OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Do Helper Threads actually improve performance?

kgor93 · 11-27-2017, 03:20 PM

So I’ve actually been testing this extensively recently.

My systems:
i7-4770HQ Mac
4 cores 8 threads
16GB RAM
SSD
~12000 Geekbench 4

i7-4790k Windows
4 cores 8 threads
24GB RAM
SSD
~15000 Geekbench 4

Temporary rented system:
C4.8xlarge Amazon EC2
19? (what it said under computer) cores 38 threads
60GB RAM
SSD
~38000 Geekbench 4

What I did for the tests: Nothing too scientific, I just started auto-simming my franchise, which has basic MLB feeder leagues and the independent/European leagues combined into one secondary major league.

The results:

On my desktop and laptop there was a noticeable difference between no threads and threading. But it wasn’t too significant. It was a slight boost. Nothing spectacular.

Though I should note, when switching the threading mode, I should have restarted the game. I did not do this and the number of threads decreased but was still about a dozen.

On the EC2 instance with 38 (yes you read that right) helper threads enabled, it was SLOOOOOWWWW. CPU usage never climbed above 50% despite being fully allocated. In addition, it was taking multiple minutes to sim single days. Decreased to 16 and noticed a slight performance increase. CPU usage stayed around 17-25%, but still quite slow.

I can go on further but I’m short on time so I’m going to wrap this up.

My conclusion: Helper threads do improve performance, but not drastically. I would not enable more than 8, and ideally 4. Any more seems like a waste.

One last thing: I would like to revisit the EC2 instance. I’m thinking maybe because of the massive number of threads it needs some time to warm up. Like it’ll start slow and pickup speed.

11-27-2017, 03:20 PM	#5
kgor93 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 84	So I’ve actually been testing this extensively recently. My systems: i7-4770HQ Mac 4 cores 8 threads 16GB RAM SSD ~12000 Geekbench 4 i7-4790k Windows 4 cores 8 threads 24GB RAM SSD ~15000 Geekbench 4 Temporary rented system: C4.8xlarge Amazon EC2 19? (what it said under computer) cores 38 threads 60GB RAM SSD ~38000 Geekbench 4 What I did for the tests: Nothing too scientific, I just started auto-simming my franchise, which has basic MLB feeder leagues and the independent/European leagues combined into one secondary major league. The results: On my desktop and laptop there was a noticeable difference between no threads and threading. But it wasn’t too significant. It was a slight boost. Nothing spectacular. Though I should note, when switching the threading mode, I should have restarted the game. I did not do this and the number of threads decreased but was still about a dozen. On the EC2 instance with 38 (yes you read that right) helper threads enabled, it was SLOOOOOWWWW. CPU usage never climbed above 50% despite being fully allocated. In addition, it was taking multiple minutes to sim single days. Decreased to 16 and noticed a slight performance increase. CPU usage stayed around 17-25%, but still quite slow. I can go on further but I’m short on time so I’m going to wrap this up. My conclusion: Helper threads do improve performance, but not drastically. I would not enable more than 8, and ideally 4. Any more seems like a waste. One last thing: I would like to revisit the EC2 instance. I’m thinking maybe because of the massive number of threads it needs some time to warm up. Like it’ll start slow and pickup speed. Last edited by kgor93; 11-27-2017 at 03:22 PM.