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RX 480 Linux and Windows Comparison

5K views 62 replies 7 participants last post by  tictoc 
#1 ·
Rather than making separate posts in each project, this thread will serve to document the performance of various AMD GPU projects running on Linux with the new AMDGPU-Pro drivers.

The first round of tests was run in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS with an AMD RX 480 GPU. For the Windows results, I ran the GPU on Windows 10 with the 16.7.2 drivers. Depending on the performance of the RX 480, I may also add some data for the R9 290 and the HD 7970. The 290 and 7970 will probably not be running in Ubuntu, but rather, they will be running in Arch Linux with the latest kernel patched for the AMDGPU-Pro drivers. The results so far are promising and should be even better as the Linux driver continues to mature.

The projects that I will be running are: POEM@Home, Moo!, Collatz Conjecture, PrimeGrid, Einstein@Home, and SETI@Home.

Update 1/31/17

The setup for round two is a little different, and I hope to incorporate more results than I had in Round 1 of testing. I will also set the GPU clocks in Windows equal to Linux, so that it is a more straightforward comparison.

For the second round of testing I will be running Arch Linux with the 4.9 kernel, and the AMD 16.60 driver. For the Windows results, I will be running Windows 10 Pro. I'm not 100% sure which driver I will run, but it will probably be the latest driver.
 
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#2 ·
For the PPD numbers for each project, I ran each project for a minimum of one day, and then randomly selected 60 completed and validated tasks to use for the performance summary.

Link to full Google Sheet: RX 480 BOINC Comparison

Project Specific Configurations:

  • Collatz Conjecture


    • app_config.xml: N/A - No app_config used for this project


    • gpu.config files located in the Collatz project folder

      • verbose=1
        kernels_per_reduction=48
        sleep=1
        threads=8
        lut_size=17
        reduce_CPU=0
        sieve_size=30
        cache_sieve=1
  • Moo! Wrapper


    • app_config.xml: N/A - No app_config used for this project


    • No project specific configurations were used


    • GPU memory clocks were frequently dropping to idle, but looking at other system reults on Moo!, this does not appear to affect performance.


      • Force memory clock to run at full speed: After running 4 tasks with memory clocks forced to full speed, there was no noticable difference in task runtimes.

  • Einstein@Home
    • app_config.xml: N/A - No app_config used for this project
    • All Einstein configurations were done via the project preferences on my account page at Einstein@Home
      • Run Test Applications -> Yes
      • GPU utilization factor of GRP,FGRP, and GW apps -> .5

  • MilkyWay@Home
    • app_config.xml: Simple app_config to run two tasks concurrently

      • <app_config>
        <app>
        <name>milkyway</name>
        <gpu_versions>
        <gpu_usage>.5</gpu_usage>
        <cpu_usage>.5</cpu_usage>
        </gpu_versions>
        </app>
        </app_config>
  • PrimeGrid
    • app_config.xml: N/A - No app_config used for this project
    • The only task type that I ran were the "PPProth Prime Search Sieve (PPS-Sieve)" tasks

  • SETI@Home
    • app_config.xml: N/A - No app_config used for this project
    • All tasks were SETI v8 tasks
    • Only one task at a time was ran for the tests

GPU Clocks: 1306 Core | 1750 Memory

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-zGM_znQ4BJPtWh0UaeYp6gpmQQ-X-cuvNSjtqLELa8/pubhtml?gid=1715475467&single=true&widget=true&headers=false
 
#3 ·
I definitely can't wait to see more results, and will put in a request for power consumption if possible! ^_^
 
#5 ·
Sounds great, and many thanks! I might look into one of these per dual Xeon setup that I'm planning since I really like those numbers, and when gaming they don't seem to pull that much power... Oh, and Watercool makes a Heatkiller block for it (or is in the process of doing such) while most companies seem to be ignoring the more expensive GTX 1060 for blocks (with the 1060 being upwards of $100 more than the RX 480 up here).
 
#7 ·
My biggest curiosity is the numbers themselves.... Power consumption data was just icing on the cake as I'm seriously contemplating the idea of two Natex bundles, an L5640 in the X8DTT, and then a 5960X...... Along with three high end GPU's ^_^;;;;
 
#8 ·
Playful poke. How's that data looking? ^_^
 
#9 ·
Here are some overall numbers from a few projects. The GPU was OC'd to 1355 core 2150 memory for all the Windows tasks. To normalize the results subtract 7% or so from the Windows results, and that should give a fairly accurate representation of the stock Windows performance. As soon as I move the 480 to it's permanent home under water I will flash the BIOS and then see how it performs in Linux with an overclock.



