Second Life Forums Archive - SL not supporting HT (Hyper-Threading)?

Michael Martinez

Don't poke me!

Join date: 28 Jul 2004

Posts: 515

01-30-2006 07:47

Kathmandu Gilman, no it does not, but working with priority gives you alot more control then affinity.

I played with affinity too, and noticed no real difference, but setting programs to lower priorities, while keeping the ones I need at higher made huge differences in system response.

_____________________

There are no significant bugs in our released software that any significant number of users want fixed. (Bill Gates)

Kathmandu Gilman

Fearful Symmetry Baby!

Join date: 21 May 2004

Posts: 1,418

01-30-2006 12:06

From: Michael Martinez

Kathmandu Gilman, no it does not, but working with priority gives you alot more control then affinity.

I played with affinity too, and noticed no real difference, but setting programs to lower priorities, while keeping the ones I need at higher made huge differences in system response.

Ahh, well see a lot of duel core AMDs are having specific problems with SL such as stuttering and jerky movement of avatars and the selecting of a single core with affinity fixes the problem. Setting priority changes the order in which the computer handles the program which can affect the way a program responds. Keep in mind, changing priority can cause problems simply by not allowing background programs to run as they should. Setting SL to highest priority will devote all CPU cycles it wants to it but without setting affinity the avatar will still move in a jerky fashion like an ADD kid on a sugar high but opening Photoshop or any other lower priority program will be dependant on the 2% or less of the CPU SL isn't using instead of sharing.

_____________________

It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.

Torley Linden

Enlightenment!

Join date: 15 Sep 2004

Posts: 16,530

02-02-2006 02:30

^ on my dual-core AMD, the specific problem I noticed was when I held CTRL-ALT and clicked on different areas of the ground to camscan around. This usually occurred after multitasking on SL and other heavy apps on my system--and did indeed result in visble stuttering and shakiness between frames. Also, another thing is this: CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-D for Debug menu and select Fast Timers from there. When I had SL set for both cores, it'd give me completely wacked-out readings or not even update the numbers at all. Setting it to a single core has stabilized that.

And I'd like to say I did Hugsy's batchfile this morning and it worked for me! Altho I am wondering if it might be advantageous to assign SL by default to CPU 1 instead of CPU 0, presuming that Windows and other things are mainly residing on CPU 0 unless they're dynamically needed on the other? I'm not technically sure of this but any furtehr info would be great.

_____________________

Julia Hathor

Child Of Nature

Join date: 7 Feb 2005

Posts: 172

02-02-2006 05:49

Does anyone have an estimate on when SL is going to support Dual-core & hyperthreading?

Ron Overdrive

Registered User

Join date: 10 Jul 2005

Posts: 1,002

02-02-2006 06:06

From: Julia Hathor

Does anyone have an estimate on when SL is going to support Dual-core & hyperthreading?

So long as there exists a 3rd party temporary fix, probly a very very long time. We might get MONO or Havok2 before then and look how promissing those features' release dates are.

Torley Linden

Enlightenment!

Join date: 15 Sep 2004

Posts: 16,530

02-05-2006 00:22

From: Julia Hathor

Does anyone have an estimate on when SL is going to support Dual-core & hyperthreading?

Heh, bet your heart when I find out and can shout the news out, I WILL! Realistically it will be awhile, but I'm hopeful. Hey, the Linux client, while alpha, has become reality--things keep happening!

Also... just an update... following Hugsy's tip, after more experimenting, I updated my lines to:

c:
cd \Program Files\SecondLife
imagecfg -a 0x1 SecondLife.exe
pause

so that SL is set to run on CPU 1 (instead of CPU 0) of my dual-core AMD Opteron 170. For some reason, perhaps due to my overclocking, I noticed subtle imperfections like Firefox scrolling being jerky, other little apps slowing down when running, and some stuttering. This way, it assures SL will always be loaded onto the secondary (is that the right term?) core. Wish I was totally sure of the science behind it, but it's more responsive for me.

_____________________

Kathmandu Gilman

Fearful Symmetry Baby!

Join date: 21 May 2004

Posts: 1,418

02-05-2006 01:11

Oh, here is a little tidbit, I found that with the setting "imagecfg -u" it automatically distributes SL among the cores. The first instance is on core 0 the second is put on core 1, that way SL runs significantly faster than having two instances on a single core. BTW the batch file works flawlessly, good job and thanks.

_____________________

It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.

Torley Linden

Enlightenment!

Join date: 15 Sep 2004

Posts: 16,530

02-05-2006 01:18

From: Kathmandu Gilman

Oh, here is a little tidbit, I found that with the setting "imagecfg -u" it automatically distributes SL among the cores. The first instance is on core 0 the second is put on core 1, that way SL runs significantly faster than having two instances on a single core. BTW the batch file works flawlessly, good job and thanks.

