GPU utilization factor
28 Apr 2023 5:55:44 UTC
Topic 229448
(moderation:
Until now, I have been crunching E&H tasks using NVidia RTX GPUs. Just recently, I also purchased an RX 6950 XT. While stock RTX 3080 uses a couple of hundreds of Watts of power in bursts when crunching (even 300+ W), RX 6950 XT only uses a few dozens of Watts (60 W or so), thus the card is bored.
I lowered GPU utilization factor parameter in the settings to 0.5, but the project still doesn't run multiple GPU tasks. Tried to search the forum, but the search doesn't like the keywords and forbids me to do so (You don't have permission to access this resource.)
Is there any projects which support multiple instances of GPU tasks running on a single card? Thanks.
daghtus wrote: Until now, I
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First the search box doesn't recognize spaces so instead try using a + inbetween words
2nd you can do that in the venue setting preferences, project and then all the way at the bottom of the page
Thanks for your reply. I see.
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Thanks for your reply. I see. "+" makes sense. :)
As for the other topic, that was actually my point. I set GPU utilization factor to 0.5 in project preferences, but BOINC would not run multiple GPU tasks, which would require more than 1 GPU combined. Perhaps I'm not fully getting how BOINC determines how many tasks it can actually run on a single GPU in parallel.
I can see it can run two tasks, provided they each require 0.5 AMD/ATI GPUs. It cannot run two, which require 1 AMD/ATI GPU each. Is this the way it is supposed to work?
daghtus wrote:Thanks for
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It applies to NEW tasks you receive NOT the existing tasks you have on the pc, just another reason to run a small cache where possible.
Are you trying to run 2 physically different gpu's? If so then you need a line in your cc_config file to use_all_gpus but if you are trying to run 2 tasks on a single gpu then you will need the 0.5 to tell Boinc to run 2 tasks on a single gpu each with using half of the gpu. Boinc does not recognize using 2, or more, gpu's on a single task like gamers can use.
Are you running Windows or Linux? If Windows get MSIAfterburner, it works on both AMD and Nvidia brands of gpu's to show lots of things including gpu usage letting you know if you can run 2, 3 or more gpu tasks at the same time on a single gpu. The 4090Ti's you were talking about have lots of memory on them so can run multiple tasks at the same time. MSIAfterburner can also let you adjust fan speed and memory usage, but not for all gpu's, making it easy to see the effect of your changes in near real time.
daghtus wrote:Thanks for
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Have you set up an 'app_config.xml' file for Einstein@Home yet?
This is a file which will reside in the 'BOINC>Projects>einstein.phys.uwm.edu' folder.
Mine looks like this:
<app_config>
<app>
<name>einsteinbinary_BRP7</name>
<gpu_versions>
<gpu_usage>0.5</gpu_usage>
<cpu_usage>1.0</cpu_usage>
</gpu_versions>
</app>
<app>
<name>hsgamma_FGRPB1G</name>
<gpu_versions>
<gpu_usage>0.5</gpu_usage>
<cpu_usage>1.0</cpu_usage>
</gpu_versions>
</app>
<app>
<name>einstein_O3MDF</name>
<non_cpu_intensive>0</non_cpu_intensive>
</app>
</app_config>
You do not NEED to have the different projects ( i.e. <name>einsteinbinary_BRP7</name> ), but that is what I have done. When you have the different projects with the '<name>' listed, it will tell BOINC what to do with your individual project tasks.
Of course, you can set up different files for each of the 'Projects' that you run. This is just for E@H.
.....[EDIT].....
When I have <gpu_usage>0.5</gpu_usage> set to 0.5, that means I will be running 2x the tasks in the GPU.
If I were to have <gpu_usage>0.33</gpu_usage> set in this file, that means I will be running 3x the tasks, etc.
Proud member of the Old Farts Association
daghtus wrote:... I can see
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Yes! This is exactly how it is supposed to work.
BOINC runs GPU tasks based on the resources that you specify. By default, all GPU tasks at Einstein require the whole GPU to run. Tasks can be configured to use less than the whole GPU in two different ways - either by setting the appropriate GPU utilization factor to be the desired fraction to use - OR - by a more complicated procedure of setting up a configuration file called app_config.xml. You choose one method only.
You can ignore Mikey's comment that it only applies to new tasks. If you make a change to the factor on the website AND your BOINC client has become aware of the change (click update in BOINC Manager) ALL existing tasks will be processed according to the new setting despite what their description might continue to show in BOINC Manager. That description doesn't get updated when there is a change.
Part of the confusion might be due to the fact that there are multiple GPU searches available and 3 separate GPU utilization factors that you might need to reconfigure. It can get very confusing if you have tasks for different searches that have different factors set. For simplicity, you should test each search separately if you want to run multiple searches. You have two hosts. You could run a single search per host (perhaps with different factors) if you wanted to try more than one. The best way to do that is to use different 'locations' for each host. One could be the default 'generic' location and the other could be 'home'. Each can have their own unique set of preferences.
Since you already have started using GPU utilization factor, you should ignore suggestions to set up app_config.xml. It's more complicated and once you start using it, you have to jump through a few hoops in order to stop using it. With only 2 computers, the 'locations' mechanism allows each one to have unique settings.
Cheers,
Gary.
Cheers everyone for all your
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Cheers everyone for all your replies.
Cheers everyone for all your
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Cheers everyone for all your replies.
EDIT: I have apparently pushed the Post Comment button twice. LOL