Interesting data , Tony. I am was surprised that our similar computers have so dissimilar results. So , I checked a few things on different PCs here at my location. Here are my results, The CPU demand is based on maximizing Multipsk's tasks (SDR-Direct active, with full RS-ID on and regular waterfall at 4 Khz) . Casual readers of this thread should note that Multipsk under most common scenarios for ham radio, uses much less CPU than below.
Shack Computer (Dell Opitiplex GX260 , 2.3 Ghz CPU single core , 1 gig RAM. Windows XP. Multipsk = 95-100+ % (not usable) Home PC (Dell Optiplex GX270 , 2.7 CPU single core , 512 RAM, WIndows XP. Multipsk = 65% , worked well.) Low end Acer Latop , 3 gig RAM, Windows 7. . Multipsk = 75%, worked fine. Ironic that the one PC I want to get Multipsk to work on is the one PC that it does poorly on ! The good news is that when maximizing Multipsk on a basic PC , with not a lot of other things multi-tasking, Multipsk will work. I am especially pleased to see it work well on the Windows 7 laptop which only cost $247.00 So while the desktop computers do not have identical parameters (different system files, ect) , I am intrigued about the 30-35% less CPU demand on the PC with only 512 RAM but .4 Ghz more processing speed . Does .4 ghz more speed usually make that much difference.. Your outcomes , Tony, also intrige me about what difference I might discover if I add another gig of RAM to my 2.3 CPU ham PC. Andy K3UK On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 10:25 PM, Tony <d...@optonline.net> wrote: > > [Attachment(s) <#1267d4450f7a3165_TopText> from Tony included below] > > > Andy, > > I configured Multipsk as you described and the CPU usage seems to average > about 5 percent. Panoramic mode is about the same. I've included a few > screen shots so you could see the results. > > Mixw seems to tax the CPU the same way as Multipsk does, but Fldigi needs > a bit more to run - CPU usage jumped to 10%. I guess it's the difference in > RAM. > > Would like to hear how the Vista laptop works out. Please let use know. > > Tony -K2MO > > PS: We're about the same here Andy, thanks for asking. Still waiting for > research to catch up with type-I. Hope all is well with you and yours my > friend. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andy obrien > To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 3:55 PM > Subject: Re: [digitalradio] SDR-Radio with DM780 20M Digital Band > > > > Tony, my shack PC sounds like yours. A Dell P4, 2.3 CPU , but only 1 gig > of RAM. Perhaps we can compare current system resource utilization for > regular Multipsk ? > > Regular Multipsk in PSK31 mode with a 4,3 Khz waterfall uses 25 % of CPU. > With RS ID on , about the same 25-26% > > With Panoramic decode.. CPU increases to around 30%. > > Then Multipsk with Direct I/Q mode invoked , CPU increases to 60% > > Then RS ID in SDR /IQ direct invoked, Multipsk uses 90% of my CPU. > > > The above is JUST Multipsk related, obviously other applications , like a > web browser being open, add more demand. > > My daughter is away skiing this weekend, so I may "borrow" her Vista laptop > and do a comparison. I do not know what is realistic for Multipsk with all > its SDR receive capability and RS ID. I don;t really understand what actual > performance increase one could expect if CPU was 3.0 Ghz rather than 2.3, > Also not sure what performance improvement going to a dual core around the > same clock speed would produce. On my shack PC, Multipsk seems "close" , I > am guessing if I could eek out another 10% it would run just fine. I'm > reluctant to put more RAM in to an old machine, but I do have a compatible 1 > Gig memory chip that i could pilfer from another PC and see if 2 gigs of RAM > ease demand on the CPU. I'm guessing it would not make much difference. I > do have plenty of HD space. > > > Hope you and the family are all OK, > > Andy. > > > > > > Andy > > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 2:36 PM, Tony <d...@optonline.net> wrote: > > > Andy, > > I plan on switching to SDR in the near future. My current PC is a dual CPU > 2.2GHz Dell with 3 GHz RAM. Any idea what the minimum PC requirement is to > run Multipsk with SDR? Could you also tell us what processor you're running > now? > > Thanks, > > Tony -K2MO > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andy obrien > To: digitalradio > Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 9:11 AM > Subject: [digitalradio] SDR-Radio with DM780 20M Digital Band > > > > One of the things that I wanted to accomplish with an SDR receiver, > is the ability to keep an eye on the whole 14065 to 14115 frequency > range. If I was down on 14074 monitoring ALE 400 traffic, I would > miss Olivia signals that popped up in the 14109 area. I would also > miss Hell signals at 14068. Now the SDR affords the opportunity to > keep an eye all all at once. My venture in to SDR from a digital mode > perspective has led to a discovery that, other than Multipsk, the > current state of the art does not support direct monitoring of wider > I/Q data. I'm also challenged in that my PC cannot cope with the > Multipsk CPU demand when I try direct monitoring. So, at the moment I > am visually monitoring signals with the SDR and using traditional > software methods to decode the 3-4 kHz of audio that is fed from the > SDR to applications like DM780 or Fldigi. > > At this screen shot http://www.obriensweb.com/sdrdm780.jpg > > you will see how it appears. I am simply using DM780 and SDR-Radio > software together. When I need to transmit, I just use my TS2000 > after dialing in the signal discovered by the SDR receiver. Simon > HB9DRV will likely "integrate" these two applications later in 2010. > > I did catch a Russian on RTTY this morning that I would have otherwise > missed while I was slumming it in PSK31-land.. Multisk does RS-ID > over this entire 14065-14115 portion, and DM780 is likely going to > include this ability in the future. If people use RS-ID often enough, > it will be really "cool" to monitor 14065-14115 and get RS ID alerts. > > So, just over a week playing around with the SDR receiver... I see the > potential... digital mode applications are not quite "there" yet. > When they are "there" (as in Multipsk) my PC isn't. This $41.00 Ebay > PC may eventually get retired for a slightly improved one with better > CPU. OK, back to keeping an eye on 14065-14115. A-ha, an SV3 calling > CQ RTTY, 14082. > > Andy K3UK > > > > >