Ahhh--that's good to know. I wonder if there's a way, at least in my situation, to prioritize it so the first instance of SL would go on CPU 1 and the second on CPU 0. That'd be nifty!

_____________________

Mack Echegaray

Registered Snoozer

Join date: 15 Dec 2005

Posts: 145

02-05-2006 06:51

Torley, if this is really helping people ask one of the developers to make the next SL update do it itself. They can add a call to their startup code which calls the SetProcessAffinityMask API call:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dllproc/base/setprocessaffinitymask.asp

This is a one-line change which should lock the program to a single core and eliminate the need to use imagecfg. Until the SL client goes properly multi-threaded perhaps this will help?

Strife Onizuka

Moonchild

Join date: 3 Mar 2004

Posts: 5,887

02-05-2006 15:15

From: Mack Echegaray

Torley, if this is really helping people ask one of the developers to make the next SL update do it itself. They can add a call to their startup code which calls the SetProcessAffinityMask API call:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dllproc/base/setprocessaffinitymask.asp

This is a one-line change which should lock the program to a single core and eliminate the need to use imagecfg. Until the SL client goes properly multi-threaded perhaps this will help?

It wouldn't be hard to write an autoit script to handle this.

_____________________

Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms, the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river.
- Cyril Connolly

Without the political will to find common ground, the continual friction of tactic and counter tactic, only creates suspicion and hatred and vengeance, and perpetuates the cycle of violence.
- James Nachtwey

Wayfinder Wishbringer

Elf Clan / ElvenMyst

Join date: 28 Oct 2004

Posts: 1,483

02-05-2006 17:09

Uh, just to make sure it's here somewhere, anyone have an UNDO for that Imagecfg fix?

_____________________

Visit ElvenMyst, home of Elf Clan, one of Second Life's oldest and most popular fantasy groups. Visit Dwagonville, home of the Dwagons, our highly detailed Star Trek exhibit, the Warhammer 40k Arena, the Elf Clan Museum and of course, the Elf Clan Fantasy Market. We welcome all visitors. : )

Strife Onizuka

Moonchild

Join date: 3 Mar 2004

Posts: 5,887

02-05-2006 18:38

From: Wayfinder Wishbringer

Uh, just to make sure it's here somewhere, anyone have an UNDO for that Imagecfg fix?

Just reinstall SL?

_____________________

Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms, the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river.
- Cyril Connolly

Without the political will to find common ground, the continual friction of tactic and counter tactic, only creates suspicion and hatred and vengeance, and perpetuates the cycle of violence.
- James Nachtwey

