25% faster version for NEON powered 32-bit ARM CPUs

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dmitrykos
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25% faster version for NEON powered 32-bit ARM CPUs

Post by dmitrykos » Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:27 am

You do not need it for ARMv8 64-bit ARM CPUs because Google Play is delivering NEON optimized apk by default!

There is around 25% faster version of Neutron available for download from neutronmp.com web-site. It is meant for devices which have ARMv7 CPU with NEON SIMD extensions. Examples of such devices are: Galaxy S, Galaxy S II. Faster version means: more CPU power available for other apps and less battery is consumed during playback.

In comparison with stock music player (which is installed by default in Android OS) Neutron performs:
- Standard: around 20% faster
- NEON: around 40% faster

You can download NEON version and install it over the standard version of Neutron which you earlier downloaded from Android Market. Installed version does not prevent from updating on Android Market.

Once you updated from Android Market you need to update to NEON version again manually by downloading it from neutronmp.com web-site and installing again. Make sure the NEON APK version matches the one in Google's Play Store.

[Amazon Users] Please note that versions of Neutron bought through Amazon are not compatible with this APK and thus it is not usable for you.

[Nvidia Tegra2+ CPU] Nvidia is pro in designing CPUs for massive floating calculations (GPUs) so it let them creating fastest VFP unit for ARM platform. Even though NEON is not available in Tegra2 (but is available in Tegra3+) the consumption of CPU by Neutron is the smallest ever seen. On ASUS Transformer TF101 with dual-core 1 Ghz Tegra2 CPU Neutron consumes max 6-7% with Dithering + Replay Gain + Preamp + EQ + Surround + MP3, while Galaxy S2 with dual core 1.2 Ghz CPU with NEON shows 14% consumption for the same setup. Thus Tegra2 owners are more luckier than owners of devices with NEON powered CPUs not produced by Nvidia.

About ARM-NEON technology:www.arm.com/products/processors/technologies/neon.php

Scrypt
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:55 pm

Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by Scrypt » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:12 pm

What a lovely present this was for joining your fine forums! Downloaded the NEON version and am test-driving it now -- seems much more efficient.

Galaxy S1 + Voodoo Control + Neutron = Massive Sonic Upgrade. Have you looked up Neutron on Head-fi yet? You've been getting rave reviews, and the original Galaxy S has been garnering new praise in your software's wake.

I visited to see if people there felt as I do about your work. Apparently, the answer's yes.

Nashman
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:16 am

Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by Nashman » Thu Nov 24, 2011 6:47 pm

Is it just me or is cpu-consumption since 1.41 almost the same as in non-neon-version?

Before cpu was about 15%-20% with neon in background. Now I have 25%-30%. Just an observation. No accurate testing. Maybe it depends on the mp3 it is decoding, etc.

Device is galaxy s.

dmitrykos
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Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by dmitrykos » Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:51 pm

Try checking out 1.41.4 version please. There was typo in compiler setup which resulted in some important flags be not set which could result in less paralleled code.

Nashman
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Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:16 am

Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by Nashman » Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:58 pm

Yeah seems a little better now. Around 20 and 23% most of the time. Thanks again for your great work!

krazman
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:36 pm

Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by krazman » Mon Dec 26, 2011 6:35 pm

Hi Dmitry

I have installed the NEON version on my Dell Streak 5. It seems to be more responsive than the original Neutron version. Two questions though:

1. If my device is not an ARMv7 with NEON SIMD, will it even install or run?
2. If YES (#1 above) how do I confirm the NEON version is actually installed over the original v1.43? It just says Neutron MP in Settings-->Appplications.

I'm bored and just messing around! Thanks for your reply.
kraz

dmitrykos
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Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by dmitrykos » Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:30 am

Hi Kraz!

NEON is definitely consuming less and thus faster. NEON is similar to PC's SSE CPU extensions which allows to process data in parallel.

> ARMv7 with NEON SIMD

You will have app installed in this case. But running it will cause crash. Android OS does not have built-in mechanism to separate ARMv7 from those v7s with NEON (that is a big their mistake).

So question 2 is answered by 1 :)

Nostrovia
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Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:50 am

Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by Nostrovia » Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:36 am

Hello Dimitry,

I never realised Neon was faster/better for my phone (Galaxy s), until today.

So, I have downloaded the APK file, but I'm unsure what to do with it. Sorry for asking such a simple question, but I am so accustomed to downloading simply from the Android market, it's been a long while since I've had to deal with an APK file sitting on my computer.

I have the most recent update from Android market, so can you please let me know how to extract & where to place on my phone so that It will simply overwrite the old version & upgrade to Neon.

Thank you!

***Of note: your continual improvements are really impressive & you must be witnessing many new users who are appreciating this mighty fine sounding music player. Oh, on that note whenever I update from Android market I usually come back to the forum, but can never find update release notes. It would be really useful to find those notes here. Cheers!

dmitrykos
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Posts: 1914
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Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by dmitrykos » Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:33 pm

Hi! :D

NEON is definitely better for Galaxy S! Once you downloaded it to your device, go to File Manager, find APK in /sdcard/downloads folder and tap on it (or simply tap on notification). Android will offer you to install this APK and replace current version, you need to confirm and then you get it installed.

Sometimes Android OS needs to be enabled for non-Market APK installations. For that you need to check whether option(Android UI -> Application Settings -> Unknown Source) is ON.

Best regards,
Dmitry.

Nostrovia
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:50 am

Re: 25% Faster version of Neutron for NEON powered CPUs

Post by Nostrovia » Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:54 am

Aaah very easy - thank you Dimitry for your prompt reply. I look forward to trying this Neon version.

Your efforts are as usual really appreciated!!!

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