Why no "cc61" in the GPU target options in the NV compiler?

Accelerated Computing HPC Compilers nvc, nvc++ and nvfortran
#1

Hi,

I was recently checking on what the newest compute capabilities (CC) are on my test GPUs so I could compile with the latest “CC” available.

One of my GPUs has a CC of 6.1 but the NV compiler (NVFORTRAN 20.11) has 6.0 and 6.2, but no 6.1.

Why does it not have 6.1 (Quadro P-series)?

Also, comparing the list of CCs at “en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUDA” to the list of available targets in the NV compiler, it seems that the CCs 3.7, 5.2, 5.3, and 8.6 are also missing.

I assume it is best practice to use the largest CC less-than-or-equal to the GPU being targeted?

Am I missing out on any optimizations by using 6.0 for a 6.1 GPU?

  • Ron
#2

I believe that there’s aren’t any architectural differences between the two (just configuration) so no, you are missing out on any additional optimizations.

Why does it not have 6.1 (Quadro P-series)?

Since the compiler will by default create a unified binary (i.e. target multiple target devices), we do try to keep the number of targets to a minimum (especially when the differences between the CC versions are minor). There is some overhead in compilation time and binary size, so including all targets would add to this overhead.

I assume it is best practice to use the largest CC less-than-or-equal to the GPU being targeted?

Yes