Intel and AMD have both launched new lines of high-end desktop processors, with different approaches to increasing value. AMD’s 3rd Gen Threadripper CPUs are based on a newer microarchitecture, bringing better performance for around the same price as previous models. Intel, on the other hand, focused on reducing price while still using the same underlying technology as their last series. We tested both to see which approach gives the best results in Agisoft Metashape.
Metashape, formerly known as PhotoScan, is a photogrammetry program that takes a set of images and combines them to create a 3D model or map. Processing of those images into point clouds and 3D meshes/textures is time-consuming, heavily using a computer’s CPU and GPU. With the release of AMD’s latest Ryzen 9 3950X processor, which combines a high core count with good per-core performance, we wanted to see how it and its sibling 3900X fare in this application compare to the reigning champ: Intel’s Core i9 9900K.
Metashape, formerly known as PhotoScan, is a photogrammetry program that takes a set of images and combines them to create a 3D model or map. Processing of those images into point clouds and 3D meshes/textures is time-consuming, heavily using a computer’s CPU and GPU. We have recently updated our benchmark tools to support Metashape, along with new image sets to test, so now we are taking a look at how different NVIDIA and AMD video cards perform in this application.
Metashape, formerly known as PhotoScan, is a photogrammetry program that takes a set of images and combines them to create a 3D model or map. Processing of those images into point clouds and 3D meshes/textures is time-consuming, heavily using a computer’s CPU and GPU. We have updated our benchmark tools, following the recent rebranding of this software, so in our first article focusing on the new Metashape we will take a look at how Intel’s Core i7 and i9 processors stack up against AMD’s Threadripper chips.
Over the last couple of years, several new vulnerabilities have been found in modern microprocessor architectures. Many of these have been related to speculative execution techniques used across most of Intel’s product line, and a patch was released for Windows 10 last week which was intended to address some of those weaknesses. Unfortunately, it has also reduced performance in some applications – which this article will demonstrate by comparing processing speed in three photogrammetry programs before and after the update.
Here at Puget Systems, we have put together a benchmark utility for Agisoft Metashape which measures system performance for photogrammetry by running two small projects – a model and a map – and tracking the time each step takes to process. This benchmark is freely available to download, though running it requires a valid installation of Metashape.
Dynamic Local Mode is a new feature on AMD’s biggest Threadripper processors. These CPUs have cores grouped internally, some with direct access to system memory and some which have to communicate through those other cores to access data in memory. DLM prioritizes running code on the cores which have a direct line to the memory, helping to improve performance in situations where not all of the cores are in use. How does that translate to real-world workloads, though? Let’s take a look at two photogrammetry applications and see how the 24-core 2970WX behaves with this feature on and off.
PhotoScan makes use of the video cards in a computer to assist with the computation of certain steps. As such, the model of video card used can have an impact on the amount of time those steps take. In this article, we take a look at the GeForce RTX 2000-series – based on NVIDIA’s Turing GPU architecture – to see how they compare to each other.
PhotoScan makes heavy use of the central processor (CPU) in a computer to run many of the calculations involved in turning still images into a 3D model or map. Different steps in that process utilize the CPU in various ways, though, with both clock speed and core count coming into play. Let’s see how the new 9th Gen Intel Core processors perform compared to existing Intel and AMD chips.
PhotoScan makes use of the video cards in a computer to assist with the computation of certain steps. As such, the model of video card used can have an impact on the amount of time those steps take. In this article, we take a look at AMD’s Radeon line – including the Vega 64 and 56 – and see how they stack up to NVIDIA’s GeForce 1000-series.
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