Skyrim engine multi-core use : V

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:26 pm

I was wondering if Skyrim was going to take advantage of all cores? There are new games that do and don't, so I am just curious if Skyrim is going too. I am pretty baffled some new games still only make use of one core, so I am hoping Skyrim won't be one of these. Lets hope they took a good page out of Crysis 2 engine

Thank you.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:58 am

Hopefully. The Cell Processor is a beast.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 8:36 am

What i dident't ......... one core?!?! for new games. why did i buy the Quad! Skyrim should use atleast 2.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 11:06 am

Hopefully. The Cell Processor is a beast.

This.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:37 am

What i dident't ......... one core?!?! for new games. why did i buy the Quad! Skyrim should use atleast 2.

Load up whatever game you are playing. Hit ctrl alt del, go to task manager and processes, see if the game is only using 1 core.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:59 pm

I was wondering if Skyrim was going to take advantage of all cores? There are new games that do and don't, so I am just curious if Skyrim is going too. I am pretty baffled some new games still only make use of one core, so I am hoping Skyrim won't be one of these. Lets hope they took a good page out of Crysis 2 engine

Thank you.

I expect it will be two cores... as two cores are all you need

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:00 am

What i didn't ......... one core?!?! for new games. why did i buy the Quad! Skyrim should use at least 4.

Fix'd

Its a freaking new game engine, they better use 4 or this is just one big fail to me. Its not like the dx debate which I can see as an extra that is not needed (But should be there <.<), quad cores have been around for how long now?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:30 pm

Even Morrowind used two cores (one for the main game and one for loading the surrounding exterior cells), so it would be quite weird if Skyrim couldn't take advantage of multiple cores.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:03 am

Even Morrowind used two cores (one for the main game and one for loading the surrounding exterior cells), so it would be quite weird if Skyrim couldn't take advantage of multiple cores.

Get the Oblivion out of here... Thats pretty cool, wasnt aware of that. Too bad Oblivion wasnt optimised very well. :sadvaultboy:

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:44 am

I'm hoping and expecting multi core support...Octo cores will come out for the mainstream market next year, so it would be nice to use all that power

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:17 am

I'm confused. Doesn't the 360 have a tri-core processor and doesn't the PS3 have a quad-core cell processor? Why would any version of the game not support multiple cores, then?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:34 am

Will it be http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-FX-Series%20FX-8130P.html ready?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 11:22 am

I'm confused. Doesn't the 360 have a tri-core processor and doesn't the PS3 have a quad-core cell processor? Why would any version of the game not support multiple cores, then?

Idk, consoles and PC work differently, so perhaps whats enabled on one might not apply to the other?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:12 pm

Even Morrowind used two cores (one for the main game and one for loading the surrounding exterior cells), so it would be quite weird if Skyrim couldn't take advantage of multiple cores.

this would make much more sense, would probably reduce load times in free roam games like the newer TES games. but most games do not even need to tap into more than one core.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:10 am

Hopefully they fixed the iNumHWThreads problem that fallout 3 had.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:27 pm

I'm confused. Doesn't the 360 have a tri-core processor and doesn't the PS3 have a quad-core cell processor? Why would any version of the game not support multiple cores, then?

PS3's Cell has 1 Core and 7 SPU's.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:11 pm

PS3's Cell has 1 Core and 7 SPU's.

"The PlayStation 3 uses the Sony, Toshiba, IBM-designed Cell microprocessor as its CPU, which is made up of one 3.2 GHz PowerPC-based "Power Processing Element" (PPE) and eight Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs).[49] The eighth SPE is disabled to improve chip yields.[50][51] Only six of the seven SPEs are accessible to developers as the seventh SPE is reserved by the console's operating system."

-Wikipedia

Is a PPE really a core and by SPU, did you mean SPE?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:51 pm

Is a PPE really a core and by SPU, did you mean SPE?

Yes. I've heard devs refer to them as SPU. Processing units rather than elements. Same thing though.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 8:26 am

Yes. I've heard devs refer to them as SPU. Processing units rather than elements. Same thing though.

...And the core/PPE relationship? Are they the same thing?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:14 am

...And the core/PPE relationship? Are they the same thing?

Yes. The PPE in the Cell is like one of the 3 cores in the 360. It pretty much acts as the "boss" for lack of a better term and hands out the tasks to the SPE's. One can be processing physics, while another handles AI, and so on and so forth. It can be really powerful while used properly and efficiently. Problem is most games that aren't exclusive don't take advantage of it. That's why when some games coded for the 360's tri core architecture get ported over things get screwy.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:05 pm

Yes. The PPE in the Cell is like one of the 3 cores in the 360. It pretty much acts as the "boss" for lack of a better term and hands out the tasks to the SPE's. One can be processing physics, while another handles AI, and so on and so forth. It can be really powerful while used properly and efficiently. Problem is most games that aren't exclusive don't take advantage of it. That's why when some games coded for the 360's tri core architecture get ported over things get screwy.

What about the PS3's processor makes it that much more powerful (according to what I've heard/read/seen) and why is it actually all that difficult to program for?

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 10:05 am

What about the PS3's processor makes it that much more powerful (according to what I've heard/read/seen) and why is it actually all that difficult to program for?

It can effectively handle up to 6 processes at a time with the SPE's. Also, if coded correctly, an SPE can process more than one thing at a time, so you can double that. They're also very fast and can shred through a lot of info at once. That's where the Cell's power lies, is in the SPE's.

Naughty Dog also said that with Uncharted 2 they we're using the Cell for a lot of the graphics processing while also relying on the Cell for the animations, physics, AI, and everything else. A true feat indeed.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:45 am

It can effectively handle up to 6 processes at a time with the SPE's. Also, if coded correctly, an SPE can process more than one thing at a time. They're also very fast and can shred through a lot of info at once. That's where the Cell's power lies, is in the SPE's.

Why don't developers make good use of it more often, then? I want Skyrim to make full use of it. :cryvaultboy:

I can only take a guess as to how a total of 512 mbs of RAM split into two, mutually-exclusive halves must also limit things and/or be completely inadequate for such a relatively powerful processor, though.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:33 am

Why don't developers make good use of it more often, then? I want Skyrim to make full use of it. :cryvaultboy:

I can only take a guess as to how a total of 512 mbs of RAM split into two, mutually-exclusive halves must also limit things and/or be completely inadequate for such a relatively powerful processor, though.

Since so many devs use the 360 as the base platform they're writing code for it's architecture and don't put the time and/or money to effectively port, or write code for the Cell.

Here take a look at this... http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=Az0CXkyoWjg

Naughty Dog has a nice handle on the Cell and gets the most out of it more so than any other dev I think.

» Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:37 am

Since so many devs use the 360 as the base platform they're writing code for it's architecture and don't put the time and/or money to effectively port, or write code for the Cell.

Here take a look at this... http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=Az0CXkyoWjg

Naughty Dog has a nice handle on the Cell and gets the most out of it more so than any other dev I think.

Killzone 3 also made great use of the Cell processor, from what I've heard. The demo looks and runs very well.

P.S. The link's not really showing me much.