I am posting this message for two reasons. One, I struggled with this issue, and wanted to help others with my results. And two, I think Linden Labs may not be aware of this, so I hope to inform them as well.
Jumping ahead slightly, if you have an Athlon X2, or any dual core system, you may see oddness with SL. You may see stuttering, animations that are not smooth, and the loading bar may flicker strangely. To jump the the end for a moment, here is how you fix it:
1) Start Second Life
2) Open up your Task Manager
3) Go to Processes Tab
4) Find SecondLife.exe
5) Right click and select 'Set Affinity...'
6) Uncheck everything EXCEPT CPU 0
7) Ok, now enjoy SL.
Most people can stop reading any further. I will attempt to explain why:
Most games handle animation/timing/etc by using your computer's internal clock. The call is QueryPerformanceCounter(), which queries the current time. On some newer dual core systems, noteably the Athlon X2, this call will lie. Sometimes it will seem as if time went backwards. This is why you see stuttering issues with anything related to timing (pulsing on the loading bar, animations, movements, etc).
This is a well known issue that affects quite a few games and developers. Just search google for QueryPerformanceCounter and Athlon X2 and you will find lots of information on this topic.
It would be nice if the Lindens could fix this in their code, or make this clear in their README until it's resolved. In the meantime, I hope this guide has helped and/or educated.
Bane Darrow
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Athlon X2 (Dual Core Systems) README |
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Bane Darrow
Registered User
Join date: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 21
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07-03-2006 15:34
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Thili Playfair
Registered User
Join date: 18 Aug 2004
Posts: 2,417
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07-03-2006 15:56
Not everyone that has dualcore / x2's have this, but im one of those who have it, set affinity to 2 core on SL , hello jitter world
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Hok Wakawaka
Registered User
Join date: 9 Feb 2006
Posts: 371
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07-03-2006 20:00
When I right click on the SL Process in Task Manager I don't get an option to set affinity. I only get an option to set Priority ???????
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Thili Playfair
Registered User
Join date: 18 Aug 2004
Posts: 2,417
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07-03-2006 21:54
Win xp home/pro ?, also wich cpu,
Microsoft Windows XP Home supports one processor, never touched it so i wouldnt know how it runs on amd x2's / whats the intel one called either. You can always use this proggie, instead of going in there every time. winlauncherxp |
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Katier Reitveld
M2 News Manager
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 412
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07-04-2006 00:34
XP Pro and X2's work fine for me. I'm using an Asus A8R-MVP on both my X2 rigs and with XP Pro. No problems whatsoever.
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Huns Valen
Don't PM me here.
Join date: 3 May 2003
Posts: 2,749
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07-18-2006 07:34
This thread needs a good bumping. I have this problem even with the AMD fix. Setting affinity to only CPU1 causes the framerate to double, usually. I can then set it back to run on both cores, but it makes no difference in the FPS.
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Ranma Tardis
沖縄弛緩の明確で青い水
Join date: 8 Nov 2005
Posts: 1,415
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07-18-2006 11:37
I am posting this message for two reasons. One, I struggled with this issue, and wanted to help others with my results. And two, I think Linden Labs may not be aware of this, so I hope to inform them as well. Jumping ahead slightly, if you have an Athlon X2, or any dual core system, you may see oddness with SL. You may see stuttering, animations that are not smooth, and the loading bar may flicker strangely. To jump the the end for a moment, here is how you fix it: 1) Start Second Life 2) Open up your Task Manager 3) Go to Processes Tab 4) Find SecondLife.exe 5) Right click and select 'Set Affinity...' 6) Uncheck everything EXCEPT CPU 0 7) Ok, now enjoy SL. Most people can stop reading any further. I will attempt to explain why: Most games handle animation/timing/etc by using your computer's internal clock. The call is QueryPerformanceCounter(), which queries the current time. On some newer dual core systems, noteably the Athlon X2, this call will lie. Sometimes it will seem as if time went backwards. This is why you see stuttering issues with anything related to timing (pulsing on the loading bar, animations, movements, etc). This is a well known issue that affects quite a few games and developers. Just search google for QueryPerformanceCounter and Athlon X2 and you will find lots of information on this topic. It would be nice if the Lindens could fix this in their code, or make this clear in their README until it's resolved. In the meantime, I hope this guide has helped and/or educated. Bane Darrow Will this cause problems with vehiciles? I have a Athlon X2 and I have all of the above at different times. Sometimes my avatar does a good impression of Max Headroom! |
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Bane Darrow
Registered User
Join date: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 21
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07-19-2006 12:34
Will this cause problems with vehiciles? I have a Athlon X2 and I have all of the above at different times. Sometimes my avatar does a good impression of Max Headroom! This affects timing in SL. This means lots of things from animations, to walking, to rotating things, vehicles, even when you log in, the status bar will flicker back and forth because it's increasing over time, and the current time keeps getting the wrong values. Bane |
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Gracie Hyland
Registered User
Join date: 30 Jul 2006
Posts: 4
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07-30-2006 14:48
I have an AMD X2 3800+ O/C at 2600mhz..Running a Nvidia 6800gs 256mb and I have a Audigy 2 Value...What my problem is and I am not sure if it is related to the dual core or not..is I cant get any sound at all. I have the drivers needed to run from the Amd Web sites...I even have the newest one it is called Dual Core Optimiser. It hasnt worked for me yet. I have tried all of it and nothing seems to work for me. If anyone knows plz help.
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Katier Reitveld
M2 News Manager
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 412
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07-30-2006 18:32
I wonder if it's a chipset issue.. Most people use NF4 which, in my experience, can be tempermental at best with X2's.. I went from NF4 to a ATI and it made a big difference in stability (although don't remember it ever stuttering with an X2.. I do know going to ATI made it a LOT more stable ).
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