Hyper Threading Issues

[PowerUser90_Italy]

Hardware :

Pentium 4 3.0 Prescott HT
GA 8IK1100 Rev 2.0 Chipset 875P
1 Gb Corsair
Bios Ver FE (10 Sept 2004)
2 Maxtor 200 GB SATA connected with ICH5R SouthBridge


OS: Win Xp PRO


Problem: Under device manager i see 2 processors, but it u run some test
like 3dmark
or hotcpu, in task manager i see only one graphic for 1 cpu, instead of 2
graph for 2 cpu like
i see usualli when Ht is enabled.

I flash bios with latest version, Enabled Ht from Bios,
installed latest Intel INFENU 6.0.x.y and tryed a little utility from
intel that tells me that cpu and chipset are ok, but bios is not fully ok
for Ht.

Any ideas other than wait for another Bios?

 

[Bob Willard]

Hardware :

Pentium 4 3.0 Prescott HT
GA 8IK1100 Rev 2.0 Chipset 875P
1 Gb Corsair
Bios Ver FE (10 Sept 2004)
2 Maxtor 200 GB SATA connected with ICH5R SouthBridge


OS: Win Xp PRO


Problem: Under device manager i see 2 processors, but it u run some test
like 3dmark
or hotcpu, in task manager i see only one graphic for 1 cpu, instead of 2
graph for 2 cpu like
i see usualli when Ht is enabled.

I flash bios with latest version, Enabled Ht from Bios,
installed latest Intel INFENU 6.0.x.y and tryed a little utility from
intel that tells me that cpu and chipset are ok, but bios is not fully ok
for Ht.

Any ideas other than wait for another Bios?

Even if HT is enabled, the task manager must be directed to show two graphs.

Bring up the task manager, then click on Performance, then click on CPU History, then
click on One Graph Per CPU (instead of One Graph, All CPUs).

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

The programs have to be specifically coded for HyperThreading. Very few
are, as yet. PhotoShop (latest versions) are, don't know many others.

 

[Rich C]

[snip]

I flash bios with latest version, Enabled Ht from Bios,
installed latest Intel INFENU 6.0.x.y and tryed a little utility from
intel that tells me that cpu and chipset are ok, but bios is not fully ok
for Ht.

Any ideas other than wait for another Bios?

What motherboard do you have?

It does sound like your BIOS is not fully up to specs as yet. You could try
emailing the motherboard manufacturer with all the details of your problem.
They may let you beta test their latest unreleased BIOS version.

Other than that, just wait for the next release. How long ago was the last
one released?

Rich C.

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

First. please do not be offended by what I am about to post.

Hyperthreading is one of the biggest marketing scams ever put upon the
consumers. HT only works with a very few programs that are written to take
advantage of HT. 99.8% of the software on the market is not HT "aware"
With HT enabled, you are probably getting a performance hit, usually around
10-15%.

When HT procs were first made available, most OEMs shipped their machines
with HT disabled, because of the performance hit that occurs with normal
usage with HT enabled. Many still do so today.

The only true enhancement that works with all existing software is
Hypertransport, available only with AMD processors. Their solution is a
hardware solution, so works all the time with all software.

Unless you use Photoshop or Adobe Premiere, I would recommend you disable
HT. You will notice the difference in speed.

Bobby

 

[Name withheld by request]

Photoshop CS, which I use daily.....is the reason I upgraded to
HT.....
Also, if you know how to set the processor affinity in applications,
you can take advantage of hyper threading. By setting apps that use
use all the time (I keep outlook, my tv tuner card, and firebird
running) to let say, "CPU1" then the threads on cpu0 are free for use
on apps that don't take advantage of HT.

 

[Charlie]

How is that set, proc. "affinity", That makes complete sense and I would
love to play with it for performance issues. Thanks in advance.

~Charlie

 

[Nathan McNulty]

Open Task Manager by pressing Control+Alt+Delete then right click on the
process, then set affinity. Now check which CPU you want it to use

 

[Name withheld by request]

Also, to make it much easier, go to http://www.tomshardware.com do a
search for their task assignment manager, you can set each program you
want for its affinity, instead of every time you run the program

 

[Nathan McNulty]

I requested to have that implemented into Service Pack 2 so that it
would remember the affinity you set instead of having to do it each
time, but it was something MS says they will look into at a later time.
Phoey