Windows XP Multi Core config - Does your OEM do it for you?

haha i EDITed, i meant.

 

Whoa, Inquirer has linked to this guide.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38508

 

wow, nice find.

 

Hi, I just have a couple questions, when I edit the BOOT.ini file, where do I insert "/usepmtimer" ?

Here:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
/usepmtimer

(on a new line)

or:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /usepmtimer

Also, after I've restarted my computer, will my CPU Usage (in Performance, CRTL+ALT+DEL) identically match with the other? Because they don't match now at all. That is to say in accordance with your images on the first page, they are not optimized now, will they be optimized after all is said and done? Thank you very much for your ability to get alot more juice out of mine and eveyrone's machines!

 

your second version [of the Boot.ini] is correct. (on last line, not new line)

The pictures in the thread are only examples, there are not always supposed to be identical... only similar. And they are more "similar" when the CPU Usage is greater (ex. video encoding, playing games, watching movies, etc...).

Note: My picture is using a multi-threaded program (meaning that it fully supports and utilizes both cores). Most programs that you use are probably not multi-threaded, but the performance should still be improved.

You should be fine if you followed everything correctly.

I'll add this note to the example pics, thx.

 

Does this work if I have 1 physical core and 2 logical ones?
Here's a couple pic's showing my computer and tests.
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1994/desktopdi6.png
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5931/desktopld8.png

My 3dMark06 mark went from 1534 to 1540, not a big jump.

 

That seems fine, and you have 1 CPU with 2 physical cores... only the P4's w/ HyperThreading has logical cores.

When you do benchmarks (such as 3DMark06), look at the CPU scores, not the total score.

Your increase was barely marginal, but an increase nonetheless.

 

Thanks very much then!

 

I'm hoping you guys can help me. I don't think my 3dMARK06 score is where it should be after doing this fix. Unfortunately I didn't read everything before doing it, so I never did a benchmark until after installing the hotfix and doing everything involved with it. I have a desktop computer from HP, the m7640n. It is AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ with 2gb ram and I've changed my video card from the crappy Geforce 6150 LE to an x1600 PRO. When doing the 3dMARK06 benchmark my fps was sitting around 1 for a lot of it and maxed at about 14. I don't remember my exact score but it was in the 2000s somewhere and was in the lower 30% of similar systems. What am I doing wrong?

 

Welcome to NBR Forums.

You can actually do a before and after benchmark still if you want.

All you have to do is:
(if you are using the AMD Optimizer)
- uninstall it [restart the PC], do the benchmark, then reinstall it [restart the PC], then do the benchmark again
(if you are using the XP hotfix)
- go into registry, locate PerfEnablePackageIdle (from the guide), and change the value to 0 [exit registry & restart the PC], do the benchmark, then go back to the PerfEnablePackageIdle to change it back to 1 [exit registry & restart the PC], do the benchmark again.

As for your scores, do not just look at the total 3DMarks, look at the CPU scores. The main thing about benchmarking, is to get the best score, you must turn off as many resource hogs as possible, such as:
- System Restore (wastes about 5-15% resources wasted)
- Anti-Virus (5-20% resources wasted)
- Spyware Detector (5-10% wasted)
- other un-needed background programs (Adobe, Quicktime, etc....)

So you should not just worry about your scores... compared to another, its better to look towards your improvements [before & after].. especially the CPU scores for this guide.

 

I read this thread with interest and tried it on my AMD 3800 X2 desktop, and it really makes a difference, my 3dMark06 score went from 4621 to 4868, so a pretty decent jump, thanks for doing all the homework on this one.

 

thats a good increase.

glad that it helped.

 

Does it work for conroe family too? Or it just helps nothing to them?

I'll try this mod today after work, and will post some results.

I hope that /usepmtimesomethinglikethiscommand will help me with time generator related bug in Lineage 2 (i have C2D @ 3,6 GHz, and skill reuse - time based - buged on fast c2d...)

gl

 

I know this is not part of the of this thread but i really need your help Mr. Gophn. I read an article of yours that posted up on this site a while ago and I cant really figure it out. I would be forever in you debt if you would be so kind as to lend me a hand.

 

Repost because Im both desperate and new to this site:
I know this is not part of the of this thread but i really need your help Mr. Gophn. I read an article of yours that posted up on this site a while ago and I cant really figure it out. I would be forever in you debt if you would be so kind as to lend me a hand.

 

PM me, click on my name and Send Private Message.

I would be glad to help you out if I can.

