Conversion speed

joro · 07-01-2015, 04:26 PM

This is more a matter of curiosity , rather than a serious problem.

With my old, slow Pentium machine running Windows 7, it took an average of 20 seconds to convert a 450 page book.

Now I have a new quad core desktop with Windows 8.1 and a CPU twice as fast as the old one, it is taking an average of a minute and 40 seconds to convert the same size book. That's five time longer.

I can live with the extra 80 seconds, but I'm curious why Calibre, same version on both computers, would take so much longer on a faster machine. Is there a setting I don't know about that needs tweaking?

Zetmolm · 07-01-2015, 04:53 PM

The same size does not mean the same level of complexity. I would guess that the books you are converting on your new computer are more complex internally than the ones you converted on your old computer. It's quite normal that different books take different times to convert, even though the number of pages is similar.

theducks · 07-01-2015, 05:12 PM

you have 3 cores left to do other stuff. Calibre does not use more than 1 core for a single task (eg 1 book converting). It is possible, that a second conversion would use another core.

My core Duo beats my P4 hands down.

You may need to tame your A/V, Indexing settings. Something is getting in the way of Calibre.

BTW My P4 is 32bit and the Core Duo is X64 (calibre)

joro · 07-02-2015, 11:29 PM

Thanks for your thoughts.

Just to make a less subjective comparison, I downloaded the same book to the old Win7 dual core, 4 GB RAM, and to my new 8.1 quadcore, 8 GB RAM. The conversion took 29 seconds on the Win7 and 112 seconds on the 8.1. (Same version of Calibre on both)

I'm not sure what to tame, but it's obvious a setting or two needs tweaking.

theducks · 07-03-2015, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joro

Thanks for your thoughts.

Just to make a less subjective comparison, I downloaded the same book to the old Win7 dual core, 4 GB RAM, and to my new 8.1 quadcore, 8 GB RAM. The conversion took 29 seconds on the Win7 and 112 seconds on the 8.1. (Same version of Calibre on both)

I'm not sure what to tame, but it's obvious a setting or two needs tweaking.

Sysinternals: Process Explorer (free at Microsoft)

There are 1000's of things that could be off (or spot on) that affect performance.
W7 includes Windows Experience Index (right-click My Computer: Properties: click the words next to the colored number for details)
you might note the number re-run. Does W8 have a similar benchmark?)

cybmole · 07-03-2015, 11:39 AM

For a fair test, all calibre preferences have to match. Something like heuristics on or off makes a big difference..

theducks · 07-03-2015, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybmole

For a fair test, all calibre preferences have to match. Something like heuristics on or off makes a big difference..

Great catch.

I typically copy the Config folder along with the Library to the new system, so all the same settings remain .

07-01-2015, 04:26 PM	#1
joro Avid Reader Posts: 9 Karma: 48860 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Honolulu Device: iPad, iPhone	Conversion speed This is more a matter of curiosity , rather than a serious problem. With my old, slow Pentium machine running Windows 7, it took an average of 20 seconds to convert a 450 page book. Now I have a new quad core desktop with Windows 8.1 and a CPU twice as fast as the old one, it is taking an average of a minute and 40 seconds to convert the same size book. That's five time longer. I can live with the extra 80 seconds, but I'm curious why Calibre, same version on both computers, would take so much longer on a faster machine. Is there a setting I don't know about that needs tweaking?

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07-01-2015, 04:53 PM	#2
Zetmolm Guru Posts: 612 Karma: 2031728 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: PocketBook Touch (622), PocketBook Touch Lux 2, Pocketbook Touch HD 3	The same size does not mean the same level of complexity. I would guess that the books you are converting on your new computer are more complex internally than the ones you converted on your old computer. It's quite normal that different books take different times to convert, even though the number of pages is similar.

07-01-2015, 05:12 PM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,817 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	you have 3 cores left to do other stuff. Calibre does not use more than 1 core for a single task (eg 1 book converting). It is possible, that a second conversion would use another core. My core Duo beats my P4 hands down. You may need to tame your A/V, Indexing settings. Something is getting in the way of Calibre. BTW My P4 is 32bit and the Core Duo is X64 (calibre)

07-02-2015, 11:29 PM	#4
joro Avid Reader Posts: 9 Karma: 48860 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Honolulu Device: iPad, iPhone	Thanks for your thoughts. Just to make a less subjective comparison, I downloaded the same book to the old Win7 dual core, 4 GB RAM, and to my new 8.1 quadcore, 8 GB RAM. The conversion took 29 seconds on the Win7 and 112 seconds on the 8.1. (Same version of Calibre on both) I'm not sure what to tame, but it's obvious a setting or two needs tweaking.

07-03-2015, 11:39 AM	#6
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	For a fair test, all calibre preferences have to match. Something like heuristics on or off makes a big difference..