improving performance in Intel/AMD workstation

youshang

Q:

Simplis Transient Analysis is long run time issue in Intel/AMD workstation.

Is any setting or method to improve performance in Intel/AMD workstation?

CPU	Machine Core	Run Time
Intel i7-1065G7 @1.30 GHz Max. 3.90 GHz	4	06 min
Intel i5-5200U @2.2 GHz	2	11 min
Intel E5-2667 v4@3.2 GHz	16	18 min
AMD EPYC @2.9 GHz	64	14 min

A:
It's always difficult to predict performance based just on a small set of specifications, but there are a few things that we can note here.

First off, SIMPLIS is, right now, a single-threaded process, so once SIMPLIS.exe and SIMetrix.exe are allocated threads on separate cores, you wouldn't necessarily see that much improvement by adding more cores.  Once Monte Carlo or Multi-Step analyses come into play, then having a Pro or Elite license that allows multi-core definitely brings an advantage by allowing different runs to be executed in parallel.

Next, do these numbers compare the exact same simulation between servers?  Even changing the amount of data that is output can have an impact on simulation time.

Speaking of output data, do the workstations output their data and temporary data to solid state drives or to classic hard drives with rotating platters?  Rotational media can be significantly slower than an SSD.

Finally, which OS are the larger workstations running?  Are they running standard Windows 10 Pro, Pro for Workstations or Enterprise?  While I wouldn't expect it to make too much of a difference at this scale, it does have an impact on the scheduler and processor groups.