AMD Ryzen and Threadripper Processors

I sometimes get questions about the apparent failure to support the AMD Processors. The Release Notes for TBC say the following specifically on this subject.

Important! Because components of TBC make use of Intel-only multi-thread processing, AMD Ryzen processors are not supported.

The following thread on the TBC Forum also shines some light and has provided some people with a partial solution at least

n TBC 5.00 a component was added which makes use of Intel’s internal threading API. This API is not supported on certain AMD Ryzen processors. The effect is that when you start the program, a text box is created that displays an error message similar to the following: “KMP_AFFINITY: affinity not supported, using “disabled””. If you close the text box, TBC will crash. We are working to get a computer to duplicate the error and so far have not been able to find the change that causes the problem.

I believe that you may be able to set an environment variable that will disable this, but without a computer I cannot verify it. Try setting KMP_AFFINITY=disabled and let us know if this corrects the problem.

Go to control panel>system>advanced systems settings>environment variables>

Create a new system variable

Name = KMP_AFFINITY

Variable value = disabled

Start TBC and see if the problem still persists.

1 Like

Thanks Alan!

This DOES work with 5.70. No ‘Error Box’, if done correctly. I haven’t seen how it effects the performance. I have 4, AMD 64 processors… I should move pretty well.

Kind Regards,
Shaun

Shaun,
Are you still running AMD machines?
We have one AMD and one Intel machine.
We have noticeable issues with speed on the AMD when pdf files are turn on. The machine becomes slow and less responsive when the pdf’s are displayed. Turn them off and it works fine.
I’ve tested the same file/issue on the intel machine. The intel works fine with the pdf display on or off.
We all know Trimble supports Intel and specifically says it doesn’t support AMD.
Curious if you or anyone else see’s similar issues with an AMD machine? We may end up replacing it with an Intel machine.
Brian