GPU Driver Command Buffer Optimization for Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computing systems face challenges in reducing power consumption and enhancing performance without increasing latency between the CPU and GPU during the rendering process.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where the GPU driver sets unused rendering targets to a delayed submission mode and selectively deletes commands associated with these targets from the command buffer based on invalidation instructions, thereby optimizing the rendering process and reducing extraneous operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If all rendering commands are submitted to the GPU without selective deletion, then the rendering process is simple and latency is low, but power consumption increases due to unnecessary rendering operations on unused rendering targets
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of unused rendering targets before submitting commands to the GPU. The command manager analyzes rendering commands in advance, determines which rendering targets will not be used, and selectively deletes commands associated with these unused targets from the command buffer before GPU submission, thereby preventing unnecessary rendering operations and reducing power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different handling strategies to different rendering targets based on their usage status. Instead of uniformly processing all rendering commands, the command manager selectively deletes commands only for identified unused rendering targets while preserving commands for used rendering targets, optimizing power consumption without affecting necessary rendering operations
2Loss of energy
If commands for unused rendering targets are selectively deleted from the command buffer, then power consumption is reduced by avoiding unnecessary rendering operations, but the command management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The command manager performs preliminary analysis of rendering commands to identify unused rendering targets before the GPU execution phase. By determining which commands to delete in advance and removing them from the command buffer beforehand, the system avoids wasting GPU processing time on unnecessary rendering operations, thus reducing overall command processing time while managing the complexity of command analysis
3Productivity
If the GPU processes all rendering commands without selective deletion, then the system operation is simple, but performance is reduced due to extraneous rendering operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and deletion of commands for unused rendering targets from the command buffer before GPU submission. This advance processing ensures that the GPU receives only necessary rendering commands, eliminating extraneous rendering operations and improving rendering performance while managing the added complexity through systematic command analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The command manager identifies and discards (deletes) commands associated with unused rendering targets from the command buffer. By removing these unnecessary commands before GPU processing, the system recovers computational resources and improves rendering performance by focusing GPU effort only on useful rendering operations
4Loss of energy
If commands are selectively deleted based on invalidation instructions, then unnecessary rendering operations are avoided and power consumption is reduced, but the latency between CPU and GPU increases due to additional command management operations
Solution Approach 1:
The command manager performs preliminary deletion of commands for unused rendering targets from the command buffer before GPU submission. By completing this filtering operation in advance during command preparation, the system minimizes the time added to the CPU-GPU communication path, thus reducing the impact on latency while still achieving power consumption reduction through elimination of unnecessary rendering operations
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a computing system includes receiving, by a GPU driver included in a CPU of the computing system, a plurality of commands associated with a plurality of rendering targets included in a frame buffer of the computing system, storing the plurality of commands in a command buffer included in the GPU driver, setting, by a command manager included in the GPU driver, at least one unused rendering target among the plurality of rendering targets to a delayed submission mode, and selectively deleting, by the command manager, a command associated with the at least one unused rendering target set to the delayed submission mode from the command buffer based on whether the command includes an instruction to invalidate a rendering result associated with the at least one unused rendering target.