It was found that in many systems, the CPU, the number of hearts, speed, memory, etc. (even with an identical GPU), the reference performance will change considerably. How to choose the processor that will work best for my iTwin Capture Modeler hardware configuration?

What type of processor is more efficient, i7 or Xeon?

Intel i7 (see i9, but we have little reference at present) and some Xeon are currently the fastest processors. They have the largest number of hearts and are currently reaching the fastest speed. For the same speed and number of hearts, there is no difference between i7 and Xeon. It can have up to 10 cores, while the Xeon can have up to 18 cores at different speeds, including turbo speed. However, for the same price, an i7 processor is usually faster than an Xeon processor.

Have we tested AMD processors?

To date, we have not tested any AMD processors. According to various sources, the current AMD processors are slower than those of Intel. That is the main reason why we do not test them.

How does the number of hearts affect speed?

The number of hearts is useful for parallel processes, such as aerotriangulation and for some parts of the reconstruction phase. However, during reconstruction, many parts of the treatment only work on one thread. If we count the total power of a processor as: Nbr of threads * speed, then for the same amount of total power, we should choose processors with the highest speed. For example, in the same generation, a processor with 8 threads at 3.6 GHz is preferable to a processor with 12 threads at 2.4 GHz. However, it is possible that a processor of a newer generation will be more efficient than an older processor with the same speed.

Is there an advantage in having « Double processors » ?

Double processors increase the number of hearts (and threads). As mentioned above, the reconstruction stage has many parts that only work on one thread. A dual processor will not be twice as fast as a simple one.

Is it advantageous to have a higher number of threads?

A higher number of threads is very beneficial for aerotriangulation and also to a lesser extent for reconstruction.

What is the criticality of the processor speed?

The speed of the processor is very important, especially when we use a single thread. If we «delete» the part access to the hard drive and the graphic processor, the program will run in proportion to the processor speed.

Note: The latest generation i7 processors, which have 4 cores / 8 threads or 6 cores / 12 threads and a high speed (> 3.5 GHz) are sufficient for the current version of ContextCapture.