AMD's Ryzen 9 6900HS Rembrandt Benchmarked: Zen3+ Power and Performance Scaling
by Dr. Ian Cutress on March 1, 2022 9:30 AM ESTPerformance Per Watt
With the ASUS Zephyrus G14, it comes with some fancy ASUS software called the Armo(u)ry Crate. Inside is the usual array of options for a modern laptop when it comes to performance profiles, fans, special RGB effects and lighting, information about voltages, frequencies, fan speeds, fan profiles, and all that jazz. However inside the software there is also an interface that allows the user to cap how much APU/SoC power can be put through the processor or the whole platform.
With this option, we took advantage of the fact that the after we select a given SoC wattage, the system will automatically migrate to the required voltage and frequency under load while only ever going up to the power limits - or as much as the system would be allowed to. Using this tool, we ran a spectrum of performance data against power options to see how the POV-Ray benchmark would scale, as it is one of the benchmarks that drives core use very high and very hard.
In this first graph, we monitor how the CPU voltage increases by raising the power, as well as the at-load temperature of the processor. The voltage increments start off around the 60-65 mW per 5W of SoC power, eventually becoming 15-25 W due to the way that voltage and power scales. The temperature was a very constant rise, showing 96ºC with the full 80 W selected.
Now if we transition this to the benchmark results, as we plot this with the all-core frequency as well:
These two lines follow a similar pattern, as the score doesn't increase if the frequency doesn't increase. The biggest jumps are in the 15-35W mark, which is where most modern processors are the most efficient. However as the power is added in, the processor moves away from that ideal efficiency point, and going from 50 W to 80 W is a 60% power increase for only +375 MHz and only +7.7% increased score in the benchmark.
We can pivot this data into something a bit more familiar:
Here we can see the voltage required for all-core frequencies and how the voltage scales up. With all this data, we can actually do a performance per watt graph for Rembrandt:
In this graph we're plotting Score per watt against Frequency, and it showcases that beyond 2.5 GHz, the Rembrandt CPU design becomes less efficient. Most modern processors end up being most efficient around this frequency, so it isn't perhaps all that surprising.
Now all of this is also subject to binning - not only are chips binned by the designation (6900HS vs 6800H for example), but also within an individual SKU, there will be better bins than others. We see this in some mobile processors that can have 10+ bins with different voltage/frequency characteristics, but all still called the same, because they perform at a shared guaranteed minimum. With smartphones, this testing is a lot easier, as that voltage/frequency table is often part of the hardware mechanism. But for notebooks and desktops, we're often at the mercy of the motherboard manufacturer or OEM, who can use their own settings, overriding anything that Intel or AMD suggest. Hopefully in the future we will get more control and be able to determine what is manufacturer based and what is motherboard based.
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Kangal - Sunday, March 6, 2022 - link
Zeno, Guards of Zeno, Grand Priest, Whis/Angels, Awakened Gass, Ultra Granolah, Ultra Instinct Goku, Beerus/GoDs, Fused Zamasu, Prime Moro, Raged Broly, Ultra Ego Vegeta, Full-power Jiren, LSS Kefla, Destruction Toppo, Max Hit, Anilaza, SSJ Rose Black, Golden Frieza, Dyspo, LSS Kale, Spirit Future Trunks, Super Ribrianne, Trained #17, Ultimate Gohan, Buu, Seven-Three.GeoffreyA - Monday, March 7, 2022 - link
Astonishing, and thanks for that! Remembering only Buu, Ultimate Gohan, and a bit of Beerus, I am really out of touch with DB canon!Kangal - Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - link
You can find the new series Dragon Ball Super online or even youtube. There is also the official manga which you can read for free* here:https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/dragon-bal...
*only the latest three issues available, new issues always free.
GeoffreyA - Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - link
Thanks, I only saw the first 10-15 episodes of Super in 2018, where Beerus came to the cruiseship, and still hope to watch the rest of it, eventually. It was nostalgic, I remember, seeing these dear characters after so long.mode_13h - Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - link
Eh, I only watched the original series. The few things after it that I had seen lacked the same charm. And among that series, the first season was one of the best. The censors had clearly cracked down on it, after that.What I thought worked so well about the original DB was Goku's innocence, ignorance, indomitable spirit, and purity of heart. That made it so much more entertaining and gratifying to see him overcome all the obstacles and enemies he encountered. And it's almost as if not knowing his own limitations made him unrestrained by them.
