Project: World Community Grid.

I have someone from my family that has a laptop with a core i5 processor (2 cores, 4 threads). If the laptop was mine, I would probably put the 4 threads to use at 100% CPU usage. The problem is that the laptop makes more noise (from the fan, I presume) with such a preference setting and this person gets annoyed from such noise. Currently, using 50% of the threads at 80% cpu usage it seems the noise is not a problem. But maybe the laptop could give more...

1. What configuration for BOINC would you suggest for this laptop CPU-wise? I know I could tinker with the settings to get my own answer, but maybe with your experience you could help me understand this problem better.

2. Just to understand a little bit about using multiple threads on BOINC, what would be best for the health of the CPU, results and noise-wise: to use 4 threads at 50% CPU usage or 2 threads at 100% usage?

You'll really have to try out some different settings for yourself, as different computer models have more/less efficient cooling systems, which controls how fast the fans run. As far as CPU health goes, you should be fine as long as you're not overheating often--and most modern CPUs won't let you do that, either by scaling down or (worst case) shutting off. It's a good idea to clean out your fans and heat-sync every now and then, removing dust that can interfere with their operation. Additionally, I will go in on my desktops and put fresh thermal compound on the CPU and GPU, as it does degrade over time and become less efficient.

My personal laptop settings (dual core) have been around 70% CPU load on both cores. I started that scheme years ago when my old Pentium 4 laptop pretty much melted down running BONIC at 100% 24/7.

I did buy my Mom a quad-core laptop for Christmas, and though I didn't have a lot of time to play around with it, found that 2 cores at 100% usage seemed to be a pretty good balance for heat/fan noise and with the added benefit of only using memory for two tasks.

---

My Detailed BOINC Stats

Thank you for your input. I'm being able to keep 4 threads @ 100% (full throttle) for now as this person is not finding the noise too annoying. I'll lower as necessary for reducing the noise.

Not too healthy for any laptop, running 24/7 BOINC projects, unless it's constantly placed on a cooling pad. Even this way, as dust accumulates on the laptop's (miniature) fans, cooling will become less efficient and issues will arise. I would run BOINC on a laptop that's under normal use (that is, placed on feet or on the bed), but would try to set BOINC in a way that the laptop would stay so cool that the fans would not rev up too much.

My 5ç

Regarding CPU preferences, would it be possible to add the following method of control:

On multiprocessor systems, use at most____% of the processors when the computer is in use.

On multiprocessor systems, use at most____% of the processors when the computer is NOT in use.

Reason: I have the manager installed on some co-worker's and family's computers. If I set the CPU threshold low, Boinc will completely shut down when they use the computer. If I set it higher, it will use all the CPU's I set in the % of processors line and they experience some slowness in applications, unless they use a truly demanding multi-CPU app that will completely shut Boinc down. On a powerful quad core CPU, if they can have one or two cores exclusive to their use when the computer is in use running normal apps, they won't notice any slowdown, and Boinc will remain running on the other CPU's. When they stop using it, Boinc could then automatically go back to 100% CPU use and 100% of the CPU time. As it is, I need to set Boinc to always use 75% of the CPU so they don't notice any slowdowns during the 8 hours a day they use the computer, and I'm losing 16 hours of the day at 75% CPU use when it could be at 100%.

I have an Intel based machine with Nvidia 630 graphics card details below.

My situation is this: In my global preferences setting in community prefs, I ask that on multiprocessor systems only four at maximum be used and on multiprocessor systems only 50% be used. Yet on my quad core 8 processor cpu, all 8 processors are always used and I have to go into task manager and manually set each running Boinc related process to affinity for four of the eight. If the running processes are allowed to use all eight processors, especially Climate Prediction wu's, my computer crawls. Why don't the wu's run as set in my community prefs? I. e. why do they hog all eight processors? Also, must all processors be used consecutively when only 2 but fewer than 8 are in use by the Boinc wu's or may they be discontiguous, i.e. processors 1-4 vs 1,3,5,7 or 1,3 etc.?