 

Ok i made it at home (;D) and.....

...theres no difference in performance on core 2 duo

Lineage bug fixed just as i thought, and i kinda "feel" games are running smoother right now, but for ex. 3dMark score stayed the old way

anyway - great job to one who discovered it

 

First off, I haven't read ALL 32 pages of this thread....

I recently installed an AMD Opteron 180 processor in my computer. I havent' had any luck getting Windows to recognize the second core. When I check, it seems that the HAL is still set for my old single core 3500+. I've tried numerous suggestions from people on other forums without success. I have the proper AMD drivers, as well as the AMD dual core optizer, and I did flash my bios before installing the new CPU. I have resigned myself to the idea of doing a complete re-install of Windows.

My question is: will installing this hotfix change the HAL, or will I still have to re-install XP and then do the hotfix?

 

Make sure that you have Windows XP (32-bit) w/ Service Pack 2.

And make sure your motherboard is updated and setup for dual cores.

 

Yes, I'm running XP Home Sp2 on it. Bios were flashed to the latest version before installing the Opteron.

I take it from what you are saying, if I am up to date on everything else, then it wouldn't hurt to install the hotfix and try it. I would guess that the worst case would be that the HAL still doesn't up-date, and I'll still be looking at a re-install of Windows; best case would be that the hot-fix would up-date the HAL and I would be good to go?

 

The only way to change your system to a multicore is to change the "Computer" driver in Device Manager to ACPI Multiprocessor PC. Unless things have changed, this essentially required you to install XP ontop of itself using recovery console.

 

Yep, thats true. And u may get some strange energy NOT saving behaviour if u wont change it.

 

hi, i noticed i have the update ver 3 installed on my laptop (kb896256) do i need to reinstall with v4 so that i can do the hotfix? or can i go ahead with the regedit and boot.ini config?

 

if Version 3 is in your system already (and w/o problems), then you should not need to install V4.

Version 4 was released NOT to improve the performance, only to improve compatibility issues with those that have had problems with V3.

 

Hi.

Just a little confused, sorry

Does this hotfix works for Core 2 Duo CPU also ?

Thx for a great forum.

 

Welcome to the NBR forums

As for your question:

The Core 2 Duo seems to not get a noticeable increase in performance after doing the hotfix. Although the hotfix wont hurt it, since the hotfix would guarantee that the programs/games that you are running would have both cores utilized.... usually most noticeable in 3D intense games, 3D rendering programs, and audio/video conversion.

Note: the program or game that you use must also have multi-thread support to really take advantage of dual core and hotfix.

If you are just a casual PC user (web browsing, movie watching, word processing, etc..), then this hotfix would not do anything for you.

Hope this helps,
-Gophn

 

Cool.

And thx for the welcomming

Ok i understand so far.
But what about C1E and Speedstep. I have both C1E & Speedstep disabled.
Will that be okay. Because from what i can understand. The Hotfix have something
to do with the power from/to CPU also.
So if i can install the Hotfix safe when i have this disabled. Then i´ll got for a try.

Thx a lot

 

The hotfix (version 4) has been updated to make sure that there are little to no issues possible when being installed on multi-core, multi-CPU, etc.. systems.

It should be fine to disable the speedstep and use the hotfix.

 

This may have been discussed on here, but is there anything similar for games on Vista? Thanks for your time.

 

Nevermind previous post. I see it now. Did you ever post the extra tweaks and if so, then where would I find them?

 

Hello Guys!
Could just someone make a comparison of fps results in CS:Source (before fix and after)! Need them much! Thanks!

 

hello, i installed the fix as instructed, but still i can see the OS using far more of cpu 0 (up to 23% than cpu 1 (0-5%) does this mean i've done something wrong or that something is not working ? I can see the misdistribution of OS load over the two cores both in task managers cpu monitoring and in the CPU software "RMclock" also this 23 or so percent of cpu usage is not reflected in the list of running processes. i.e. it says i have 98% free cpu in at the top of the list of running processes, but at the bottom it tels me that cpu usage is 23% or so. help ?

 

after configuring the system with the hotfix, registry entry and BOOT.ini addition....
you CANNOT just look at the the task manager for normal/casual programs to see a difference, because you wont see any.

you have to use programs that tax your CPU, like games or media (audio/video) encoding. With the optimization, one should see a performance increase in those kinds of programs.

As for the 2 performance charts, they are NOT supposed to be identical all the time. They are only identical when the program being used is multi-threaded (meaning that its programming was made to utilize both cores), most other programs that people use are single-threaded.

