Quad Core Intel Q6600 Idle Issue

[Abomb97]

I just decided to upgrade my PT rig the other day when the price of a Q6600 dropped to $195 on Newegg.

My old setup had a Core 2 Duo 6700 as its CPU and I was quite happy running at 64 buffer and tons of plugins and tracks without issue.

So I just popped in the quad core Intel Q6600 a few hours ago and opened some sessions that I have been working on this week on the other chip and wasnt that impressed so far. Might even have noticed a little poorer response in PT.

When I closed the sessions, I noticed that PT still idles the CPU at around 25%. Whats up with that? Is there a fix? What should I do? I might switch back to the E6700.

Thanks,
J


My Rig:
Windows XP Pro SP2 (26 Processes Running)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6700
ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard
SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
LITE-ON 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model LH-18A1P-185
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel,SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
A couple Seagate internal SATA 3 drives and a ton of external drives


UPDATE: Just to summarize what we all know now:

1. Many people are experiencing an artifical load on the idle CPU as we increase from two cores.
2. Effecting the idle CPU level with no session open is only attainable by reducing core number allocation or increasing the playback buffer.
3. This is a software anomaly and does not pertain to the OS (Same results in both XP & OSX).
4. Performance has been noted to decrease for users when utilizing more than two cores in low latencies.

[mykhal c]

I just decided to upgrade my PT rig the other day when the price of a Q6600 dropped to $195 on Newegg.

My old setup had a Core 2 Duo 6700 as its CPU and I was quite happy running at 64 buffer and tons of plugins and tracks without issue.

So I just popped in the quad core Intel Q6600 a few hours ago and opened some sessions that I have been working on this week on the other chip and wasnt that impressed so far. Might even have noticed a little poorer response in PT.

When I closed the sessions, I noticed that PT still idles the CPU at around 25%. Whats up with that? Is there a fix? What should I do? I might switch back to the E6700.

Thanks,
J


My Rig:
Windows XP Pro SP2 (26 Processes Running)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6700
ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard
SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
LITE-ON 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model LH-18A1P-185
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel,SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
A couple Seagate internal SATA 3 drives and a ton of external drives

i'm not familiar with your mobo but just want to make sure your bios is seein' the newer proc correctly...all 4 cores?? if not then i'd say look into a more recent bios for the mobo. also did any settings in the bios get changed when you popped in the new cpu?? somethin' maybe reset to a default setting???

[groovatious]

Have you installed the Microsoft Dual Core Hotfix?

[Abomb97]

Thanks for the speedy replies...

My BIOS sees the chip just fine when booting up. I updated the BIOS before upgrading the chip.

As far as the Hotfix goes... I never had a problem with my Dual Core 6700 (that I was aware of ). All cores are seen to be active in the Task Manager.

In messing around with the buffer settings and the number of processors assigned to the RTAS engine, I noticed when reducing the number of CPUs or increasing the buffer, the idle CPU usage decreased. This is when no session is open but PT is running of course.

[Abomb97]

Just tried to record a fresh session using a template that I used all week on another band. It couldnt hang. It would stop recording after 30 seconds. I tried setting the RTAS engine to 2 and then 4 CPU's at 64 buffer with the same results more or less.

I am thinking about sending the Quad back and keeping the Dual.

Am I missing something?

[mykhal c]

also check the BEST CORE 2 thread, page 1 and check the bios settings that sunburst has listed and cross check them with yours. my guess is 'something' got reset in the bios when you installed the new proc. but just my guess

[mano111]

As far as the Hotfix goes... I never had a problem with my Dual Core 6700 (that I was aware of ). All cores are seen to be active in the Task Manager

Try installing the hotfix regardless of whether or not it was ok before. This is a MUST fix that has bearing on idle usage like you have. It only takes a few minuets .

[Abomb97]

I installed the Hotfix. I dont see any changes to the system in either XP or Pro Tools (7.4cs3 by the way)

I checked the BIOS and it seems to be on par with the setting outlined in the post you mentioned. I wonder if I should just send this chip back and pay a little more for the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz with 1333MHz FSB & 45 nm Yorkfield.

I cant seem to find anything in seaching this forum about quad users with this issue.

[mykhal c]

I installed the Hotfix. I dont see any changes to the system in either XP or Pro Tools (7.4cs3 by the way)

I checked the BIOS and it seems to be on par with the setting outlined in the post you mentioned. I wonder if I should just send this chip back and pay a little more for the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz with 1333MHz FSB & 45 nm Yorkfield.

I cant seem to find anything in seaching this forum about quad users with this issue.

maybe just a bad proc?? seems like you've done everything to ensure things bein' set up properly...ie..updated the bios, installed the hotfix, checked bios settings, etc. the only thing i can say is that the Q6600 has been nothin' but ROCK SOLID in all of the builds that other DUC'ers have done. is SPEED STEP disabled???

[Abomb97]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. As strange as a "bad" processor would be while still functioning otherwise.

I definitely have speed step disabled. Nothing has changed on my system except for the CPU. My last one was rock sold, even overclocked, and rant PT like a monster. I will try and get a screen shot pulled together.