HWiNFO64 Version 4.36-2150

HPENVY20PC ----------------------------------------------------------------

[Current Computer]
Computer Name: HPENVY20PC
Computer Brand Name: Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY TS 20-d030xt AiO PC
[Operating System]
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (x64) Build 9600
UEFI Boot: Not Present

NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M (Pegatron) -----------------------------------------

[General Information]
Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M (Pegatron)
Original Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M (GF108M/N13P-GV)
Device Class: VGA Compatible Adapter
Revision ID: A1
Bus Number: 1
Device Number: 0
Function Number: 0
PCI Latency Timer: 0
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DE9&SUBSYS_90B81B0A&REV_A1
[PCI Express]
Version: 2.0
Maximum Link Width: 16x
Current Link Width: 16x
Maximum Link Speed: 5.0 Gb/s
Current Link Speed: 5.0 Gb/s
Device/Port Type: PCI Express Endpoint
Slot Implemented: No
Active State Power Management (ASPM) Support: L0s and L1
Active State Power Management (ASPM) Status: L0s and L1 Entry
[System Resources]
Interrupt Line: IRQ16
Interrupt Pin: INTA#
Memory Base Address 0 F6000000
Memory Base Address 1 E8000000
Memory Base Address 3 F0000000
I/O Base Address 5 E000
[Features]
Bus Mastering: Enabled
Running At 66 MHz: Not Capable
Fast Back-to-Back Transactions: Not Capable
[Driver Information]
Driver Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Driver Description: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Driver Provider: NVIDIA
Driver Version: 9.18.13.2702
Driver Date: 28-Aug-2013
DeviceInstanceId PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DE9&SUBSYS_90B81B0A&REV_A1\4&27264895&0&0008

NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M ----------------------------------------------------

[Video chipset]
Video Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Video Chipset Codename: GF108M/N13P-GV
Video Memory: 2048 MBytes of DDR3 SDRAM
[Video Card]
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M (Pegatron)
Video Bus: PCIe v2.0 x16 (5.0 Gb/s) @ x16 (5.0 Gb/s)
Video RAMDAC: Integrated RAMDAC
Video BIOS Version: 70.08.ba.00.18
Video Chipset Revision: A1
[Performance]
Processor Clock: 650.9 MHz
Shader Unit Clock: 1301.8 MHz
Memory Clock: 896.8 MHz (Effective 1793.6 MHz)
Memory Bus Width: 128-bit
Number Of ROPs: 4
Number Of Unified Shaders: 96
nVidia SLI Status: Disabled
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DE9&SUBSYS_90B81B0A&REV_A1
[Driver Information]
Driver Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Driver Description: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Driver Provider: NVIDIA
Driver Version: 9.18.13.2702
Driver Date: 28-Aug-2013
DeviceInstanceId PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DE9&SUBSYS_90B81B0A&REV_A1\4&27264895&0&0008

Processor -----------------------------------------------------------------

Processor Manufacturer: Intel(R) Corporation
Processor Version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770S CPU @ 3.10GHz
External Clock: 100 MHz
Maximum Clock Supported: 3800 MHz
Current Clock: 3100 MHz
CPU Socket: Populated
CPU Status: Enabled
Processor Type: Central Processor
Processor Voltage: 2.9 V
Processor Upgrade: Socket BGA1155
Socket Designation: SOCKET 0


Central Processor(s) ------------------------------------------------------

[CPU Unit Count]
Number Of Processor Packages (Physical): 1
Number Of Processors Cores: 4
Number Of Logical Processors: 8

