For some of us struggling to get better performance, we have chosen to upgrade (or already had) a newer AMD processor. For those whom are running Windows 7, then this is something that you should look at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2646060 I committed to purchasing a new FX-8350 and did see some performance increases in the game (up from a Phenom X4). Because I did not get the results expected, I overclocked it to 4.6Ghz; but the gains were not worth the additional heat to the system. New issues arose when the game would have random drops in FPS but quickly recover (almost like what happens when you drop pod into a large battle at the crown or similar). The noticed these 'random drops' were directly related to the periods when Windows 7 would park/unpark CPUs, hence only running on 4 cores at a time. So I did some research and found that Microsoft has not released a permanent fix for the new 8 core architecture. See article above. After applying this fix, I'm running at a very tolerable 40fps constant in large battles (up from 25-30fps), without any overclock of the cpu. Although the game responds much better, the game is still contrained by the cpu, not the gpu. Note: This is not a fix for the optimization, but it relieves an additional hurdle that cripples the AMD users in Windows 7. Hope this helps.
I wonder if this will work for people who have already unparked their cores? I'll get back to you with the results. I too am running an FX-8350 and while performance hasn't been bad, I'm always happy to get more.
I would guess not. Unparking your cores like what people do now completely removes power saving features, even at light loads including idle. However I believe it can be reversed to re-enable power saving. However Microsoft's version has a slightly better method. Power saving features are still enabled, however the computer is less likely to use power saving modes. " Bulldozer modules will be less likely to achieve the C6 power state". So I'm guessing the waiting time to park cores is much higher. However while on light loads, or idle the cores will park. I believe this is a better version, however it can not be reversed. "If you apply this update, you cannot revert the settings by uninstalling this update" This also doesn't seem to be the final version. They may bring out another in the future to hopefully make it more effective.
I wonder if this can help with my Phenom X6 1055t. It would be nice to get Planetside 2 using 4 of my 6 cores at the least, although I may be GPU limited because of my 9800 GTX+ sometimes.
Wtf, so I have an AMD-FX 8350 and it says this hotfix doesn't apply to my computer when I try to download it... anyone else getting that?
weird-- I was able to use this on my fx-4350 edit: try getting this first: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2645594
Just downloaded it, have to restart comp for it to take effect... I'll tell you how it works once I install the hotfix that the OP listed! Thanks!
The core parking/unparking is the only way for microsoft to acheive C6 power state, which I believe is mandated to save energy. My cores were unlocked/unparked in Bios and windows 7 continued to only use 4 cores before applying this hotfix. As far as heat management, with all 8 cores operating, one would expect to have a few more degrees at the MB. But since I have applied this hotfix, overclocking is still possible (although not really necessary) with proper heat sink. There is a hotfix that is a prerequisite to applying this one: 2645594 This should apply to all FX platform cores. Let me know how it goes!
I'm currently hitting around 72-75C gaming, 80C while folding with the 480 also folding., In cold weather it normally sits around 65-70C tops. But, so far this is the hottest weather the UK has had.
nice still safe temps, but i would constantly be worried anyway, just my personality =) i got a lucky chip, stable at 4.5 on 1.192 vcore
