ADVANCED USERS - Improve KSP performance on Intel CPUs with HyperThreading

[Artophwar]

You will lose more than you will gain form turning off Hyperthreading. Especially if you just do it for one game to gain 1% performance. Other programs and Windows itself will run worse.

[JacaByte]

My Arrandale i5 has hyper-threading, but I doubt it affects game performance at all.

Hyper-threading works adding additional silicon to the CPU; the CPU has a set of "physical" cores, each with all the digital logic they need to perform all the nicks and nacks Intel wants them to perform, and then a "logical" core for each physical core, which only have the digital logic they need to meet the minimum feature set dictated by the CPU's architecture. To the operating system process allocation to all these cores is done seamlessly, but only if the operating system knows how to handle the extra cores and if there are multiple threads to be allocated by the operating system. If the operating system only has one thread that needs processing only one of the cores will process it. For a single threaded application a physical core would definitely be used.

That said, there are probably little to no real world benefits to turning off hyper-threading. A scientific comparison between hyper-threading and non-hyper-threading comparing frame rates and responsiveness needs to be done before any other conclusions are drawn.

Edit:

It worked for me

Allow me to direct your attention to the placebo effect.

Edited June 21, 2013 by JacaByte

[1096bimu]

Intel must have revised it since I owned a P4 HT then because it definitely used to lock out at 50% on a P4. I apologise for the mis-information.

As for if it makes a difference, I've also used HT Atoms (D410 in my case - single core with HT) and got significant speed gains from single-threaded tasks by using them in Uni-core vs. HT mode (for those sad enough to care I was running DEC VAX emulations on it which peg the CPU at 100% when you are compiling code inside the emulator or bootstrapping the OS or really doing anything that would use a lot of CPU cycles on a VAX). With all the background crap running in Windows it effectively allows KSP to shove everything else off one core and get it to itself and make Windows cope using the other 3 cores, surely? Because of the screwed up way Windows prioritises processes it's entirely possible with HT that something with a higher CPU priority can barge in and take CPU cycles off the core that's trying to run KSP. I've noticed this happen several times on my system and it's not just KSP glitching.

Anyway, I definitely noticed a significant positive difference in speed. I played it all evening (about 3 hours on and off). Explain that how you will but it seems like too much of a coincidence to me Like I said, it's experimental stuff, try it, if it works then great, if you don't think it makes a difference turn it back on again. Ultimately the Unity engine really needs pushing to multi-thread and 64-bit, but I guess that's out of Squad's hands.

1096bimu I can read stuff in non-bold normal sized text but thanks for the visual aid I don't post stuff unless I've tested it and think it's genuinely useful. If you don't agree then I'm sorry, feel free to ignore the thread. As for the disclaimer? I'm just covering my arse against people who try it, screw something up, then try and peg the blame on me. I speak from bitter experience, sadly.

It has nothing to do with opinions or whether I agree with you. It is about cold hard facts that could be objectively tested in terms of FPS. Hyperthreading has always worked like this since it was first introduced in P4, it was never like how you thought it was. You have been completely and utterly wrong.

Edited June 21, 2013 by 1096bimu

[1096bimu]

Argue it out if you must. It worked for me (quantifiable improvement, no voodoo involved), it might not work for others. I'm done here.

I may yet ask for this thread to be deleted because a helpful suggestion has basically turned into a mud-throwing match, which wasn't my intention.

It does not work for others, and it does not work for you. You are fooling nobody except yourself.

[1096bimu]

1) It was possible it might have helped, not guaranteed.

2) A lot of people don't use computers for much else that the web and light gaming, and won't know what the hell a BIOS is at all. Stop assuming everyone does. And besides, people are on these forums and in this thread because want to play KSP. KSP isn't on consoles.

3) > might be a possible cure

> purely experimental

> some people's

He isn't wasting anyone time or spreading crap, He said several times in the OP that it may not work and never said you MUST do it.

Sit down and shut up.

1) nope it was never possible because it doesn't help ANY other application likewise. completely guaranteed.

2) It's written in plain English, even if you didn't know you could figure it out no problem first time. imagine how power users who don't read English overclock their machines.

3) computers are completely predictable machines, the exact same set up will ALWAYS produce the exact same results. There is no such thing as it MAY work. It WILL work or it WILL NOT work. If it doesn't work then it will never work, plain and simple.

[1096bimu]

i could test it but i am with i5, so no BIOS modifying for me, this is also interesting experiment and idea i would try myself, and certain people really should control themselves KSP community is the tolerant and intelligent one.

I hope the OP doesn't think he is intelligent because he knows how to disable HT from his BIOS.

I also hope he doesn't think he is intelligent when he has no idea how the scientific method works, and what is meant by the phrase "self confirmation bias", or for that matter, even the word "bias".

I guess I wouldn't have bothered as much if he didn't have those laughable assumptions.

[John FX]

I hope the OP doesn't think he is intelligent because he knows how to disable HT from his BIOS.

I also hope he doesn't think he is intelligent when he has no idea how the scientific method works, and what is meant by the phrase "self confirmation bias", or for that matter, even the word "bias".

I guess I wouldn't have bothered as much if he didn't have those laughable assumptions.

Wow, what an unpleasant person. Whether you are right or wrong, you sound like a *"?! when you personalise things like that...

four posts in a row highlighting just what a terrible person you are.

[Kasuha]

Okay I see it has been said but let's say it once more.

Hyperthreading will not reduce your KSP performance. If KSP is the only CPU-intensive process running on your PC, it will have the same performance regardless whether you have Hyperthreading on or off.

Running multiple CPU-intensive tasks together with KSP will reduce your KSP performance regardless of whether you have hyperthreading on or off because the system will switch context to those other tasks one way or another.

[vexx32]

This discussion ended a very long time ago, and I really doubt you needed to resurrect it again just to make an off-topic post about how mean someone was being 5 months ago.

I don't think this needs to go any further. Locked.