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[Couchmonster]

Hi guys.

I got a nice i-7 here and I wonder if I can screw-press some FPS out of this little baby.

[PRINT_MODE:STANDARD]
[ARB_SYNC:YES]
[FPS_CAP:100]
[G_FPS_CAP:50]

Popcap is 100

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[nanomage]

From what i know about df it's a singe-process game and thus in has no help from having multiple processor cores. Thus, all DF can possibly  use is frequency of one and only one core and RAM (of which it's not goign to consume much anyway)

[riznar]

I thought the i7s did some kind of task splitting themselves and you could get a small boost from this.

I'll be the first to admit this is hearsay though

[Brambled]

Just curious but what goes into programming DF for multi core use?  Is it a pretty big project to add in that feature?

[celem]

Adding multi-thread capability is not such a challenge.  The splitting of what already exists off onto those threads and getting them to talk between.. Thats programming !FUN!

[ferok]

I thought the i7s did some kind of task splitting themselves and you could get a small boost from this.

I'll be the first to admit this is hearsay though

i7's have "turbo boost" which allows them to, basically, power down cores in order to crank up the speed of fewer cores.

http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/cs-029908.htm#1

[Maklak]

Print mode: VBO is supposedly faster.
GFPS can be much lower, like 20.

[bucket]

Is there a performance boost in choosing PRINT_MODE:TEXT? I figure I'll try it since I never use tilesets.

[kaenneth]

A lot of newer video cards are actually slower in the old '2d' commands, so just because something should be simple and basic does not mean faster. You'll have to try each mode to see what works best for your CPU/GPU combo.

[Komus]

Overclock. Running i5 at 3.8Ghz on a Fenrir

[Miuramir]

Hi guys.

I got a nice i-7 here and I wonder if I can screw-press some FPS out of this little baby.

[PRINT_MODE:STANDARD]
[ARB_SYNC:YES]
[FPS_CAP:100]
[G_FPS_CAP:50]

Popcap is 100

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Start by setting G_FPS_CAP to an integer divisor of your monitor refresh (which is usually 60 for a LCD); 30 is a good number, but with a very powerful graphics system you might use 60, and with a weaker graphics system you might drop to 20, 15, or even 10.  Then, set FPS_CAP to a reasonable integer multiple multiple of that; perhaps 120 for a good system.  If you're looking to micro-manage your dwarves in a tricky situation, drop FPS_CAP down to equal G_FPS_CAP so they don't get any actions you don't "see" (30 and 30, say); if you're looking to pass the seasons quickly in low-maintenance mode, drop G_FPS_CAP down and raise FPS_CAP (5 and 240, say) so DF spends less effort updating the screen and focuses on grinding away the years.

PRINT_MODE: VBO and ARB_SYNC: YES will *probably* get you the best performance, but you may want to experiment. 

An i7 has automatic "turbo" options based on how many cores are in use and how good your cooling is; in comparison to older multi-core processors, you will see more speed gains from eliminating other background programs.  Ideally, you want to be using only two cores (one for the main DF thread, one for the small chunk of rendering pulled out from DF, and to handle all the other system tasks like I/O), so that you get the best clock speed improvement.  Depending on how well built your system is for cooling and your local ambient temperature, you may or may not be thermally limited; many pre-built or factory-stock systems skimp on the cooling and can't run at high turbo increments for long periods (because realistically, the average home user doesn't run anything that grinds the CPU like DF does).