Multitasking

KenRC51 · Jan 5, 2011

I don't know if I'm asking this question in the right forum.

I have switched from Intel i7 930 to an AMD x6 1090t for photo editing but I some how find that the x6 runs a little bit slower than the intel.

For example, when I am playing stacraft 2(I some times play game while editing) and alt+tab to go back to windows or my Adobe CS5 it some times takes about 10-15 secs. On my intel only takes about 2 secs or less.

How come it takes so long when switching programs? Should I just stick to my Intel i7 930 for photo editing better?

My amd system consist of:
x6 1090t
asus corshair IV formula
corsair 8gb vengeance cas9
ocz vertex2 60 gb
2 wd 1tb raid mirrored

Intel system is listed on sig.

jazon1 · Jan 5, 2011

yea i would stick with the intel they seem much faster to me,my wife is running an x6 and my system is much faster at just about everything.

Dooms101 · Jan 5, 2011

Okay well Nahelems have much better memory bandwidth and usually beat out Deneb/Thuban's on a clock to clock comparison. If I were you I'd stick with the i7 because the higher memory bandwidth is very beneficial to photo-editing. Did you reinstall your OS when switching to your new system? (sorry if that seems a like a silly question but I've seen it too many times before).

KenRC51 · Jan 5, 2011

Dooms101 said:
Okay well Nahelems have much better memory bandwidth and usually beat out Deneb/Thuban's on a clock to clock comparison. If I were you I'd stick with the i7 because the higher memory bandwidth is very beneficial to photo-editing. Did you reinstall your OS when switching to your new system? (sorry if that seems a like a silly question but I've seen it too many times before).

Yes, I reinstalled os on both system.

ok, so my i7 is faster at stock but what if I oc my x6 to 4ghz? Would I notice a speed difference between the two then?

psionic98 · Jan 5, 2011

if you were to oc it vs stock instel, the x6 would perform faster.. however, if you oc the i7 to 4GHz and compare it to a 4GHz x6 the i7 would still pull ahead.. all in all the i7 is a workhorse

KenRC51 · Jan 5, 2011

psionic98 said:
if you were to oc it vs stock instel, the x6 would perform faster.. however, if you oc the i7 to 4GHz and compare it to a 4GHz x6 the i7 would still pull ahead.. all in all the i7 is a workhorse

Darn, I thought the x6 would be faster because of the extra core.

Dooms101 · Jan 5, 2011

Well a Thuban core does not perform as well as an Nahalem core. However if you had a heavily multi-threaded app like CS5 or something, than the Thuban's 6 cores would be a good advantage, however I think Intel's Hyper Thready tech would pretty much cancel that out.

KenRC51 · Jan 5, 2011

Dooms101 said:
Well a Thuban core does not perform as well as an Nahalem core. However if you had a heavily multi-threaded app like CS5 or something, than the Thuban's 6 cores would be a good advantage, however I think Intel's Hyper Thready tech would pretty much cancel that out.

Thats what I thought, that the 2 extra cores would help me multitask faster but I guess I was wrong. The x6 is fast when performing single programs but with other programs running I like my Intel i7 930 way better.

OMG, that means I have to switch some parts that out back into my Intel and reformat.

Pvt.Dancer · Jan 6, 2011

why not try an OC on the AMD and see if you like it before you go back. but the Intels always preform faster than the AMD's in Photo shop at stock because of the amount of threads they carry.

QuietIce · Jan 6, 2011

KenRC51 said:
How come it takes so long when switching programs?

A couple of things. First, is it the same video card?

Second, did you check to see if you're running dual-channel memory?
If you're in unganged mode you may want to switch to ganged.

Too bad CAS 9 was the best you could do for RAM.

Dooms101 said:
Okay well Nahelems have much better memory bandwidth and usually beat out Deneb/Thuban's on a clock to clock comparison.

What? To the point of having a switching delay 5-7 times longer?? I don't buy it. Something is not optimized, set right, or running right (don't ask me what, I haven't done Photoshop in years) or there's different hardware somewhere else in the system.

PS
How big is your page file with 8 Gb of RAM compared to 6 Gb?

Dooms101 · Jan 6, 2011

QuietIce said:
A couple of things. First, is it the same video card?

Second, did you check to see if you're running dual-channel memory?
If you're in unganged mode you may want to switch to ganged.

Too bad CAS 9 was the best you could do for RAM.

