Intel's new Core-i7, big impacts on performance

[David Newman]

At CineForm we had pre-release access to the new Intel achitecture with in some video decoding tests it doubles the performance with half the number of physical cores (they adding Hyper Threading back, and its better than before.)

See all the data on my blog here:
http://cineform.blogspot.com/2008/11...-cineform.html

[Kwan Khan]

Thanks David

[Bruce Allen]

Wow, even better than I expected. That's the biggest increase I've seen yet. After Effects, Cinema 4D etc all look good (25% or more) but your results are in a different league! Great optimization, man!

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Mike Harrington]

wow...

[David Newman]

wow...

I had the same reaction, I wasn't expecting anything like these numbers.

[David Newman]

One item I didn't expand on in the blog entry is how effective the new Hyper Threading mode is on these chips. All the test where with HT enabled, to give the best numbers, but with some test the HT offered an amazing 30% gain. So while the memory and processor achitecture has improved greatly, if your application can also benefit from the Hyper Threading, there is up to 30% additional performance bonus. Previously we did a good job supporting the HT on P4s, yet the performance boost max'd out around 15%.

[Vico Martin]

Rushes STAMINA!

Great.

[Axel Mertes]

Hi David,

this is really amazing improvement.

Any idea when the first i7 systems are expected to hit market?

Your chart has an entry for R3D to CF RAW conversion speed - I guess you create an artificial RAW from the RGB out of the SDK, is that right?
That would also explain the comparable slow speed (due to the SDK's deBayer being involved).

If RED is really hesitating about access to their RAW with bypassing the deBayer step they provide, I'd suggest them to force all SDK users to at least include an optional deBayer via REDs SDK as a must, but enabling different deBayer technologies for the RED RAW data stream.

I got the feeling that would be a valid compromise that makes sure that RED can always get the same render quality via their own SDK out of any product, but at the same time enabling high speed editing / grading / compositing using other methods.

What do you think?

Axel

[David Newman]

The creating of bayer sampled RAW back form 4:4:4 is very fast, but it is the creation of 444 from bayer in SDK's R3D decode that is slow, and this is the function we hope will be controllable through a RAW option in the SDK. We absolutely have no issues offering the user choice between the R3D SDK debayer and third party post debayers -- we do that now and choice is good (and we will continue offering this to the customer when a RAW mode is added.) As we are already providing alternative debayering solutions, all the SDK does by not providing RAW is slow down the usage of R3D files -- by a factor of 3X is my measurements (maybe more now with the Core-i7 as the debayer is not scaling as well as the base wavelet decodes -- getting back onto the thread's subject.) So many votes for RAW mode in the SDK (including an option to completely turning off all color processing.)

Back on subject: The Intel Core-i7 is available now, including the required motherboards. The Core-i7 and new motherboards support triple pumped, three channels of DDR3 all connected directly to the CPU. It is bloody amazing -- sorry I've never been so thrilled by a new CPU before -- never has one bypassed the previous generation by such wide margins (and I thought Core-2 was a pretty awesome step up.) Here are some vendors selling the part I've tested http://www.pricewatch.com/cpu/core_i7_965.htm and some motherboard vendors http://www.pricewatch.com/motherboards/core_i7.htm. So new not all system builders have yet to added Core-i7s to their line ups, nothing from HP yet, here are Dell's Core-i7 gaming systems http://www.dell.com/content/products...ref=dthp&s=dhs.

Another example of how fast this desktop core quad part is (i.e. not even for "workstations") is the speed in can encode 4K RAW (if only Red One still had a RAW Port.) Using Dalsa 16-bit 2:1 4K RAW DPX files, encoding to CineForm's highest quality (think REDCODE 65 in RED ONE terms), this stock desktop machine encoded 12-bit 4K at 43 frames per second. So with a little overclocking (which these parts support) or a second CPU, 60fps 4K from a RED ONE would have been possible -- now. Oh well.

Seriously, get Core-i7 Mac or PC, you are going to love it.

[Axel Mertes]

Thanks for these comments, David,

highly appreciated!

Axel