Intel Core i7-3770S -------------------------------------------------------

[General Information]
Processor Name: Intel Core i7-3770S
Original Processor Frequency: 3100.0 MHz
Original Processor Frequency [MHz]: 3100
CPU ID: 000306A9
CPU Brand Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770S CPU @ 3.10GHz
CPU Vendor: GenuineIntel
CPU Stepping: E1
CPU Code Name: Ivy Bridge-DT
CPU S-Spec: SR0PN
CPU Thermal Design Power (TDP): 65.0 W
CPU IA Cores Thermal Design Current (TDC): 112.0 A
CPU GT Cores Thermal Design Current (TDC): 46.0 A
CPU Power Limits (Max): Power = Unlimited, Time = 8.00 sec
CPU Power Limit 1 (Long Duration): Power = 65.00 W, Time = 1.00 sec [Locked]
CPU Power Limit 2 (Short Duration): Power = 81.25 W, Time = Unlimited [Locked]
Number of Overclocking Bins: 4
CPU Type: Production Unit
CPU Platform: Socket H2 (LGA1155)
Microcode Update Revision: 17
Number of CPU Cores: 4
Number of Logical CPUs: 8
[Operating Points]
CPU LFM (Minimum): 1600.0 MHz = 16 x 100.0 MHz
CPU HFM (Maximum): 3100.0 MHz = 31 x 100.0 MHz
CPU Turbo: 3900.0 MHz = 39 x 100.0 MHz [Locked]
CPU Current: 3492.5 MHz = 35 x 99.8 MHz @ 1.0608 V
CPU Bus Type: Intel Direct Media Interface (DMI) v2.0
Maximum DMI Link Speed: 5.0 GT/s
Current DMI Link Speed: 5.0 GT/s
[Cache and TLB]
L1 Cache: Instruction: 4 x 32 KBytes, Data: 4 x 32 KBytes
L2 Cache: Integrated: 4 x 256 KBytes
L3 Cache: 8 MBytes
Instruction TLB: 2MB/4MB Pages, Fully associative, 8 entries
Data TLB: 4 KB Pages, 4-way set associative, 64 entries
[Standard Feature Flags]
FPU on Chip Present
Enhanced Virtual-86 Mode Present
I/O Breakpoints Present
Page Size Extensions Present
Time Stamp Counter Present
Pentium-style Model Specific Registers Present
Physical Address Extension Present
Machine Check Exception Present
CMPXCHG8B Instruction Present
APIC On Chip / PGE (AMD) Present
Fast System Call Present
Memory Type Range Registers Present
Page Global Feature Present
Machine Check Architecture Present
CMOV Instruction Present
Page Attribute Table Present
36-bit Page Size Extensions Present
Processor Number Not Present
CLFLUSH Instruction Present
Debug Trace and EMON Store Present
Internal ACPI Support Present
MMX Technology Present
Fast FP Save/Restore (IA MMX-2) Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 Present
Self-Snoop Present
Multi-Threading Capable Present
Automatic Clock Control Present
IA-64 Processor Not Present
Signal Break on FERR Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 Present
Carryless Multiplication (PCLMULQDQ)/GFMUL Present
64-Bit Debug Store Present
MONITOR/MWAIT Support Present
CPL Qualified Debug Store Present
Virtual Machine Extensions Present
Safer Mode Extensions (Intel TXT) Present
Thermal Monitor 2 Present
Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 Present
Enhanced SpeedStep Technology Present
L1 Context ID Not Present
IA32 Debug Interface Support Not Present
Fused Multiply Add Not Present
CMPXCHG16B Support Present
Send Task Priority Messages Disabling Present
Performance/Debug Capability MSR Present
Processor Context ID Present
Direct Cache Access Not Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.1 Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.2 Present
Extended xAPIC Present
MOVBE Instruction Not Present
POPCNT Instruction Present
TSC-deadline Timer Present
AES Cryptography Support Present
XSAVE/XRSTOR/XSETBV/XGETBV Instructions Present
XGETBV/XSETBV OS Enabled Present
AVX Support Present
Float16 Instructions Present
Random Number Read Instruction Present
[Extended Feature Flags]
64-bit Extensions Present
RDTSCP and TSC_AUX Support Present
1 GB large page support Not Present
No Execute Present
SYSCALL/SYSRET Support Present
Read/Write FS/GS Base Instructions Present
TSC_THREAD_OFFSET Not Present
Secure Enclave Support Not Present
Bit Manipulation Instructions Set 1 Not Present
Hardware Lock Elision Not Present
AVX2 Instructions Not Present
Supervisor Mode Execution Protection Present
Bit Manipulation Instructions Set 2 Not Present
Enhanced Performance String Instruction Present
INVPCID Instruction Not Present
Restricted Transactional Memory Not Present
Platform Quality of Service Monitoring (PQM) Not Present
Platform Quality of Service Enforcement (PQE) Not Present
Deprecated FPU CS and FPU DS Not Present
Memory Protection Extensions Not Present
Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (AVX-512) Not Present
RDSEED Instruction Not Present
Multi-precision Add Carry Instructions Not Present
Supervisor Mode Access Prevention (SMAP) Not Present
Intel Processor Trace Not Present
AVX-512 Prefetch Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Exponential and Reciprocal Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Conflict Detection Instructions Not Present
Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) Extensions Not Present
[Enhanced Features]
Thermal Monitor 1: Supported, Enabled
Thermal Monitor 2: Supported, Enabled
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep (GV3): Supported, Enabled
Bi-directional PROCHOT#: Enabled
Extended Auto-HALT State C1E: Enabled
Extended Stop Grant State C2E: N/A
Enhanced Halt State C3E: N/A
Enhanced Halt State C4E: N/A
Enhanced Halt State Hard C4E: N/A
Hardware Prefetcher: Not Supported
DCU Prefetcher: Not Supported
IP Prefetcher: Not Supported
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch: Not Supported
MLC Streamer Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
MLC Spatial Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
DCU Streamer Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
DCU IP Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
Intel Dynamic Acceleration (IDA) Technology: Not Supported
Intel Dynamic FSB Switching: Not Supported
Enhanced Multi Threaded Thermal Management: N/A
Intel Turbo Boost Technology: Supported, Enabled
Programmable Ratio Limits: Not Supported
Programmable TDC/TDP Limits: Supported, Disabled
[CPU IVB Features]
Internal Graphics: Supported
PEG Gen2 (5.0 GT/s): Supported
DMI Gen2 (5.0 GT/s): Supported
DMI Width: x2
VT-d: Supported
ECC: Not Supported
DDR Overclocking: Not Supported
IA Overclocking: Not Supported
On-die DDR Write Vref Generation: Supported
DDR3L: Not Supported
DDR Write Vref: Supported
Dual Channel: Supported
2 DIMMS per Channel: Not Supported
Camarillo Device: Not Supported
Full ULT Information: Supported
DDR 1N Mode Timings: Supported
PEG x16 Port: Supported
Link width upconfig: Supported
DDR3 Frequency Support (133 MHz RefClk): 800 MHz (DDR3-1600)
DDR3 Frequency Support (100 MHz RefClk): 800 MHz (DDR3-1600)
Memory Size per Channel: Unlimited (16GB)
Additive Graphics: Supported
Additive Graphics: Disabled
PAVP: Enabled
HDCP: Supported
PCIe Gen 3: Supported
Soft Bin: Not Supported
SMT: Supported
[Memory Ranges]
Maximum Physical Address Size: 36-bit (64 GBytes)
Maximum Virtual Address Size: 48-bit (256 TBytes)
[MTRRs]
Range 0-200000000 (0MB-8192MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 200000000-210000000 (8192MB-8448MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 210000000-218000000 (8448MB-8576MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 218000000-21C000000 (8576MB-8640MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 21C000000-21E000000 (8640MB-8672MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 21E000000-21F000000 (8672MB-8688MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range E0000000-100000000 (3584MB-4096MB) Type: Uncacheable (UC)

