CPU Core Parking in Windows

[Torand]

So, I came across this nifty little application (thanks to a YouTube gamer, rivaLxfactor);

 

http://www.coderbag.com/Programming-C/Disable-CPU-Core-Parking-Utility

 

It modifies the registry to disable core parking in Windows 7/8.

 

 

 

See @SkilledRebuilds post \/ DOWN \/ the page, but this application is better:

 

http://bitsum.com/ab...ore_parking.php

 

 

 

Now, I know there is a known issue, in which you can try to pry a Windows 7 multi-core patch from Microsoft as Logan did. But with parking, I am skeptical of a possible performance gain by applying the 'fix', especially on i7 systems.

 

I mean, with modern technology and how Windows 7 manages resources, I would assume that the N core is parked for a reason, as its not in use, save a little power here and there. It should then, presumably when called, jump into action anyway, not causing an issue. People are claiming significant FPS increases from this, take BF4 for example; a 10-20 FPS increase may be achieved using this registry patch (although I presume this is on older dual/quad cores or low end i3 config's with hyperthreading, where you want to squeeze all you can out of what you have.)

 

Certainly on the Intel side, with hyper threading, the process in which the cores interact are on an individual basis, thus not having an issue with other cores being in a low power, dormant state. AMD however, according to the article, may have a small issue on parking as the cores are known to 'stutter' as they wait for their counterpart to switch back on, take CPU 0 waiting for 1 for example. Generalising wholesomely on both parts for the sake of TL:DR.

 

You can see what cores are parked in Windows 7 by opening up task manager, under the performance tab by clicking performance monitor at the bottom of the window. Under the cpu tab, in performance monitor, look at the core usage on the right, it will have the text 'parked' next to the N core and be grey'd out if you currently have any parked cores.

 

Windows 8 doesn't have the same methods of managing the CPU (it appears) and it doesn't have, in the same way as 7, parking (in its essence.)

 

 

 

What is your opinion on this patch, will it make a difference to performance? Is it worth it at the cost of extra power for leaving the cores 'on' all the time?

 

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

I actually saw a 10-15 FPS increase on my 3770k in BF4.

 

Impressive!

 

Went from 75~ up to 90~ so i ramped it up to ultra, still above 80!

[Levent]

lol apperantly i have 3 "parked" cores on my 3570k imma test it out and see if it makes a difference

Okay now i looked at the source code and app searches regedit for IsParked and if its there in anything related or not related to windows itself it just changes value and that doesnt seems reliable to me...

Edited November 4, 2013 by Levent

[Scottonpc]

I'm interested in this as well, just watched his video and I'm surprised I have not found out about this . Is there a down side to this? I have an I7 2600k. 

[Artorias]

I came across this when I was modding my Skyrim for the RealVision ENB and it really didn't help my CPU to use all it's power.

[Guest Gazzer96]

I have done this ages ago, but I turned off parking in the registry instead of using a program.

[Analog]

I had already disabled C States is BIOS, however after "unparking" two of my core I still gained 10fps-15fps in BF4. Average fps are now around 85fps, coming from 72fps. It may cause higher power consumption, but I don't care if my rig is drawing 30W more. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

I have a program that does this, without restarts or registry edits...

I thought more people knew about this, Its one of the things you SHOULD do on desktops after windows installation.

Its great for notebooks/laptops to save battery, but meaningless and negatively affecting on desktops.

 

MIN/AVG FPS will Rise, which is GREAT, MaxFps takes a very small hit, which means nothing as you never see your MAX fps as your average..

Bench Tombraider with Parked VS Unparked, while games may use 2-4 cores, if it doesnt "load" them that heavily, and you have 8 cores,.. it will only use 2-4.

Keeping it enabled will load your first cores more, and keep the last ones off, until HEAVILY used. ie: Core1234 hit 100% then Core5678 will unpark and load will then be evened out.

Disabling core parking evens the load across all CPU's regardless of the load percentage.

All Good Stuff.

 

ParkControl - Does not need restart, shows options in Win7 Advanced power settings, instantly applied, good for comparisons.

http://bitsum.com/about_cpu_core_parking.php

[Analog]

I have a program that does this, without restarts or registry edits...

I thought more people knew about this, Its one of the things you SHOULD do on desktops after windows installation.

Its great for notebooks/laptops to save battery, but meaningless and negatively affecting on desktops.

 

MIN/AVG FPS will Rise, which is GREAT, MaxFps takes a very small hit, which means nothing as you never see your MAX fps as your average..

Bench Tombraider with Parked VS Unparked, while games may use 2-4 cores, if it doesnt "load" them that heavily, and you have 8 cores,.. it will only use 2-4.

Keeping it enabled will load your first cores more, and keep the last ones off, until HEAVILY used. ie: Core1234 hit 100% then Core5678 will unpark and load will then be evened out.

Disabling core parking evens the load across all CPU's regardless of the load percentage.

All Good Stuff.

 

ParkControl - Does not need restart, shows options in Win7 Advanced power settings, instantly applied, good for comparisons.

http://bitsum.com/about_cpu_core_parking.php

 

I'll try this one as well.

[Torand]

I actually saw a 10-15 FPS increase on my 3770k in BF4.

 

Impressive!

 

Went from 75~ up to 90~ so i ramped it up to ultra, still above 80!

[Analog]

I actually saw a 10-15 FPS increase on my 3770k in BF4.

 

Impressive!

 

Went from 75~ up to 90~ so i ramped it up to ultra, still above 80!

 

Yeah, exactly 10-15FPS more. My average FPS are around 85-90 on ultra with 4xAA.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Coreparking disabled gains - up to 25% FPS gains (Usually 5-15%)

Win7 to Win8/.1 - up to 30% FPS gains (Usually 15%)

 

If both of these are implemented and work to the best of the ability, thats some huge performance gain.

[chromeboy42]

I never knew about this. Will this help games not optimized for multi-core? For instance Kerbal Space Program?

[SkilledRebuilds]

I never knew about this. Will this help games not optimized for multi-core? For instance Kerbal Space Program?

What you do is download parkcontrol (does not require restart)

Disable CP'ing,..use fraps's benchmark for 60s runthrough.

Enable CP'ing, do the same again the same way.

 

Compare results knowing that there WILL still be a percent of variability in the results due to them not being exactly the same runs.

[chromeboy42]

What you do is download parkcontrol (does not require restart)

Disable CP'ing,..use fraps's benchmark for 60s runthrough.

Enable CP'ing, do the same again the same way.

 

Compare results knowing that there WILL still be a percent of variability in the results due to them not being exactly the same runs.

Thanks, I'll try that when I get home.

[TheMissxu]

I saw a hefty improvment in Planetside 2 when I used this.