POEM@Home

Linux 1266/2000

PointsAverage Time (sec)PPD
96001556532945
91001706460868
5500674705393

Overall PPD = 566,402

Windows 1355/2150

PointsAverage Time (sec)PPD
96001585523471
91001353580966
5500659720756

Overall PPD = 608,398



Collatz Conjecture

Linux 1266/2000

Average PointsAverage Time (sec)PPD
37061162760213

Overall PPD = 2,760,213

Windows 1355/2150

Average PointsAverage Time (sec)PPD
38811073130232

Overall PPD = 3,130,232



Moo! Wrapper

Linux 1266/2000

PointsAverage Time (sec)PPD
6584971585948
6144908584894
36870453246
25653419038

Overall PPD = 510,781

Windows 1355/2150

PointsAverage Time (sec)PPD
6144727730543

Overall PPD = 730,543

* Moo! only ran the smaller tasks when the project was first added, after that it only ran the larger tasks. I haven't had time to sort out the big difference in PPD on this project. It may be that there are some optimizations in OpenCL 2.0, that Moo! is taking advantage of. (current AMD Linux driver is built with OpenCL 1.2)
 
#11 ·
Either way, it's still rather nice to see the dedication to such a comparison
smile.gif
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaC View Post

Hey tictoc did you ever get around to running it on Einstein@Home?
I did, but it was right before I went out of town, and those results have been wiped from my history on Einstein.
:mad:


I saw your post in the other thread, so I just loaded up some Einstein tasks.
:D
Normally I would run 3 at a time, but I am only going to run a single task to make it easier to parse the data. *Edit* Just changed it to 2 at a time, so I get some realistic PPD numbers. I will let it roll at stock clocks, and see what it does over the next couple of days.
:thumb:
 
#14 ·
Thank you!

Someone posted results a while ago with older drivers I believe on https://einsteinathome.org/content/rx-480-results?page=4
Quote:
Originally Posted by https://einsteinathome.org/goto/comment/140168
1x: 3000 s/WU, 220 W
2x: 2660 s/WU, 230 W
3x: 2587 s/WU, 235 W
4x: 2575 s/WU, 235 W
8x: 2912 s/WU, 235 W
the wattage is not specified for the system or for the GPU, I think it's the system

I wish each project had a PPD estimator like f@h

edit : also have you tried the Polaris BIOS editor for minimizing power consumption? http://www.overclock.net/t/1604567/polaris-bios-editing-rx480-rx470-rx460
 
#15 ·
I will be doing a new comparison with the release of the latest Linux driver. I am running Folding@Home on the 480 with the latest driver right now, and so far it looks like there is a roughly 20% improvement with the new driver.
:D


Hopefully I will have time to do a pretty thorough comparison. It will take roughly a week to run through all the projects in Linux and Windows. I think I will get started on Sunday, so stay tuned for results.

For the Linux results, I will be running Arch Linux since that is what I run on my test server. What flavor of Windows would everyone like to see for the comparison?
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tictoc View Post

I will be doing a new comparison with the release of the latest Linux driver. I am running Folding@Home on the 480 with the latest driver right now, and so far it looks like there is a roughly 20% improvement with the new driver.
biggrin.gif


Hopefully I will have time to do a pretty thorough comparison. It will take roughly a week to run through all the projects in Linux and Windows. I think I will get started on Sunday, so stay tuned for results.

For the Linux results, I will be running Arch Linux since that is what I run on my test server. What flavor of Windows would everyone like to see for the comparison?
I think that Windows 10 Home x64 is what most people will be using if they play games on AMD Radeons; most DX12 introduced improvements would only be in Windows 10. My BOINC system is on Windows 7 Pro x64 though, although I once had a Haswell i5 on Windows 8.1 running ATLAS or WCG which functionally is Windows 10's backend.

Most reviews are running Windows 10 now.

EDIT: By the way thanks for the continual contributions to our knowledge of Polaris' BOINC performance.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaC View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by tictoc View Post

I will be doing a new comparison with the release of the latest Linux driver. I am running Folding@Home on the 480 with the latest driver right now, and so far it looks like there is a roughly 20% improvement with the new driver.
biggrin.gif


Hopefully I will have time to do a pretty thorough comparison. It will take roughly a week to run through all the projects in Linux and Windows. I think I will get started on Sunday, so stay tuned for results.

