Processor core and concurrency

[Carbec]

Hi,
I have a Intel I7 with 4 cores and 8 threads. Is it possible to run 4 games in concurrency, that will leads to 8 process simultaneoulsly ?
Or do I have to limit myself to 4 process ?

[Modern Times]

Look at this thread:

https://talkchess.com/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=81851

Although it did get a bit away from the topic.

[chrisw]

Hi,
I have a Intel I7 with 4 cores and 8 threads. Is it possible to run 4 games in concurrency, that will leads to 8 process simultaneoulsly ?
Or do I have to limit myself to 4 process ?

4 games in concurrency is fine for a 4-core (forget about the -1) as long as NOT pondering. With pondering, you'ld have 8 engines all trying to compute a move at the same time.

max concurrency = (n_cores - 1) / (1 + pondering)

In practice, you can try increasing max_concurrency a little, different setups/engines will start bitching at you at different points. Bitching tends to be somewhat random, so if you want consistent results, don't.
In practice, it's not worth trying to increase concurrency in small steps.

[JoAnnP38]

Hi,
I have a Intel I7 with 4 cores and 8 threads. Is it possible to run 4 games in concurrency, that will leads to 8 process simultaneoulsly ?
Or do I have to limit myself to 4 process ?

4 games in concurrency is fine for a 4-core (forget about the -1) as long as NOT pondering. With pondering, you'ld have 8 engines all trying to compute a move at the same time.

max concurrency = (n_cores - 1) / (1 + pondering)

In practice, you can try increasing max_concurrency a little, different setups/engines will start bitching at you at different points. Bitching tends to be somewhat random, so if you want consistent results, don't.
In practice, it's not worth trying to increase concurrency in small steps.

Do you worry at all about processor load/heating at all? In a long tourney I'm always worrying that a processor that is 95-100% loaded could cause damage if my cooling system isn't up to snuff. I try to keep my load around 80%, but I may be too conservative.

[chrisw]

Hi,
I have a Intel I7 with 4 cores and 8 threads. Is it possible to run 4 games in concurrency, that will leads to 8 process simultaneoulsly ?
Or do I have to limit myself to 4 process ?

4 games in concurrency is fine for a 4-core (forget about the -1) as long as NOT pondering. With pondering, you'ld have 8 engines all trying to compute a move at the same time.

max concurrency = (n_cores - 1) / (1 + pondering)

In practice, you can try increasing max_concurrency a little, different setups/engines will start bitching at you at different points. Bitching tends to be somewhat random, so if you want consistent results, don't.
In practice, it's not worth trying to increase concurrency in small steps.

Do you worry at all about processor load/heating at all? In a long tourney I'm always worrying that a processor that is 95-100% loaded could cause damage if my cooling system isn't up to snuff. I try to keep my load around 80%, but I may be too conservative.

Indeed I do, although if the CPU overheats with all cores active, then there's something wrong with the CPU or the cooling. Usually it will shut down the system. One of my 64 core machines, which used to be fine running concurrency 60 for long periods, now can only cope with comcurrency 40. There's various things one can try to help, taking the side off the PC and blasting it with a fan. Buying an air pressure can and spraying the dust off the radiator system. Beyond that, it's probably going to go next to a specialist, to check fans and the water cooler and the thermal heat paste join.

[smatovic]

Summer time - how does your PC cooling solution perform?
https://talkchess.com/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71143

I did monitor all temps (water cooling) of my prev workstation and wrote shutdown scripts in Linux.

--
Srdja

[JoAnnP38]

Indeed I do, although if the CPU overheats with all cores active, then there's something wrong with the CPU or the cooling. Usually it will shut down the system. One of my 64 core machines, which used to be fine running concurrency 60 for long periods, now can only cope with comcurrency 40. There's various things one can try to help, taking the side off the PC and blasting it with a fan. Buying an air pressure can and spraying the dust off the radiator system. Beyond that, it's probably going to go next to a specialist, to check fans and the water cooler and the thermal heat paste join.

I'm using 3-mini PCs running AMD 6900HX processors which use cooling systems designed to be quiet (for gaming or movies I suppose) but might not be the absolute best for cooling especially in these small, palm-sized enclosures. I think I'll just have to keep being conservative.