What? To the point of having a switching delay 5-7 times longer?? I don't buy it. Something is not optimized, set right, or running right (don't ask me what, I haven't done Photoshop in years) or there's different hardware somewhere else in the system.

PS
How big is your page file with 8 Gb of RAM compared to 6 Gb?

Okay well I think HT is really the only reason perform better clock to clock. But the triple channel ram does provide better performance than the dual.

QuietIce · Jan 6, 2011

Dooms101 said:
Okay well I think HT is really the only reason perform better clock to clock. But the triple channel ram does provide better performance than the dual.

You guys keep saying "better performance" like a stuck record. I'll tell you what, when my 5-year-old dual core starts taking 10-15 seconds to switch running programs I'm going to start looking for problems. If your machine starts doing that and you want to keep dragging along like it's 1998 you go right ahead.

PS
Here's your comparison (930 wasn't listed, I used 940). I can't even find a 50% difference and we're talking 500-750% here. Even a full 50% difference would only be one extra second, not 8-13 extra seconds.

Dooms101 · Jan 6, 2011

QuietIce said:
You guys keep saying "better performance" like a stuck record. I'll tell you what, when my 5-year-old dual core starts taking 10-15 seconds to switch running programs I'm going to start looking for problems. If your machine starts doing that and you want to keep dragging along like it's 1998 you go right ahead.

PS
Here's your comparison (930 wasn't listed, I used 940). I can't even find a 50% difference and we're talking 500-750% here. Even a full 50% difference would only be one extra second, not 8-13 extra seconds.

I wasn't applying it to this situation. That difference is huge. I was just saying in general. And by "better performing", I don't mean by a huge margin. The OP should probably try upgrading drivers or reinstalling his OS IMHO. My friend a few years ago insisted on keeping his original Windows install when switching to a completely different system and he experience nothing but problems, some of them similar to this. It doesn't seem like properly installed hardware would cause that big of a difference when you're comparing jut 2 slightly different CPUs.

OP: other than the CPU, what else is different of the two systems?

KenRC51 · Jan 7, 2011

QuietIce said:
A couple of things. First, is it the same video card?

Second, did you check to see if you're running dual-channel memory?
If you're in unganged mode you may want to switch to ganged.

Too bad CAS 9 was the best you could do for RAM.

What? To the point of having a switching delay 5-7 times longer?? I don't buy it. Something is not optimized, set right, or running right (don't ask me what, I haven't done Photoshop in years) or there's different hardware somewhere else in the system.

PS
How big is your page file with 8 Gb of RAM compared to 6 Gb?

I am using the same video card.

How do I check if I am running dual channel ganged?

What do you mean by page file?

Sorry for all these newbie questions, I am very new to this.

QuietIce · Jan 7, 2011

How do I check if I am running dual channel ganged?

If you look at the CPU-Z Memory tab in the upper right-hand corner you will see Channel (single/dual), Mode (ganged/unganged but only with dual-channel), and NB speed.

What do you mean by page file?

The page file is where Windows saves memory data to the HDD. It's a hidden file named "pagefile.sys" and is usually in the root of C:, but not always. Typically, Windows adjusts the size of the page file by the amount of RAM you have installed so more RAM means a bigger page file and more data being stored/accessed off the HDD (which also begs questions about the HDD's in the two systems and how Windows has allocated the page file(s)). I'm sorry, I have no experience with SSD's and don't know how Windows treats them.

I also seemed to have missed what OS you are using and if it is the same OS for both systems. That can effect many things, including page file behavior.

I'm just throwing things out there to look at. The performance differences between the two systems isn't sufficient to account for the radical difference you're seeing in behavior.

KenRC51 · Jan 7, 2011

QuietIce said:
If you look at the CPU-Z Memory tab in the upper right-hand corner you will see Channel (single/dual), Mode (ganged/unganged but only with dual-channel), and NB speed.

The page file is where Windows saves memory data to the HDD. It's a hidden file named "pagefile.sys" and is usually in the root of C:, but not always. Typically, Windows adjusts the size of the page file by the amount of RAM you have installed so more RAM means a bigger page file and more data being stored/accessed off the HDD (which also begs questions about the HDD's in the two systems and how Windows has allocated the page file(s)). I'm sorry, I have no experience with SSD's and don't know how Windows treats them.

I also seemed to have missed what OS you are using and if it is the same OS for both systems. That can effect many things, including page file behavior.