GeoffreyA - Thursday, March 10, 2022 - link
That's an exact description of Goku's character and is likely the secret of his greatness and why he often prevailed over his enemies. I would add that forgiveness was another trait of his, and something they could never understand. It's almost paradoxical, at least in DBZ, how he was the comic clumsy figure, and yet when it came to saving the world, only he could do it. Without knowing it, people are emulating, I feel, more of Vegeta's cynical character today. What the world needs is more of Goku.mode_13h - Friday, March 11, 2022 - link
I haven't watched much since the mid 2000's, but I thought Luffy, in One Piece, had a similar personality. However, he seemed to have a mercurial wisdom and canniness, just beneath the surface. In that regard, he seemed to have echos of Irresponsible Captain Taylor.I don't remember too much of Naruto, though I had started watching it from the beginning. Like Goku, he also had an innocence and indomitably, but there was obviously a darkness about him and inside of him.
I wouldn't have patience for any of that, now. Even at the time, it seemed rather excessively drawn out.
BTW, did you see the live action DB movie? I think it was made around 2008? More of a Hollywood movie; not Japanese. I'm apparently among the small minority who actually liked it. It helps to remember that Dragon Ball itself is loosely based on the ancient tale of Saiyuki and just don't expect a direct translation from the TV series or manga. It's very much a reinterpretation, but I enjoyed it.
GeoffreyA - Monday, March 14, 2022 - link
Luffy is very like Goku, regarding his innocence, simplicity, and goodness, but yes, he had another element which is hard to pin down. Perhaps a certain stoic quality that clicked on at times, and made him something fearful to all those who practised evil. (It's even evident when they left the Merry; Goku would never have operated like that, and for my part, I agree with Usopp.) I really loved One Piece. It could often be tedious and silly, but once the story knocked into gear, it was usually astonishing, and gave you the feeling of being on an adventure with noble companions. Namaka. My favourite arcs were Arlong/Nami, Arabasta, and Water 7. In 2018, I got stuck at Thriller Bark and never went on.What caused me to stop was seeing Evangelion for the first time that year. It left me a sadder, more sober person for ever; and I'll add a word of warning to others, Eva is terribly depressing and no joke. That and Steins;Gate are my favourite anime. I've heard great things about Naruto but to this day have not seen a single episode. Rurouni Kenshin was nice.
My brother really enjoyed the live-action Dragon Ball, but though I've seen only bits and pieces, I always debate with him that it's not the real DB! He contends that it's pretty good. Well, perhaps I need to sit down and actually watch it and give it a proper appraisal.
mode_13h - Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - link
Wow, all those One Piece names are definitely a flashback. I hung out with some Kenshin fans, so I saw the entire original series.Evangelion was pretty mind-blowing for me, when the original series first aired. A bit confusing, especially with the movies, the revisionist ending, and whatnot.
More recently, I went to a marathon showing of the original series, back when they started releasing the new version. I watched the first 2-3 installments of the new version and just quit. It got too absurd for me. I never liked the direction Gainax took with FLCL, but I guess it was inevitable the new Eva would go there (and lose me). I did really like Kare Kano and Chobits (lol, they seemed to have HDDs inside!).
I got a lot from Evangelion, but I'm pretty much over it. Not unlike how I parted ways with the Star Wars franchise, more than a decade ago. I just don't need it. I don't seem to have trouble finding enough to watch. For instance, a movie I recently enjoyed was Arrival.
Even the news is like a high-tension drama, for at least the past half decade. I can really feel like I'm living through history. It gives me a new perspective on much of the past century and what it was probably like, at the time.
Some other old anime that's fun to re-watch are the original Patlabor OAV series and movies, Akira, and the Ghost in the Shell series and movies. And every time I hear about space junk in the news, my mind goes back to Planetes.
GeoffreyA - Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - link
Evangelion is indeed out of this world. It's really the sadness of the characters that touched me, though of course the relentless, minimal action was impressive when it came. Can anyone ever forget Eva-01 breaking out of the shadow space in episode 16, or the time, nearing the end, when it reactivates though its power is gone? The new movies' weakness is that they tried to spin everything out to excessive detail, whereas the series' strength was minimalism. The characterisation, too, was subtly altered. Anyhow, last year I watched the final film, Thrice upon a Time, and can honestly say they did a good job and ended Eva on a surprisingly cheerful note, with a good message. I secretly hope for a return someday.I haven't seen most of the anime you mentioned, except for Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Suffice to say, Akira leaves the viewer speechless.
Same here. Lost my interest in Star Wars and don't care to see it again. Arrival was great, with a good performance by Amy Adams. And talking of Villeneuve movies, the new Dune was a big disappointment to me.