For the Linux results, I will be running Arch Linux since that is what I run on my test server. What flavor of Windows would everyone like to see for the comparison?
I think that Windows 10 Home x64 is what most people will be using if they play games on AMD Radeons; most DX12 introduced improvements would only be in Windows 10. My BOINC system is on Windows 7 Pro x64 though, although I once had a Haswell i5 on Windows 8.1 running ATLAS or WCG which functionally is Windows 10's backend.

Most reviews are running Windows 10 now.

EDIT: By the way thanks for the continual contributions to our knowledge of Polaris' BOINC performance.
Windows 10 is probably the way to go. I will also use the latest ReLive driver for the Windows comparison. In addition to the 480 info, I will also throw up some Linux results for Hawaii and Fiji.
 
#18 ·
Collatz has seen a bump in Linux performance. The old tests were with the smaller tasks, but I believe that the PPD between the old and new tasks is roughly the same. Running Moo! now and after the first few tasks it also appears to have gotten a boost in performance on Linux.
:D


Once I have a few more results, I will update the thread, and start adding results to the 2nd post.
 
#19 ·
I just got my RX 480 working in Linux... I've only tried Milkway so far, my times are around 87s. Is that good for a 480? It's definitely better than my gtx 970, and the wingman on my valid tasks using an AMD Tahiti (3072MB) took 115 seconds for the same tasks.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diffident View Post

I just got my RX 480 working in Linux... I've only tried Milkway so far, my times are around 87s. Is that good for a 480? It's definitely better than my gtx 970, and the wingman on my valid tasks using an AMD Tahiti (3072MB) took 115 seconds for the same tasks.
That sounds really good. My 7970s clocked at 1200MHz average about 62 seconds per task. Those times are in Windows, since MilkyWay used to not run very well in Linux. I might need to switch that rig over to Linux if the production is that good.

*Edit* I'll run some tasks on my 290s tonight to see how they fare in Linux.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tictoc View Post

That sounds really good. My 7970s clocked at 1200MHz average about 62 seconds per task. Those times are in Windows, since MilkyWay used to not run very well in Linux. I might need to switch that rig over to Linux if the production is that good.

*Edit* I'll run some tasks on my 290s tonight to see how they fare in Linux.
I don't know what my 480 is clocked. I never looked. It's a XFX RX 480 RS 8GB. I'm happy to finally get it working....had to install Arch to get it to work.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diffident View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by tictoc View Post

That sounds really good. My 7970s clocked at 1200MHz average about 62 seconds per task. Those times are in Windows, since MilkyWay used to not run very well in Linux. I might need to switch that rig over to Linux if the production is that good.

*Edit* I'll run some tasks on my 290s tonight to see how they fare in Linux.
I don't know what my 480 is clocked. I never looked. It's a XFX RX 480 RS 8GB. I'm happy to finally get it working....had to install Arch to get it to work.
You can check your clocks at /sys/class/drm/card0/device/pp_dpm_sclk for core clocks and pp_dpm_mclk for memory clocks. You can set the fan speed at /sys/class/drm/card0/device/hwmon/hwmon3/pwm1.

Doing that from memory, but I think those are the correct paths. card0 and hwmon3 might be different depending on what other hardware you have installed.
 
#23 ·
Somehow I think I screwed things up trying to get folding working....which i haven't gotten working yet.... Now the milkway takes are taking 10 seconds longer....unless they are different tasks.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diffident View Post

Somehow I think I screwed things up trying to get folding working....which i haven't gotten working yet.... Now the milkway takes are taking 10 seconds longer....unless they are different tasks.
I see 8-9 second variance in run-times, so you are probably OK.

*Edit* @Diffident I forgot to ask if you were running a single task at a time. The run-times I gave you for my 7970s, were for two tasks per GPU which has higher overall throughput.

I am runnning some MilkyWay on my 290s which are clocked at 1000 core, 1350 mem. Running one task at a time the average runtime is 69 seconds. Running two tasks concurrently the average is about 116 seconds.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by tictoc View Post

I will be posting the results for Collatz and Moo! later today. At first glance it looks like the Linux performance is now on par with Windows.
biggrin.gif


Next up is MilkyWay, and then Einstein, PrimeGrid, and SETI. I think I will have the Linux side wrapped up by the middle of next week.
thumb.gif
Would love to know you're einstein results in linux...and if you can actually run more than 2 tasks at a time without the memory controller bugging out....unlike windows
frown.gif
 
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