I'm just throwing things out there to look at. The performance differences between the two systems isn't sufficient to account for the radical difference you're seeing in behavior.

For both system I am using the same OS, Windows 7 professional. The only difference from both system is that Amd has 8gb corsair vengeance cas 9 1600, OCZ vertex2, and corsait 750hx watt, and Asus corshair IV formula. Intel has 6gb dominator cas8 1600, 150gb veliceraptor, corsair 850tx, and Intel DX58SO mobo. The rest is the same.

I will check the cupz and the pagefile when I get home from work.

The only thing I would think that would slow down my AMD is the ram difference from cas 8 to cas 9 but I don't think that it would make that much of a difference.

QuietIce · Jan 7, 2011

The RAM latency shouldn't make that much difference, no, but it will slow the system down.

The thing is, if Win7 is off-loading an extra 2-300 Mb to the HDD that can take awhile to get back into RAM when you switch programs.

Dooms101 · Jan 7, 2011

So... you AMD system with an SSD is doing this compared to an i7 with a raptor? I would expect the opposite to be true... This really seems like a software problem and not hardware.

Do you have TRIM support enabled? Are you using AHCI with your SSD? Did you update your SSD's firmware and perform a secure erase and a quick format? Have you checked that your OS install is properly aligned on your SSD? How full is your SSD (in percentage)?

Does you AMD system with the SSD boot up significantly faster than your i7 system (from when the "Loading Windows" pops up to the login/desktop)? Many times I have read of people not using their SSD's right (which is easy to do) and having similar problems. It can probably be fixed with a firmware update then secure erase (using OCZ Drive Tools) then a reinstall of Windows with a quick format with AHCI enabled, followed by other tips for SSD users in the Storage section.

KenRC51 · Jan 8, 2011

QuietIce said:
A couple of things. First, is it the same video card?

Second, did you check to see if you're running dual-channel memory?
If you're in unganged mode you may want to switch to ganged.

Too bad CAS 9 was the best you could do for RAM.

What? To the point of having a switching delay 5-7 times longer?? I don't buy it. Something is not optimized, set right, or running right (don't ask me what, I haven't done Photoshop in years) or there's different hardware somewhere else in the system.

PS
How big is your page file with 8 Gb of RAM compared to 6 Gb?

Ok so I checked my ram and they were not running at dual channel. So I switched the ram to a1 and b1 slots so now they are running at dual channel but it says ungauged. How do I change it to gauged?

Dooms101 said:
So... you AMD system with an SSD is doing this compared to an i7 with a raptor? I would expect the opposite to be true... This really seems like a software problem and not hardware.

Do you have TRIM support enabled? Are you using AHCI with your SSD? Did you update your SSD's firmware and perform a secure erase and a quick format? Have you checked that your OS install is properly aligned on your SSD? How full is your SSD (in percentage)?

Does you AMD system with the SSD boot up significantly faster than your i7 system (from when the "Loading Windows" pops up to the login/desktop)? Many times I have read of people not using their SSD's right (which is easy to do) and having similar problems. It can probably be fixed with a firmware update then secure erase (using OCZ Drive Tools) then a reinstall of Windows with a quick format with AHCI enabled, followed by other tips for SSD users in the Storage section.

Yes my AMD with ssd boot really fast about 18 secs, was faster then the i7 with veliceraptor.

I'm not sure if I am running my ssd right but most of my programs are not running from my ssd it is running from my veliceraptor. The only thing I have running from ssd is my OS, all drivers, and Wacom Intuos4. The rest or the programs like Adobe CS5, lightroom, Starcraft 2 is running from veliceraptor.

Excuse me for not knowing all these terms but what is TRIM, and AHCI?

If I download the new frimware for my ssd do I need to reformat my ssd?

Thanks for all you guys help. I am happy that there are some many helpful members here.

Dooms101 · Jan 8, 2011

Unganged mode is what you want. Now that you have your RAM in the right slots they will be running in dual channel.

AHCI is a function of your SATA controller and is a must have for SSD's. There will be an option for it in your BIOS. If it's not enabled and you want it to then you'll have to reinstall Windows with it on.

Some firmware updates require that the drive be wiped, and you should secure wipe a drive when you first get it anyways.

And SSD's should ALWAYS be quick formated.

Do you have the latest chipset drivers, ATI drivers, DirectX distro, have you installed all the latest Windows updates?

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