Hi,

I believe my Core i7 processor supports SSE version 4.2, but BOINC messages show a lower version:

3/10/2009 9:52:55 PM Processor: 8 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz [Intel64 Family 6 Model 26 Stepping 4]
3/10/2009 9:52:55 PM Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni


Some projects have optimized apps available for higher versions of SSE that 2, so will I lose functionality or speed if BOINC reports a lower version than I really have? Or am I just interpreting this message wrong? Thanks.

Hi,

I believe my Core i7 processor supports SSE version 4.2, but BOINC messages show a lower version:

3/10/2009 9:52:55 PM Processor: 8 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz [Intel64 Family 6 Model 26 Stepping 4]
3/10/2009 9:52:55 PM Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni


Some projects have optimized apps available for higher versions of SSE that 2, so will I lose functionality or speed if BOINC reports a lower version than I really have? Or am I just interpreting this message wrong? Thanks.

Boinc only knows what the OS tell it and that what it is reporting. The OS only detect the CPU capabilities that it knew about when it was released. You can still use and take advantage of the optimized app that you know your CPU can handle regardless of what your OS is reporting.

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Boinc V 7.4.36
Win7 i5 3.33G 4GB NVidia 470

Hi,

I believe my Core i7 processor supports SSE version 4.2, but BOINC messages show a lower version:

3/10/2009 9:52:55 PM Processor: 8 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz [Intel64 Family 6 Model 26 Stepping 4]
3/10/2009 9:52:55 PM Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni


Some projects have optimized apps available for higher versions of SSE that 2, so will I lose functionality or speed if BOINC reports a lower version than I really have? Or am I just interpreting this message wrong? Thanks.

As already answered it doesn't effect it. The list you see in the BOINC log is simply what the OS reports.

As for SSE4.2 the only extra instruction that is possibly useful is a CRC32 checksum. Its not going to help it compute any faster. Some optimisers have used up to SSE4.1 (Seti) but other projects have only used up to SSE3 as thats the point where:
a) the speed improvements in higher instructions are very small
and
b) They lose compatibility with AMD processors

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MarkJ