ProcessAffinityMask settings | Forums

[gothkrieger]

Hi
Looking at adjusting my config.ini setting in regards to ProcessAffinityMask.

My basic system specs:

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.120411-1615)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: MEDIONPC
System Model: MS-7046
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 458MB used, 3439MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode


In my config ini file I have this:

[rts]
;ProcessAffinityMask=1
mouseUse=2

I believe the semicolon at start of the ProcessAffinityMask entry disables that line, yes?

My research has shown me this:

ProcessAffinityMask=0 System desides what Core(s) to use.
ProcessAffinityMask=1 use Core 1
ProcessAffinityMask=2 use Core 2
ProcessAffinityMask=3 use Core 1+2

(Note that in a most cases Core 1 is labeled as Core 0 by the System)

Anybody with knowledge on the proper setting for the system above, I would love to hear your recommedation. I believe my current ini entry is not doing me any good. I am not sure if I should dedicate a Core or Both or just leave it. Looking at tweaking my system get the most out of it.

Thanks

[Tully__]

IL2:1946 and earlier versions don't like sitting on multiple cores, so if yours is a dual core use 1 or 2. For the setting to work you'll need to delete the semi-colon ( ; ) at the start of the line before saving your choice. The semi-colon tells the game to ignore that line.
If setting it to 1 or 2 doesn't improve performance, put the semi-colon back in and let your computer decide how to handle it.

[gothkrieger]

Thanks

[MAXMHZ1959]

I would leave it commented - out (; at start of line).

ProcessAffinityMask=1 does NOT mean Processor 0 will only be used. It ONLY informs the OS IL-2 would LIKE to run on Processor 0.

No matter what ProcessAffinityMask is set to, the OS can override it at any time. This depends on what settings for Affinity and Priority other programs have running at the same time and how busy the processors are. If you set ProcessAffinityMask yourself, please realize you need to also set it for other processes. That's a HUGE task and it will never work perfectly because a system's workload is NOT EVER static.

You can also set ProcessAffinity and ProcessPriority through Window's TaskManager

Are you sure you have 2 Cores and not 1 core using Hyper Threading?

Check with CPU-Z

In rare cases it can be benificial to set ProcessAffinity and ProcessPriority yourself to reduce caching and let the same core re-use cached values.
Don't expect a large performance increase however.

[gothkrieger]

Thanks Max
that is quite the little program
as per your explanation I will leave it alone

I guess from both responses above, when I update my computer it will not matter so much how many cores it has but rather the fact the it is just basicly a faster processor, etc. system that will make the difference.

[Tully__]

Thanks Max
I guess from both responses above, when I update my computer it will not matter so much how many cores it has but rather the fact the it is just basicly a faster processor, etc. system that will make the difference.

For IL2:1946, yes. Some newer games and applications do make use of multiple cores (Cliffs of Dover for one example) and will benefit from more cores. Also, if you have multiple single core applications running on a multi core machine you can see significant benefits over an otherwise similar single core machine as the operating system should spread the tasks around the cores. This means in theory that utilities such as Teamspeak should impact game performance less than on a single core machine.

[x6BL_Brando]

The faster processor always helps as do extra cores, but I've found after years of playing with PAM settings that it's best to just leave the job to Windows.

Here's an example of how more cores help. My previous CPU was a 4 core Phenom running at 3.8GHz.
IL2-46 was very smooth as you would expect - but I still needed to draw the blinds in my sunny room to make my TrackIR function accurately. But since I upgraded to a 6 core FX CPU running @ 3.6GHz I have been able to play in full daylight! I haven't altered any settings in the TiR software - or moved any equipment around - the software just functions better.
Note that the CPU frequency is actually lower on the new setup - ergo, it's the extra cores that are making the difference.

B

[MAXMHZ1959]

Actually more cores are useful to IL-2 Sturmovik 1946. IL-2 uses a minimum of 7 threads. It is not optimized for multi-processor systems, but multiple cores do handle it more effectively.

You can check this with PrcView

There are always hundreds of threads running on any Windows system.

Apart from that, IL-2 is partly written in Java. Java can run up to 256 threads easy.

Multi-threaded optimized applications are rarer than you think. Even if it is optimized, it is most likely optimized for 4 cores maximum. Photoshop and other Adobe products are examples.