SL not supporting HT (Hyper-Threading)?
Michael Martinez Don't poke me! Join date: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 515	01-30-2006 07:47 Kathmandu Gilman, no it does not, but working with priority gives you alot more control then affinity. I played with affinity too, and noticed no real difference, but setting programs to lower priorities, while keeping the ones I need at higher made huge differences in system response. _____________________ There are no significant bugs in our released software that any significant number of users want fixed. (Bill Gates)
Kathmandu Gilman Fearful Symmetry Baby! Join date: 21 May 2004 Posts: 1,418	01-30-2006 12:06 From: Michael Martinez Kathmandu Gilman, no it does not, but working with priority gives you alot more control then affinity. I played with affinity too, and noticed no real difference, but setting programs to lower priorities, while keeping the ones I need at higher made huge differences in system response. Ahh, well see a lot of duel core AMDs are having specific problems with SL such as stuttering and jerky movement of avatars and the selecting of a single core with affinity fixes the problem. Setting priority changes the order in which the computer handles the program which can affect the way a program responds. Keep in mind, changing priority can cause problems simply by not allowing background programs to run as they should. Setting SL to highest priority will devote all CPU cycles it wants to it but without setting affinity the avatar will still move in a jerky fashion like an ADD kid on a sugar high but opening Photoshop or any other lower priority program will be dependant on the 2% or less of the CPU SL isn't using instead of sharing. _____________________ It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.
Torley Linden Enlightenment! Join date: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 16,530	02-02-2006 02:30 ^ on my dual-core AMD, the specific problem I noticed was when I held CTRL-ALT and clicked on different areas of the ground to camscan around. This usually occurred after multitasking on SL and other heavy apps on my system--and did indeed result in visble stuttering and shakiness between frames. Also, another thing is this: CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-D for Debug menu and select Fast Timers from there. When I had SL set for both cores, it'd give me completely wacked-out readings or not even update the numbers at all. Setting it to a single core has stabilized that. And I'd like to say I did Hugsy's batchfile this morning and it worked for me! Altho I am wondering if it might be advantageous to assign SL by default to CPU 1 instead of CPU 0, presuming that Windows and other things are mainly residing on CPU 0 unless they're dynamically needed on the other? I'm not technically sure of this but any furtehr info would be great. _____________________
Julia Hathor Child Of Nature Join date: 7 Feb 2005 Posts: 172	02-02-2006 05:49 Does anyone have an estimate on when SL is going to support Dual-core & hyperthreading?
Ron Overdrive Registered User Join date: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 1,002	02-02-2006 06:06 From: Julia Hathor Does anyone have an estimate on when SL is going to support Dual-core & hyperthreading? So long as there exists a 3rd party temporary fix, probly a very very long time. We might get MONO or Havok2 before then and look how promissing those features' release dates are.
Torley Linden Enlightenment! Join date: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 16,530	02-05-2006 00:22 From: Julia Hathor Does anyone have an estimate on when SL is going to support Dual-core & hyperthreading? Heh, bet your heart when I find out and can shout the news out, I WILL! Realistically it will be awhile, but I'm hopeful. Hey, the Linux client, while alpha, has become reality--things keep happening! Also... just an update... following Hugsy's tip, after more experimenting, I updated my lines to: c: cd \Program Files\SecondLife imagecfg -a 0x1 SecondLife.exe pause so that SL is set to run on CPU 1 (instead of CPU 0) of my dual-core AMD Opteron 170. For some reason, perhaps due to my overclocking, I noticed subtle imperfections like Firefox scrolling being jerky, other little apps slowing down when running, and some stuttering. This way, it assures SL will always be loaded onto the secondary (is that the right term?) core. Wish I was totally sure of the science behind it, but it's more responsive for me. _____________________
Kathmandu Gilman Fearful Symmetry Baby! Join date: 21 May 2004 Posts: 1,418	02-05-2006 01:11 Oh, here is a little tidbit, I found that with the setting "imagecfg -u" it automatically distributes SL among the cores. The first instance is on core 0 the second is put on core 1, that way SL runs significantly faster than having two instances on a single core. BTW the batch file works flawlessly, good job and thanks. _____________________ It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.
Torley Linden Enlightenment! Join date: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 16,530	02-05-2006 01:18 From: Kathmandu Gilman Oh, here is a little tidbit, I found that with the setting "imagecfg -u" it automatically distributes SL among the cores. The first instance is on core 0 the second is put on core 1, that way SL runs significantly faster than having two instances on a single core. BTW the batch file works flawlessly, good job and thanks. Ahhh--that's good to know. I wonder if there's a way, at least in my situation, to prioritize it so the first instance of SL would go on CPU 1 and the second on CPU 0. That'd be nifty! _____________________
Mack Echegaray Registered Snoozer Join date: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 145	02-05-2006 06:51 Torley, if this is really helping people ask one of the developers to make the next SL update do it itself. They can add a call to their startup code which calls the SetProcessAffinityMask API call: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dllproc/base/setprocessaffinitymask.asp This is a one-line change which should lock the program to a single core and eliminate the need to use imagecfg. Until the SL client goes properly multi-threaded perhaps this will help?
Strife Onizuka Moonchild Join date: 3 Mar 2004 Posts: 5,887	02-05-2006 15:15 From: Mack Echegaray Torley, if this is really helping people ask one of the developers to make the next SL update do it itself. They can add a call to their startup code which calls the SetProcessAffinityMask API call: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dllproc/base/setprocessaffinitymask.asp This is a one-line change which should lock the program to a single core and eliminate the need to use imagecfg. Until the SL client goes properly multi-threaded perhaps this will help? It wouldn't be hard to write an autoit script to handle this. _____________________ Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms, the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river. - Cyril Connolly Without the political will to find common ground, the continual friction of tactic and counter tactic, only creates suspicion and hatred and vengeance, and perpetuates the cycle of violence. - James Nachtwey
Wayfinder Wishbringer Elf Clan / ElvenMyst Join date: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 1,483	02-05-2006 17:09 Uh, just to make sure it's here somewhere, anyone have an UNDO for that Imagecfg fix? _____________________ Visit ElvenMyst, home of Elf Clan, one of Second Life's oldest and most popular fantasy groups. Visit Dwagonville, home of the Dwagons, our highly detailed Star Trek exhibit, the Warhammer 40k Arena, the Elf Clan Museum and of course, the Elf Clan Fantasy Market. We welcome all visitors. : )
Strife Onizuka Moonchild Join date: 3 Mar 2004 Posts: 5,887	02-05-2006 18:38 From: Wayfinder Wishbringer Uh, just to make sure it's here somewhere, anyone have an UNDO for that Imagecfg fix? Just reinstall SL? _____________________ Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms, the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river. - Cyril Connolly Without the political will to find common ground, the continual friction of tactic and counter tactic, only creates suspicion and hatred and vengeance, and perpetuates the cycle of violence. - James Nachtwey

Welcome to the Second Life Forums Archive

SL not supporting HT (Hyper-Threading)?