Go download 3DMark06 (which is multi-threaded), run the Benchmark and look at the CPU score.

 

Ok i originally did the tweak because people told me they thought it could solv my problem where suddenly 25% of one of the CPU cores is eaten by some process that i cant see in the process manager.

 

If you have a process in the background using up the up CPU, then I would recommend to use a utility like HiJackThis, to see what is starting up in the background.

There are many services and background programs always running in teh background... that is a waste to the system resources:
- System Restore
- Anti-Virus
- Spyware/Malware program(s)
- dumb program startups like Quicktime, Real, etc...

 

I am having some difficulty understanding that last boot.ini step. I am running Windows on 1 partition, and then I have other stuff on the other. Do I just copy that 1 thing, or that entire boot.ini file? I have the windows patch installed, and did the regedit stuff.

I tried just typing in that one thing in the boot.ini and I didn't see any difference when I ran the performance tests before I restarted my comptuer after I made the changes, and after I restarted. In fact, it says my cpu performed better without the changes...

 

I am having problems with this

 

I am not sure why my messages are dissapearing I will try again. I did everything instructed, however with the boot.ini file, I only put in that 1 term. I have 2 partitions, windows is on one of them, what should I do?

Since I made the changes I have seen a slight decrease in my performance test benchmarks.

 

You only add the /usepmtimer switch to the boot.ini last line. Thats it.

If you have multiple OS's in the boot.ini, then add that /usepmtimer switch to the last line of which ever OS that you want to be configured with.

If you have a Core 2 Duo, then the performance increase would usually not be noticed with benchmarking. Thats normal.

 

my boot.ini is


[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="XP Home" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


No I only have windows installed one 1 partition, I keep games and stuff on the other. So I just want to add that word on the last line after /fastdetect?

 

you would want to add the /usepmtimer right behind /fastdetect

like:

Code:

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="XP Home" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /usepmtimer

 

hey, does corel painter and photoshop use up processing power if you're not using it, but it's open? I feel like the system is abit slower when they are open

 

If those programs are open [and idle], then little to no processing power is used up... however, the slowness can be caused by memory paging [using up the RAM] from what ever is precached into the memory, such as high-resolution photos that are already loaded up in those photo editing programs.

Another thing that can cause some slowness is if there are any Services that might be running in the background [along with which ever program]. I usually use HiJackThis to check which services are in the startup list, then I would disable them if they are not needed [such as the Adobe LM... service].

Go to START menu > RUN > type: services.msc

 

I just installed the hotfix and followed all the instructions in the original post and my CPU score on 3DMark06 actually dropped a little.

Nevermind, noticed you said on page 33 that C2Ds don't receive much of a difference.

 

So I did it on my HP NX9420 which after a through re-install of everything after installing Vista and not likeing it, the jury still out. I wonder if this will have any conflict with the notebook hardware control I' running with ACPI enabled?

Great job here....

Dave

 

NHC should detect any CPU, Power Scheme, and ACPI settings.

 

Alright guys and gals, time to test your dual core CPUs!

I just updated the Guide with a new multi-threaded CPU benchmark.

wPrime (its pretty much a multithreaded SuperPI)


Here's an example of test with 4 threads.

Bye Bye SuperPI.

Another promising CPU benchmark is Multi-PI, which is in beta testing at the moment. (i'll add it when it get to official release)

-Gophn

 

Just a note, /usepmtimer is not required if you have installed the MS hotfix.

What /usepmtimer does is to allow certain applications to bypass MS API and get TSC timing information from the processor directly. This method is used because before patching, TSC value on each core is out of sync, which causes games to stutter.

If you have installed MS hotfix then TSC timing is synchronized on the OS level so there is no need to add /usepmtimer anymore. Besides, /usepmtimer is really for AMD processors, not Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo. Hope this clarifies it.

 

Thanks for clarification, I think we went over it in one of these pages of this long thread... i'll make a note of it for people that dont know.

 

No problemo. I would like to add one more thing. In the AMD dual core optimizer release notes, it specifically outline a known issue about installed the optimizer along side MS hotfix, where in some cases could cause BSOD. So it is advised not to install both at the same time.

In my opinion, MS hotfix (KB896256) is the only one required (add AMD cpu driver if you are using C 'n' Q). If you have a look at the version of those nt*.exe system files, you will notice they are all 5.1.2600.3023, which also include another MS hotfix (KB924441).