X2 4800+ problems?

Skirrow

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
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I'm running an X2 4800+ in my new system with XP sp2 and my system seems very slow.

For some reason applications such as quickpar, winrar, photoshop etc only seem to use 1 or 2% of the cpu when running together. The system idle process is almost always above 95%. Surely this cant be right.

I have 10 instances of Quickpar (a parity creation/repair program that uses a lot of processor time usually) open and the cpu usage never goeas above 12%. Still takes ages to complete like with my XP2800+

Now the program may not be programmed to take advantage of a multiprocessor setup, but even so. It SHOULD use most of the cpu time.

I've tried installing the MS dual core hotfix and the AMD X2 drivers. but hasnt changed a bit

Any ideas?
 
Ok to answer the "system idle process" question: Yes 95% is probally right. The system idle process is somthing that runs while the cpu is idle and has free cycles to use. It pretty much gives it something to do, like OS clean-up etc. Now, no worries its a low priority process, prehaps even the lowest, im not sure, but it will give up its usage once another program calls for it.

As for you problem, does the software in question run slower than before? Now I know you said it uses less cpu power, but does it actually run slower? Im thinking if its anything that its the software unable to support the dual core processor. I would try and find a known peice of software the takes advantage of the dual core chip and run it. I would see if that actually uses both cores and go from there. I think its the software only using one core. Also check for updates on that program to see if theres a update that supports dual core.
 
Speed wise the program seems to run the same speed. However on my XP 2800+ task manager would show cpu usage of 100% when running more than 2 instances. The 4800+ shows about 10-15% when running more than 2 instances. I would have expected to see at least one core maxed out.

Just seems odd to me. Maybe my machine is running normal and i just need to get used to seeing things differently with dual core. :confused:
 
Sounds wacked.

I'd check my mobo bios to make sure it understands what the hell a 4800 x2 is.
 
Skirrow said:
For some reason applications such as quickpar, winrar, photoshop etc only seem to use 1 or 2% of the cpu when running together. The system idle process is almost always above 95%. Surely this cant be right.

I have 10 instances of Quickpar (a parity creation/repair program that uses a lot of processor time usually) open and the cpu usage never goeas above 12%. Still takes ages to complete like with my XP2800+
Quickpar probably depends more on your disk setup than on your CPU. Even Winrar, with its more challenging algorithms, won't stress the CPU until you get a large file going at a good speed.

Photoshop is a good benchmark. Try the "Photoshop test" thread below for a test people have been running. And if it *feels* fast, who cares how much CPU it's using? :p

 
Ok, this is where it gets wierd.

I did a new windows install on a spare hard drive and copied some files over to test. But did NOT install the dual core hotfix or AMD X2 drivers and my pc runs a hell of a lot faster now. I had 30 instances of Quickpar open and not a touch of slowdown, whereas on the other install it would chug at 10 instances.

Looks like i'll be keeping this install instead. seems a lot better

UPDATE:

I turned off cool&quiet in the bios and now the install WITH the hotfixes is up to speed. Runs a lot better. Wonder why cool and quiet cripples my pc??
 
If cool and quiet is an app that adjusts cpu load to maintain temps during lack of use, and if its designed for a single cpu, then it would probably be constantly trying to throttle both cores down because there wasn't sufficient load. My guess... for the moment.
 
i removed that damn program from my start up. i had a few freezes during the past week while just getting into xp. removed it..so far everything has been ok. seems to work fine for me if i manually open it. however while being in the startup list it freezes my pc too much.
 
Ive looked everywhere and cannot find where to enable/diasble cool n' quiet on my system. It isn't an option in the start menu, the BIOS, anything. I read that it may be labelled 'spread spectrum' in the BIOS. Is that true.

Funny, cause Ive read many threads that talk about people disabling CnQ but no one ever says how they actually did it.
 
It could be called something else on your mobo, like CPU throttling or something, but it's definitely in the bios somewhere.
 
Skirrow said:
Speed wise the program seems to run the same speed. However on my XP 2800+ task manager would show cpu usage of 100% when running more than 2 instances. The 4800+ shows about 10-15% when running more than 2 instances. I would have expected to see at least one core maxed out.

Just seems odd to me. Maybe my machine is running normal and i just need to get used to seeing things differently with dual core. :confused:

Just out of curiosity, did you reinstall windows after you put your new hardware in?
 
Standpoint said:
Ive looked everywhere and cannot find where to enable/diasble cool n' quiet on my system. It isn't an option in the start menu, the BIOS, anything. I read that it may be labelled 'spread spectrum' in the BIOS. Is that true.

Funny, cause Ive read many threads that talk about people disabling CnQ but no one ever says how they actually did it.
Isn't Cool and Quiet an ASUS feature? Not Soyo.
 
Tyklfe said:
Just out of curiosity, did you reinstall windows after you put your new hardware in?

Yeah. It was a total new system build. I've been running it flawlessly for over a week now and its a hell of a lot faster and less stressfull to work with. Seems all my problems were caused by Cool and Quiet. Turned it off in the mobo Bios and all is well :D
 
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