Hardware Benchmarking: Difference between revisions

=Introduction=

We frequently get asked, "What is the minimum or recommended hardware to use for TUFLOW modelling". This is always a tricky question, as the answer depends on the type and size of the models you are going to run. For a small model, TUFLOW should run on any modern PC or laptop that is capable of running Windows XP or later. However, for large models there may be requirements for a hefty computer.<br>

The tables below showing computer specifications and model run-time should help you compare systems. <br>

We have typically found that for TUFLOW Classic, the CPU speed is the largest influence on TUFLOW runtimes, with the RAM speed also having an influence for large models. When using GPU hardware (available for TUFLOW HPC), the Graphics Card has the largest influence, specifically the number and speed of the CUDA cores. In order to quantify this we are compiling the computational times required for a range of different machines.

 

To participate in the benchmark, please follow the steps below:

<ol>

<li> Extract the model on a local drive of the computer you would like to benchmark.

<li> Navigate to the '''TUFLOW\runs\''' folder and run the '''Run_Benchmark.bat''' file. This checks if you are running a 32 or 64 bit system and then runs the benchmark. This also generates some output files that contain more information on the processor, memory and GPU card that you are using.

<li> If you have a high performance GPU Card you can also run the '''Run_Benchmark_HighPerformance_GPU.bat'''.

</ol>

The computer information is determined in the batch file using the '''wmic''' and '''dxdiag''' commands.<br><br>

 

==Discussion Topics==

*[[Hardware_Benchmarking_Topic_HPC_on_CPU_vs_GPU | HPC (CPU) vs. HPC (GPU)]]

*[[Hardware_Benchmarking_Topic_Single_Precision_VS_Double_Precision | Single Precision Vs Double Precision]]