Idle CPU thread

[Miroiu Crinu]

Hello! A few months ago I built a computer with the following configuration:

MOTHERBOARD: MSI H310M PRO-M.2 PLUS

CPU: Intel Pentium GOLD G5420

RAM:2X HyperX Fury Black 4GB

I planned to use the computer with Windows 7, but I encountered two issues:

Upon installing the operating system, I discovered that Intel no longer provides graphics drivers for Windows 7; I was able to fix that issue by modifying a Windows 10 driver to work under Windows 7. Afterwards, everything seemed perfect, no crashes, no errors, no driver issues.

Later however, I discovered another issue, and this one I couldn't even diagnose, much less fix: the CPU is a dual-core with hyperthreading, so it is regarded by the OS as having 4 logical cores. However, although it does recognize the 4 logical cores, it only utilizes 3 at any given moment, with the 4th core at idle.

The issue does not present under Windows 10 or several Linux based operating systems. I also ran a stress test under Windows 7, and all 4 cores went and stood at 100% load throughout the test.

Other than the modified driver, I used the drivers provided with the motherboard; I mention this, even though I would rule out the modified driver as the cause, since the issue manifests even before installing anything other than the OS.

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 minutes ago, Miroiu Crinu said:

I also ran a stress test under Windows 7, and all 4 cores went and stood at 100% load throughout the test.

So if a stress test can use all the cores its it a problem?
 

ALso run a supported os, it will fix these issues. Id stay far away from windows 7 these days.

[Miroiu Crinu]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

So if a stress test can use all the cores its it a problem?
 

ALso run a supported os, it will fix these issues. Id stay far away from windows 7 these days.

It is not a problem, just curious. It implies that the operating system can in fact utilize all cores, it just doesn't do it for some reason.

Also, MSI provides Windows 7 drivers for this motherboard, so I assume it is supported. Also, Intel did provide Windows 7 drivers for that cpu, specifically via the h310 chipset, but the video drivers were no longer available for download.

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, Miroiu Crinu said:

It is not a problem, just curious. It implies that the operating system can in fact utilize all cores, it just doesn't do it for some reason.

Also, MSI provides Windows 7 drivers for this motherboard, so I assume it is supported. Also, Intel did provide Windows 7 drivers for that cpu, specifically via the h310 chipset, but the video drivers were no longer available for download.

well microsoft and intel doens't support windows 7 with that hardware.

 

Also windows 7 has a lot of security issues that will never get patched, and win 7 can't take full advantage of the hardware either.

[SlashedM]

36 minutes ago, Miroiu Crinu said:

Also, MSI provides Windows 7 drivers for this motherboard, so I assume it is supported. Also, Intel did provide Windows 7 drivers for that cpu, specifically via the h310 chipset, but the video drivers were no longer available for download.

I've seen things come out that support XP 2y ago. Usually things can easily support windows 7, 8(.1), and 10 at the same time because of the kernel (I forget which part of the OS is related to each other). But you should move to Windows 10. Like my laptop (i5-7200U and 940MX) can use Windows 7, but it isn't much of a good idea because some parts will not be updated for Win 7.