that it says PCI-E!!! otherwise your just buying a ssd that fits on the motherboard.
  
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Jaja Jojo Feb 1, 2018 2:13 AM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

Turn of Hyper-threading then try to benchmark again. i did try this to my mobile workstation when hyper-threading is on it slightly slower.
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- Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
  
  Mahir Abrahim Feb 2, 2018 12:33 PM (in response to Jaja Jojo)
  
  That helped a little. Took a little doing to find it in the bios.
  
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Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?

Richard Huang Oct 17, 2018 1:19 PM (in response to Mahir Abrahim)

I recently went though a noticeable performance degradation with my Dell Precision M6800 i7-4900MQ 2.80GHz laptop. I experienced better performance with a lower spec Dell E7250 i7 5600U, 2.6GHz: rebuild times for the same model were 25 seconds for the "weaker" machine vs. 90s for the "workstation". Very frustrating, indeed.

My fix was adjusting the laptop's Control Panel Power Options from "Balanced" to "High Performance". The setting had been inadvertenly changed to the lower setting. Rebuild times are now about equal and problem fixed.
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- Re: Why is my slower CPU outperforming my faster CPU in mesh speed?
  
  Jay Seaglar Oct 17, 2018 2:58 PM (in response to Richard Huang)
  
  Power settings can definitely have a negative effect on the performance, especially in software that is resource-intensive. Here's a list of things to check for anyone else who experiences such behavior and finds this post:
  1. Power Management Options (not only in Windows but through any software specific to the system vendor that might be present)
  2. That all your files including the Simulation Results Folder location specified in Study Properties are on a local drive (instead of a network location/mapped drive)
  3. Whether your local disk drivers/firmware are appropriately installed
  4. (Less common causes, but especially likely on custom-built systems from third party vendors): insufficient cooling, insufficient power supplies, incompatible hardware, etc.
  
  For more information, please search the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base (KB) for the following solution IDs:
  S-060851
  S-061622
  S-038234
  S-068478
  S-072291
  
  Your SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller (VAR) can also help you troubleshoot.
  
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