Ryzom

Saw this in the log file. Too bad the client doesnt recognize dual or quad-core CPU's the same as hyperthreaded CPU's.

Is there a way to force this as "yes?"

Would be good for the people running on dual-core AMD, Pentium, or CoreDuo's that are marginal on one core.

Hyperthreading is not the same as programs which run in multiple process threads unfortunatly.

Besides, most multicore systems should have enough power in one core to run Ryzom decently.

aranykai wrote:Hyperthreading is not the same as programs which run in multiple process threads unfortunatly.

Hyperthreading was Intel's attempt at making a CPU that had a few extra execution units to appear as 2 cores. Why would the dev's include a detection for this unless the app can use it? I order to use it, the client would have to be able to split into at least 2 threads. Having 2+ cores is(from a software point of view) like having HT where the full CPU is duplicated, not just the first 30%.

aranykai wrote:Besides, most multicore systems should have enough power in one core to run Ryzom decently.

Have you looked at some of the Pentium-D budget system specs? They need all they can get.

I have a quad core and can run up to 4 clients at once with no problems

(each on it's own 'core')

I think load balancing is always helpful. I typically just set affinity to both CPUs after Ryzom is launched, since running Ryzom on a single CPU maxes it out at 100% (heat+possibility of lag). I tried to find a way to set affinity from the launch command, without success.

Putting ryzom on all processors (affinity) does help system responsiveness, but does not increase ryzom's processing speed.

Unfortunately, even using an utility such as startaffinity does not work, as ryzom for some unknown reason, repeatedly resets it's affinity to core0 during load. It resets it at login, char selection, and once ingame as well. After this point it does not reset affinity except if you load Game Configuration window.

The end result is, setting affinity means you have to be aware of when it gets reset by the ryzom client if you intend to make use of it fully.

There is an application called "shoveaffinity" that can reset affinities on ALL proccesses it can, however you can not restrict it to a single window/proccess name, nor can you tell it to split like proccesses to separate cores. I use it myself just to push ryzom onto all cores, simply to let my system be more responsive, and also allow the kernel and services (which only run on core0) to be less bogged down by ryzom. One thing to be aware of.. Certain video drivers/chipset drivers have issues if you set a game affinity to core 1 only, as the drivers are on core 0. Due to this, the game can become de-synchronized relative to the drivers, so if at all possible, you should leave the game on core 0 and add the other cores as required.

I tried this today and it worked very well on my pc, thanks for the tip

I pulled up the task manager, and set affinity to all, was nice to see the load spread over all cores.

slash22 wrote:Hyperthreading was Intel's attempt at making a CPU that had a few extra execution units to appear as 2 cores. Why would the dev's include a detection for this unless the app can use it? I order to use it, the client would have to be able to split into at least 2 threads. Having 2+ cores is(from a software point of view) like having HT where the full CPU is duplicated, not just the first 30%.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

The idea is that two threads can be run on the same core at once so when there is an available cycle, if the first thread is idle, the second can execute and the cycle wont be wasted. They cant both execute at the same time.

Its really got nothing to do with multi-core processing.

anyone remember when Ryzom came out?
Was Ages ago (Sept. 2004) I'm not quite sure but gaming wasn't to much into multicore back then, was it?

aranykai wrote:Actually, that's not entirely true.

The idea is that two threads can be run on the same core at once so when there is an available cycle, if the first thread is idle, the second can execute and the cycle wont be wasted. They cant both execute at the same time.

Its really got nothing to do with multi-core processing.

Not correct


A single CPU core contains multiple instruction units, Each unit is able to process different commands simultaneously along side all other units.

In a single cycle, all units required to to complete the cycle will be used.

However not all units are always required in any individual cycle.

Hyper threading takes advantage of the spare execution units, by creating a virtual 2nd cpu core that is able to run an additional cycle simultaneously.


say you are running a PI calculation, that only takes 5 out of 8 instruction units, as the other 3 are designed to handle different types of calculations.

Whilst the PI calculation is taking place, you decide to start encoding a video, And the remaining 3 instruction units happen to be needed for that.

In a none HT system each process would have to wait in turn for cycles.

ie, 3/8 > 5/8 > 3/8 > etc

With a HT system both process can run at the same time, for every cycle, the only down side is that both process might need 1 of the same type of execution units, So, instead of a 5/3 split, you end up with 4/8 for each giving you:

8/8 > 8/8 > 8/8 etc

So the 2nd process runs faster, and the first slows down a little - but not as much when being forced to use alternation cycles.

Cpu usage is now more efficient, as more units per cycle are used.

With 2 physical CPU cores the principle is actually the same, except you now have 1 dedicated core per process in this case, and both process would be able to run 5/8 on 1 and 4/8 on 2

The real bonus of dual core over HT come when you have very heavy CPU usage things like games. Since the single process most likely will use 8/8 units.

Why the game doesn't fully support Dual core if it does support Hyper threading will probably be a driver issue of some sorts.

Also remember ppl, Threads are not the same as processes! 1 process can spawn multiple threads, and each thread can require multiple instruction sets : )