Dual Xeon Help

I would like to setup 2 copies of prime95 - as mentioned in the readme.txt
Prime95 is currently only using 25% of my cpu.
I need help on setting this up.
I don't know how to set the -A1 command line option.(don't know how to use command line options - at all)
What are the best settings in prime.ini (I want to push it to the max)
Below is a summary of my system.

Processor
Model : 2x Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 3.20GHz
Speed : 3.20GHz
Performance Rating : PR8512 (estimated)
Number of CPU Cores : 2 Unit(s)
SMT Support : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 1MB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector, 2 threads sharing

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 2 CPU(s)
MP APIC : Yes
System BIOS : AT/AT COMPATIBLE
Total Memory : 2GB ECC DDR-SDRAM Registered

Chipset 1
Model : Super Micro Computer Inc E752x Memory Controller Hub Control Registers
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 2GB ECC DDR-SDRAM Registered
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 166MHz (332MHz data rate)

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

Network Services
Adapter : Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection

Ok This is something that is very easy I will walk you though it step by step.

1. Locate prime95 folder (should be C:\programfiles\prime95)
2. Right click on prime95.exe
3. Select create shortcut
4. right click on the new shortcut
5. click rename
6. call it prime0
Good now that we have made the short cut we need to edit it.
7. Right click on the short cut and chose properties
A dialog box will appear we need to edit the target line
8. target should show something like C:\program files\prime95\prime95.exe
9. add -A 0 to it this sets affinity to 0
10. now click apply and click ok
11. go to the program files folder we need to make a copy of the prime95 folder so right click on prime95
12. click copy
now to make the second part
13. right click on a blank space in program files and click paste
14. a new folder called "Copy Of Prime95" will appear
15. Right click on the new copy and click rename\
16. call it prime951
17. Next open the folder there will be the copy of the short cut we made now we need to rename it so right click and chose rename call it prime1
18. we need to edit this one also make sure it points to the new folder prime951 and after prime95.exe put -A1
19. Now we need to make a script to start it so open up the notepad.
20. enter in it the location for the first prime folder so on the first line enter without quotes
"C:\Program Files\prime95\prime0.exe"
on the next line enter
"C:\Program Files\prime951\prime1.exe"
21. now we need to save it as a bat so click saveas and then chose a name and make shure you have .bat at the end under it there will be a drop down that has .txt and all files chose all files and then click save but save it to the C: drive just right there
22. now right click on it and drag it to the start menu then drag it up to programs and then a folder called startup this will start prime95 on startup let go once its in start up and click copy here.
thats it all easy 22 steps post if there are any problems and welcome to the party ;)

Sorry forgot to say who it was it was moo ;)

[PhilF]

Sorry moo, that won't work.

When you set the -A1 option on the command line, it causes Prime95 to use different names for the save files and ini files. This means you can (and should) run the two copies of Prime95 from the same folder. Also, setting -A0 or -A1 on the command line does not set the processor affinity.

So euphrus, what you need to do is:

Right click on the Prime 95 icon, and choose "Create Shortcut"

This will create a 2nd Prime95 icon on your desktop. Right click on this 2nd icon, and choose "Properties". The "Target" field is the command line. Simply add a space and "-A1" (without the quotes) to the end of the command line.

Then you should run each copy of Prime95, and set the processor affinity (using the Prime95 "Advanced" pull down menu) on one Prime95 to zero, and set the affinity on the other Prime95 to one.

That's it! You should now have two Prime95's that operate independently of each other.

[delta_t]

Another way is to do it as a service (so you don't need to be logged in) in WinXP and 2000.

Make two folders, each with a seperate Prime95 program (no changing of names required). I have mine as:
C:\Prime95\CPU0
C:\Prime95\CPU1

Start up the Prime95 in CPU0 as you usually would, fill in the information, and remember to set Affinity to 0. Also check the box that says "Start at bootup". You are now done with this instance.

Copy the local.ini from CPU0 folder to the CPU1 folder.
Add these lines to it (will set up the second service).
ServiceName=Prime95 Service 2
DisplayName=Prime95 Service 2
Start up Prime95 in CPU1, fill in the information, and remember to set the Affinity to 1, set "Start at bootup". You are now done.

You may need to adjust your RAM settings so you aren't allocating more RAM (when two instances of Prime95 are running) than you physically have.

When you reboot both instances of Prime95 will come up as a service.

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by euphrus

Prime95 is currently only using 25% of my cpu.

After you have it running on your two physical CPUs, it may appear to be using only 50%, but that's only because of hyperthreading and is normal. Prime95 will be using 100% of your physical CPUs, but none of your virtual CPUs -- system monitors routinely treat this case as being a 50% load overall.

I got it working.
The original / first was the install file (it is running at startup via the service)

I could not install the program again.
Therefore, I downloaded the Zip file, but had to copy a shortcut to the startup folder.

I also added programs for cpu2(3rd cpu) and cpu3(4th cpu).
This displays my system running at 100%.
Is it OK to set this up for the logical and physical processors?

[delta_t]

Originally Posted by euphrus

I got it working.
The original / first was the install file (it is running at startup via the service)

I could not install the program again.
Therefore, I downloaded the Zip file, but had to copy a shortcut to the startup folder.

I also added programs for cpu2(3rd cpu) and cpu3(4th cpu).
This displays my system running at 100%.
Is it OK to set this up for the logical and physical processors?

Good you got it working. You could still do what I mentioned to make the second instance a service as well, instead of a shortcut to the startup file. The service method starts both instances even when you aren't logged in. The method you have now only starts one Prime95 instance, the second is started when you log on.

You should only run an instance of Prime95 on the physical processors, not the virtual (HyperThreading) ones. These are CPU0 and CPU1. CPU2 and CPU3 are the virtual processors. On HyperThreading CPU's 50% utilization is actually using the full processor.

See for yourself. Take a look at the times of CPU0 and CPU1. Now stop CPU2 and CPU3, and you should see the times go to half of what they were.

I added
ServiceName=Prime95 Service 2
DisplayName=Prime95 Service 2
to the ini file and restarted, but nothing happened.
When I reboot, only the initial one (original one) launches.
Could this be because the additional ones were from a Zip and not the installer version?

[delta_t]

Originally Posted by euphrus

I added
ServiceName=Prime95 Service 2
DisplayName=Prime95 Service 2
to the ini file and restarted, but nothing happened.
When I reboot, only the initial one (original one) launches.
Could this be because the additional ones were from a Zip and not the installer version?

You added this to the local.ini of the second installation right? It wouldn't matter if it was from the Zip version.

Check to see if the service is registered. Start->Control Panel->Administrator Services->Services.
Look for:
Prime 95 Service (this is your first instance).
Prime 95 Service 2 (this is your second instance).

Also, try this. On the second installation, deselect "Start at bootup" and stop the program and make sure you Exit. Restart the second installation and reselect "Start at bootup".

Hopefully when you reboot you'll have both instances running.

Good luck.

I am presently not at home.
I should be home in approx. 2 hours.
I will try it then.

Another question -
I coulnd't find a measurement for Xeon Processors
Given the specs above
Compared to a regular P4 how do they compare for use in Prime95