Running other programs while running Prime95.

Neimanator · 2013-08-08, 20:17

Hey all! I just joined GIMPS a couple days ago and I'm trying to get my computer ready to start contributing to GIMPS. First off, I'm currently running an Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz processor. I recently overclocked my CPU to 4.6 GHz using 1.43 volts, still pending a stability check by running Prime95 for 24 hrs.

My question is, I'm a pretty involved gamer.

1. Can I run Prime95 to contribute to GIMPS (not for the stress test) while I run other intensive programs and games?

2. Will running other programs affect the results of Prime95 or the speed at which it can run its tests?

Any information will be helpful as I'd like to start contributing soon! Thanks!

kladner · 2013-08-08, 21:28

1) You can run other programs. Prime 95 is supposed to defer to almost anything else in execution priority. There is a notable exception in Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom. These take a big hit unless you configure P95 to pause some workers. See undoc.txt and search for 'PauseWhileRunning'.

2) Yes. See above. P95 will soak up all available CPU cycles, but is supposed to be very low priority. Certain functions (e.g.:P-1 factoring) need substantial physical memory to run to best effect. This memory will not necessarily be yielded immediately to other programs unless the worker using it pauses.

There are others here who can, and probably will, give more extensive answers.

kracker · 2013-08-08, 23:05

I have found in gaming, performance is reduced, you may temporarily want to pause Prime95 while playing(which is easy).

TheMawn · 2013-08-09, 00:38

I can confirm a small gaming performance hit despite the low priority. You can disable two workers and get back probably all of your gaming performance as any game that CAN take advantage of more than two cores usually does so more by accident than anything.

P95 isn't SUPPOSED to harm other performance but does so just a little bit anyway.

Is 1.43V anything to worry about?

kracker · 2013-08-09, 00:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

I can confirm a small gaming performance hit despite the low priority. You can disable two workers and get back probably all of your gaming performance as any game that CAN take advantage of more than two cores usually does so more by accident than anything.

P95 isn't SUPPOSED to harm other performance but does so just a little bit anyway.

Is 1.43V anything to worry about?

Really? Strange, I am getting a drop of 15 fps from ~50 to ~35's appr.

Neimanator · 2013-08-09, 01:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

I can confirm a small gaming performance hit despite the low priority. You can disable two workers and get back probably all of your gaming performance as any game that CAN take advantage of more than two cores usually does so more by accident than anything.

P95 isn't SUPPOSED to harm other performance but does so just a little bit anyway.

Is 1.43V anything to worry about?

I've reduced my clock to 4.6 GHz and 1.40V. I'm definitely concerned with the long-term degradation involved with increased voltage, but from what I've been reading it seems that 1.45V is really the maximum voltage you want to use with an i5-2500K Processor, so I've backed off a little bit from that value.

I'll definitely try gaming with all 4 cores working, and then I'll decrease down to 2 cores and then no cores working and see if I can notice a FPS increase. I'll keep you updated! :)

TheMawn · 2013-08-09, 04:07

Lol well I've been watching videos while mfaktc is running in the background so I might be seeing the world in 30 frames again :P

kracker · 2013-08-09, 04:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

Lol well I've been watching videos while mfaktc is running in the background so I might be seeing the world in 30 frames again :P

Lol well yeah have you compared GPU usage between watching videos and gaming?

(on another note Youtube is capped at 30 fps)

blahpy · 2013-08-09, 05:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

Lol well I've been watching videos while mfaktc is running in the background so I might be seeing the world in 30 frames again :P

Really? Does mfaktc let you do other things at the same time or something? Because I use mfakto (AMD GPU) and it sits at 99% GPU usage constantly and anything will run at <1fps. As a result I can only run it when I'm asleep or going out for a while

Xyzzy · 2013-08-09, 12:41

Quote:

As a result I can only run it when I'm asleep or going out for a while

http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=18088

blahpy · 2013-08-09, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=18088

Oh.

This is getting installed RIGHT NOW

2013-08-08, 20:17	#1
Neimanator "Mark Pettys" Aug 2013 Washington 2 Posts	Running other programs while running Prime95. Hey all! I just joined GIMPS a couple days ago and I'm trying to get my computer ready to start contributing to GIMPS. First off, I'm currently running an Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz processor. I recently overclocked my CPU to 4.6 GHz using 1.43 volts, still pending a stability check by running Prime95 for 24 hrs. My question is, I'm a pretty involved gamer. 1. Can I run Prime95 to contribute to GIMPS (not for the stress test) while I run other intensive programs and games? 2. Will running other programs affect the results of Prime95 or the speed at which it can run its tests? Any information will be helpful as I'd like to start contributing soon! Thanks!

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2013-08-08, 21:28	#2
kladner "Kieren" Jul 2011 In My Own Galaxy! 2×3×1,693 Posts	1) You can run other programs. Prime 95 is supposed to defer to almost anything else in execution priority. There is a notable exception in Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom. These take a big hit unless you configure P95 to pause some workers. See undoc.txt and search for 'PauseWhileRunning'. 2) Yes. See above. P95 will soak up all available CPU cycles, but is supposed to be very low priority. Certain functions (e.g.:P-1 factoring) need substantial physical memory to run to best effect. This memory will not necessarily be yielded immediately to other programs unless the worker using it pauses. There are others here who can, and probably will, give more extensive answers.

2013-08-08, 23:05	#3
kracker "Mr. Meeseeks" Jan 2012 California, USA 3²×241 Posts	I have found in gaming, performance is reduced, you may temporarily want to pause Prime95 while playing(which is easy).

2013-08-09, 00:38	#4
TheMawn May 2013 East. Always East. 11010111111₂ Posts	I can confirm a small gaming performance hit despite the low priority. You can disable two workers and get back probably all of your gaming performance as any game that CAN take advantage of more than two cores usually does so more by accident than anything. P95 isn't SUPPOSED to harm other performance but does so just a little bit anyway. Is 1.43V anything to worry about?

2013-08-09, 04:07	#7
TheMawn May 2013 East. Always East. 11·157 Posts	Lol well I've been watching videos while mfaktc is running in the background so I might be seeing the world in 30 frames again :P