BIOS ----------------------------------------------------------------------

BIOS Vendor: AMI
BIOS Version: 8.11
BIOS Release Date: 10/17/2012
BIOS Start Segment: F000
BIOS Size: 4096 KBytes
System BIOS Version: 4.6
ISA Support: Not Present
MCA Support: Not Present
EISA Support: Not Present
PCI Support: Present
PC Card (PCMCIA) Support: Not Present
Plug-and-Play Support: Present
APM Support: Not Present
Flash BIOS: Present
BIOS Shadow: Present
VL-VESA Support: Not Present
ESCD Support: Not Present
Boot from CD: Present
Selectable Boot: Present
BIOS ROM Socketed: Not Present
Boot from PC Card: Not Present
EDD Support: Present
NEC PC-98 Support: Not Present
ACPI Support: Present
USB Legacy Support: Present
AGP Support: Not Present
I2O Boot Support: Not Present
LS-120 Boot Support: Not Present
ATAPI ZIP Drive Boot Support: Not Present
IEE1394 Boot Support: Not Present
Smart Battery Support: Not Present
BIOS Boot Specification Support: Present
Function key-initiated Network Service Boot Support: Present
Targeted Content Distribution Support: Present
UEFI Specification Support: Present


CPU Internal L2 -----------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: CPU Internal L2
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Type: Internal, Unified
Cache Scheme: Write-Through
Supported SRAM Type:
Current SRAM Type:
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Unknown
Maximum Cache Size: 1024 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 1024 KBytes
Cache Associativity: 8-way Set-Associative

CPU Internal L1 -----------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: CPU Internal L1
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Type: Internal, Data
Cache Scheme: Write-Through
Supported SRAM Type:
Current SRAM Type:
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type:
Maximum Cache Size: 256 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 256 KBytes
Cache Associativity: 8-way Set-Associative

