Multiple Core Experience

[JayF]

Great discussion here folks. Thanks for participating in it.

Mike can certainly speak more to how QCharts is using threads from a technical stand-point, but I can throw in some info on it.

QCharts does indeed support multiple threads, which means it can spread its load across multiple cores. QCharts 6 is split into two .exe's... QCharts.exe and Winros.exe (the Data Manager.) QCharts is comprised of many, many components, while the DM handles the processing of incoming streaming real-time quotes and trades. The DM then passes the data off to QCharts for further processing.

In 6.0.1.2, the majority of the data and GUI processing was performed on one thread, which causes a bottleneck during peak times and especially when switching charts. In 6.0.1.6 Beta, the processing of chart data was moved to its own thread, freeing up the GUI during chart downloads and processing. This makes the program more responsive, and is generally faster than 6.0.1.2. We're planning on pushing x.1.6 to the main download page this week if testing continues to go well.

I'll check with Mike to see if he has some time to come on here and comment about this topic further.

[Mike Condra]

Hello to everyone.

I'm working on a response to the many postings on this thread. ETA in about 1/2 hour.

A preliminary version of this message may have been sent; it's retracted now.

- Mike C.

[Mike Condra]

Hello to everyone. Thank you very much for taking an interest in QCharts and wanting to make it better.


As you all -- Carol, Jay, Larry, Paulie, TraderTom -- point out, with QCharts 6.0.1.2...

-- Too much is done on a single core;

-- Quote sheets consume too much CPU;

-- Some workspaces commonly used with QCharts 5 are too large to load or display.


Starting with 6.0.1.6...

-- A large chunk of workload has been moved from the application UI thread to a second thread. On Task Manager's CPU display, you should now see two or more cores sharing the load more evenly. On machines where Task Manager reports CPU use to be high, the app can stay responsive. This is because CPU use is somewhat elastic -- charts and quote sheets will delay or forego their redraws if additional data is arriving;

-- Quote sheet workload has been reduced in two ways: 1) new-data notifications are limited to situations where the displayable values actually change; 2) the redraw rate is limited to once about every .5 second (although this can be changed in the CPU Control Panel).

A large sample workspace, containing 240+ symbols and 8 charts, loads well in 6.0.1.6, but effectively could not be loaded during market hours by 6.0.1.2.


Right now we're looking at the 6.1 development build to see what could be moved quickly into a replacement for 6.0.1.2. Things that come to mind are:

-- Making minimized quote sheets draw NO data (symbols are temporarily unsubscribed while the sheet is minimized; alerts on those symbols remain active). Expect reduced CPU;

-- A new option filter, for montages and chains in quote sheets, that can filter chains to the nearest one or two months (or any specific months). Expect lower symbol counts for option chains.


Have a great evening; talk with you soon.


= Mike C.

[tradertom]

Hi Mike,

This is excellent news! I appreciate the effort that you, Jay and the rest of the team are putting in to get this performance thing worked out. I also really appreciate your clear descriptions of what you are doing to alleviate the performance issues we are all seeing with QC6. Thanks for commenting here.

I look forward to trying the latest beta version (I downloaded it this morning but I have not installed it yet).

Best Regards,
T

[grunewaj]

Re: Multi core Experience

Thanks Mike and Jay!

This really does sound like great news! I'll try it soon!

Thanks again for the work you are doing to make Qcharts so much better.

Jim

[Larry Marchman]

Thanks Mike and Jay for the info.

Especially appreciate the comments regarding my main concern. That being that most of the work was allocated to a single thread, effectively confining QCharts to a single core (or processor).

To be continued...I'm sure <grin>.

LAM

[Larry Marchman]

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the test results. Good job, btw, on the composite screenshot.

I'm sure you will take another look with 6.0.1.6.
One thing I'm still after is whether or not you can get QCharts showing a total %CPU firmly above 25% sustained. And whether or not quotesheet servicing is confined to a single thread, and if so, whether or not that can max the core/processor it's running in. In other words, are you inherently limited to X-number of syms in a quotesheet, given different sym tick rate profiles.

Methinks it might be worthwhile to create some workspaces and test procedures for anyone to use, some common ground to do comparisons. We have the opportunity here with folks that have already sprung for multi-core boxes to perhaps get at least a warm fuzzy as to what folks might wanna consider when shopping for a new box. Ya know, 4 lesser rated cores vs 2 higher rated cores, as just one consideration. I'll do the workspace/test process work when time permits. I have a good notion of what to do, having done so with some off-list comparison work with Carol and Bob.

Thanks again for your input,

LAM

[tradertom]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the nice words. I am running 6.0.1.6 right now and it is certainly more nimble than 6.0.1.2. I can actually see my complex workspace now so for that I am very happy.

I haven't seen QCharts earlier versions going much over 25% for a sustained period, although at first blush, this version uses more than 25% of the total CPU power. I am seeing more numbers in the 30's and higher now which verifies that Mike's thread-splitting seemed to help. The UI still seems heavy with mouse movements taking a big hit on one of the cores but switching stocks on quote sheets does not peg that core like it did before. Also, I am able to hot-key between workspaces with no issues and they load fairly quickly. (If I run into any specific topics I will post them to the Beta area of this board.)

I would be happy to help with standardized testing to provide metrics for folks. I would like to see those metrics myself. I may have to upgrade if it turns out that this processor is less than optimal (per dollar that is.)

Later,
T

[grunewaj]

I've used the new 6.0.1.6 a few times and I thought I'd relay what I've seen so far. I have an dual core AMD (4200+, 2.2GHz).

It appears noticeably faster and as you can see from the attached picture, the CPU usage is much more uniform between the two cores.

Q6 will sometimes not draw an intra day chart and for some reason, this seems more prevalent on 6.0.1.6. Also like 6.0.1.2, it will sometimes not draw the 200 period moving average on my half day chart. By shutting it down and starting it again (sometimes several times), I can get it to display it.

The CPU usage was taken when loading the COMPQ.

[grunewaj]

It didn't pick up my picture last time

[fadeley]

Finding 6.0.1.6

Can you tell me where I can go to download v6.0.1.6?

QCharts.com download is only offering v6.0.1.2. I'm just setting up a new Core 2 Quad machine, and after reading this string I'm anxious to try the newer version.

Thanks

[grunewaj]

Qcharts 6.0.1.6

Hi fadeley,

There is a link in Jay's post on 2/19.

Jim

[ACM]

Re: Finding 6.0.1.6

fadeley
See this announcement in the QCharts Beta Testing forum
Alex

Originally posted by fadeley
Can you tell me where I can go to download v6.0.1.6?

QCharts.com download is only offering v6.0.1.2. I'm just setting up a new Core 2 Quad machine, and after reading this string I'm anxious to try the newer version.

Thanks

[fadeley]

v6.0.1.6

Thanks for the prompt replay.
I got it!

[Eye]

"-- Making minimized quote sheets draw NO data "

A very powerful appraoch to the problem. This allows research over many stocks during the evening, and optimal machine performance during market hours all on one workspace.

Switching between workspaces to optimize machine performance is too darn inefficient. Furthermore, you will defer the inevitable hardware upgrade cycle many are facing in the transition to 6.X

Thanks Mike and Jay.
Eye