Hi MADe,
I finally figured out how to code into the cmd command line in my AHIII shortcuts the syntax to not only have Windows to assign the CPU core affinity selection I have chosen when AHIII process is executed but also to have Windows assign AHIII running process high priority on top of this w\ a single click of my trackball so the game operation will get pushed to the forefront of Windows process management.......I found this also makes a difference w\ how AHIII runs as now it's threads will be getting elevated priority from the OS vs the rest of the running processes (higher thread priority ranking)......once I did this I noticed that a lot of the cloud flickering in-game ceased on my box and the game performance smoothed out even more w\o any loss in other areas of operation. Maybe it's a placebo effect, maybe it ain't............. The results I'm seeing are definately real.
Have to say, the game is getting more enjoyable and exciting for me to play since doing all this...............
Skuzzy said this was just testing MS's ability to multithread. I think MS's multithreading technique sux's. Strictly a crisis management approach. So much of windows is about management of mobile devices, power consumption, blah blah blah. A desktop PC suffers from this! Following the msi graphs shows where core handoffs occur and those resulted in a glitch. If ms is just gonna handoff when a core gets overloaded................... ..........day late and a dollar short...........
Well after doing a lot of studying up on all this I can understand the reasoning to a certain degree as to why both MS and HTC have done what they have done........... The CPU cores aren't being overloaded per se, it's a side effect of the way in which they're being managed by the OS is what's causing the congestation to a few number of the CPU cores relative to the whole set of cores available.
For MS to write the logic into the OS to actually monitor then make these kinds of optimizations to optimize certain running processes to be used at the consumer level would be very tedious at best for little to no gain monetary wise (MS has already done some similar coding to do this.......it's active in the server-class versions of Windows OS's where it makes far more sense.....and money to boot.....to provide\use this complex of code algorithims) and for HTC to go thru hoops to write into the AHIII client all the coding to instruct the OS to optimize AHIII for each operational scenario, computer configuration being used\perceived to be used to run their software which would make the game client be overly complex and wouldn't run well on lesser systems due to the complexity causing issues so this was kept simple on the OS side to accomodate as many software developers as possible to achieve widespread adoption.....but w\ enough sophistication written in the OS for a software developer to make use of if they so desire.
So does it work as it is? The answer is yes. Can it work optimally as it is currently being used? Depending on the app\game being run, not always but it works well enough for the vast majority of uses at the consumer level of computing.
The issue is the definition of what is considered to be optimum regarding this topic...............
So all you & I are doing is making manual application(s) to take advantage of what is already there to be taken advantage of to help AHIII run better......
I'm also taking advantage of a method of setting all this up in a manner that automates the application(s) process w\ a single click of the mouse................
Where I see all this becoming useful is when a CPU that is equipped w\ more than 4 physical CPU cores on die is being used. This is what I discovered on the side from all my testing to try to find the cause of the screen pauses\freezes. It is these type CPU's that the consumer versions of Windows is really gonna have issues properly optimizing all of these cores unless the OS is revamped to improve thread management\optimization\utilization across them.......
I have always believed that once you understand how something works, you can then exploit it to it's fullest potential or to the fullest potential of your level of understanding. It's there to be had.....just depends on whether it's worth the effort to get it.
The more I read, study & learn the more exploitation I will be able to take advantage of..................
Enjoy!
