Power efficiency for software algorithms running on graphics processors

Abstract

Power efficiency has become the most important consideration for many modern computing devices. In this paper, we examine power efficiency of a range of graphics algorithms on different GPUs. To measure power consumption, we have built a power measuring device that samples currents at a high frequency. Comparing power efficiency of different graphics algorithms is done by measuring power and performance of three different primary rendering algorithms and three different shadow algorithms. We measure these algorithms' power signatures on a mobile phone, on an integrated CPU and graphics processor, and on high-end discrete GPUs, and then compare power efficiency across both algorithms and GPUs. Our results show that power efficiency is not always proportional to rendering performance and that, for some algorithms, power efficiency varies across different platforms. We also show that for some algorithms, energy efficiency is similar on all platforms.