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Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

phoronix.com

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Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#31

Post by jandrese »

kstenerud wrote: post #28

Wow... I still remember recompiling the NetBSD kernel on my Amiga 3000 to tweak the timings on my Retina Z3. Took 14 hours to compile the kernel... So if processors are now >1500x faster than they were in 1991, why is it that my Amiga 3000 has a faster, more responsive UI? Why is it that an ssh session takes 8 seconds to establish? Why is it that browsing a network share is 10x slower than viewing a file list was on…

Sounds like you have a slow network and are using protocols optimized for high throughput on LAN connections.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#32

Post by jandrese »

xenospn wrote: post #16
l33tman wrote: post #12

I was compiling the kernel for my boxes for the most part of the 90's and 00's and the funny thing is a sub-60-second compile time was always possible with the "latest gear". Like a 100 MHz pentium. Of course the number of modules you want/need to compile has steadily increased but still funny to see someone impressed with a 30 second compile time 25 years later and with a 100x+ increase in CPU power :)

Everybody knows the REAL test is a FreeBSD 'make world' anyway :)

Compiling Firefox or Wireshark or Libreoffice all work the machine harder than a make world.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#33

Post by catalogia »

dragontamer wrote: post #13
corysama wrote: post #8

We need to move on from the Linux Kernel and start using “compile Unreal Engine” as a CPU benchmark. https://gpuopen.com/threadripper-for-gamedev-ue4/

That's probably a good point: the Linux Kernel is written using the C language. But C++ is a far more complicated language to parse and compile. Unreal Engine, Firefox, Chrome... large C++ programs easily take an hour to compile on normal hardware. With that being said: compiling for an hour is a huge hassle for reviewers. I think reviewers prefer benchmarks that complete in under a minute, rather than over an hour.

> With that being said: compiling for an hour is a huge hassle for reviewers.

Can't they just set it to run then go to lunch? Seems like a non-issue.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#34

Post by dr_dshiv »

kstenerud wrote: post #28

Wow... I still remember recompiling the NetBSD kernel on my Amiga 3000 to tweak the timings on my Retina Z3. Took 14 hours to compile the kernel... So if processors are now >1500x faster than they were in 1991, why is it that my Amiga 3000 has a faster, more responsive UI? Why is it that an ssh session takes 8 seconds to establish? Why is it that browsing a network share is 10x slower than viewing a file list was on…

You are getting good replies, but the main answer is... nobody knows (and you aren't alone). There are so many little reasons for slower modern computers, but it seems to come down to increased complexity and, I guess, entropy? It's frustrating.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#35

Post by ajford »

kstenerud wrote: post #28

Wow... I still remember recompiling the NetBSD kernel on my Amiga 3000 to tweak the timings on my Retina Z3. Took 14 hours to compile the kernel... So if processors are now >1500x faster than they were in 1991, why is it that my Amiga 3000 has a faster, more responsive UI? Why is it that an ssh session takes 8 seconds to establish? Why is it that browsing a network share is 10x slower than viewing a file list was on…

Regarding your SSH session, have you turned off gssapiauth (assuming you aren't using it)?

See https://coderwall.com/p/fukoew/speed-up-ssh-logon-by-disabli... for some details.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#36

Post by yellowapple »

fooker wrote: post #29
kstenerud wrote: post #28

Wow... I still remember recompiling the NetBSD kernel on my Amiga 3000 to tweak the timings on my Retina Z3. Took 14 hours to compile the kernel... So if processors are now >1500x faster than they were in 1991, why is it that my Amiga 3000 has a faster, more responsive UI? Why is it that an ssh session takes 8 seconds to establish? Why is it that browsing a network share is 10x slower than viewing a file list was on…

Because not everything is CPU bound.

But all the other bounds have improved massively, too:

- CPUs are multiple orders of magnitude faster

- GPUs are multiple orders of magnitude faster

- RAM is multiple orders of magnitude faster and more abundant

- Disks are multiple orders of magnitude faster and bigger

- Network connections are multiple orders of magnitude faster

Why is it that the end result feels the same?

The answer, of course, is that software complexity has kept pace: software, like a gas, expands until it fills its container.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#37

Post by yellowapple »

unethical_ban wrote: post #26
KirinDave wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Isn't that within a modest error margin for the general arc of these? I'm looking at this graph over time and it seems like a linear projection wouldn't be broken by this. "The next generation of processors is not quite twice as fast as the current generation" just seems like a pretty normal statement to me.

The last decade has been pretty stagnant in CPU development. That AMD has gotten ahead, and is making significant CPU advancements in each generation for the past two years, is something we haven't seen in 10-15 years.

Yep. My top-of-the-line Threadripper 1950X is already multiple generations behind the bleeding edge; I built that machine last year, and there are already newer CPUs blowing it out of the water.

It reminds me of the 90's when Moore's Law was still a Law-with-a-capital-L and I love it.

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#39

Post by [deleted] »

kstenerud wrote: post #28

Wow... I still remember recompiling the NetBSD kernel on my Amiga 3000 to tweak the timings on my Retina Z3. Took 14 hours to compile the kernel... So if processors are now >1500x faster than they were in 1991, why is it that my Amiga 3000 has a faster, more responsive UI? Why is it that an ssh session takes 8 seconds to establish? Why is it that browsing a network share is 10x slower than viewing a file list was on…

[deleted]

Re: Threadripper 3960X Compiles Linux Kernel in Under 30 Seconds

#40

Post by dragontamer »

catalogia wrote: post #33
dragontamer wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's probably a good point: the Linux Kernel is written using the C language. But C++ is a far more complicated language to parse and compile. Unreal Engine, Firefox, Chrome... large C++ programs easily take an hour to compile on normal hardware. With that being said: compiling for an hour is a huge hassle for reviewers. I think reviewers prefer benchmarks that complete in under a minute, rather than over an hour.

> With that being said: compiling for an hour is a huge hassle for reviewers. Can't they just set it to run then go to lunch? Seems like a non-issue.

There's a lot of other tests that reviewers have to do, depending on their audience. Video editing (Adobe Premier), 3d Modeling (Blender), a few video games across genres (maybe an Adventure Game (Tomb Raider), a FPS like Overwatch, a strategy game like Total War, and a simulation game like City Skylines), and a few other workloads (audio, programmer, CAD, HPC, etc. etc.).

So there's that, but also the time to write these reviews. And finally, you're trying to out-compete everyone and release the review before everyone else so that your website gets more traffic.

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