CPU Internal L3 -----------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: CPU Internal L3
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Type: Internal, Unified
Cache Scheme: Write-Back
Supported SRAM Type:
Current SRAM Type:
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Unknown
Maximum Cache Size: 8192 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 8192 KBytes
Cache Associativity: 16-way Set-Associative

Intel vPro ----------------------------------------------------------------

CPU VT-x Support: Supported
CPU VT-x Status: Disabled
CPU VT-x2 Support: Not Supported
CPU VT-x2 Status: Disabled
CPU TXT Support: Supported
CPU TXT Status: Disabled
CPU VMX Status: Disabled
CPU SMX Status: Disabled
Intel ME Status: Enabled
Intel OST Firmware Support: Not Supported
Intel ASF Firmware Support: Not Supported
Intel AMT Pro Firmware Support: Not Supported
Intel AMT Basic Firmware Support: Not Supported
Intel TPM Firmware Support: Not Supported
Intel Castle Peak Support: Not Supported
Intel WoX Support: Not Supported
Intel Virtualization Engine Support: Not Supported
Intel Anti-Theft Technology Support: Not Supported
TPM On-board: Not Supported
Intel Anti-Theft Technology Enrolled: Not Supported
Intel ME Version: v8.1, Build 1248, Hotfix 0
BIOS VT-x Support: Not Supported
BIOS VT-d Support: Supported
BIOS TXT Support: Supported
BIOS TPM Support: Not Supported
BIOS ME Support: Not Supported
BIOS VA Extensions Support: Supported
Intel AT PBA For Recovery Support: Not Supported
Intel AT WWAN Support: Not Supported

Intel ME ------------------------------------------------------------------

[ME Host Status]
ME Current Working State: Normal
Manufacturing Mode: Not Active
ME Current Operation Mode: Normal
[Intel Manageability Engine Features]
[ME Firmware Capabilities]
Full Network Manageability: Not Capable
Standard Network Manageability: Not Capable
Manageability (AMT): Not Capable
Small Business Advantage: Not Capable
Quiet System Technology: Not Capable
Intel Anti-Theft: Not Capable
Capability Licensing Service: Capable
Virtualization Engine: Not Capable
Power Sharing Technology (MPC): Capable
ICC Over Clocking: Capable
Protected Audio Video Path (PAVP): Capable
Identity Protection Technology (IPT): Not Capable
Remote PC Assist (RPAT): Not Capable
IPV6: Not Capable
KVM Remote Control: Not Capable
Outbreak Containment Heuristic (OCH): Not Capable
Virtual LAN (VLAN): Capable
Cipher Transport Layer (TLS): Not Capable
Wireless LAN (WLAN): Not Capable
Platform Trust Technology (PTT): Not Capable
[ME Firmware Feature State]
Full Network Manageability: Disabled
Standard Network Manageability: Disabled
Manageability (AMT): Disabled
Small Business Advantage: Disabled
Quiet System Technology: Disabled
Intel Anti-Theft: Disabled
Capability Licensing Service: Enabled
Virtualization Engine: Disabled
Power Sharing Technology (MPC): Enabled
ICC Over Clocking: Enabled
Protected Audio Video Path (PAVP): Enabled
Identity Protection Technology (IPT): Disabled
Remote PC Assist (RPAT): Disabled
IPV6: Disabled
KVM Remote Control: Disabled
Outbreak Containment Heuristic (OCH): Disabled
Virtual LAN (VLAN): Enabled
Cipher Transport Layer (TLS): Disabled
Wireless LAN (WLAN): Disabled
Platform Trust Technology (PTT): Disabled
[ME Firmware Platform Type]
Platform Target Usage Type: Desktop
Platform Target Market Type: Consumer
SKU: Regular SKU
ME Firmware Image Type: 4MB Firmware
Platform Brand: None
Host ME Region Flash Protection Override (HMRFPO) Status: Locked

Intel ICC -----------------------------------------------------------------

[ICC Record 0: DIV1-S]
Clock Usage: Display
Clock Range: 120.0000 - 120.0000 MHz
SSC Change: Fixed
Current Clock: 120.0000 MHz
[ICC Record 1: DIV2-S]
Clock Usage: BCLK/DMI/PEG/PCIe/PCI33/SATA/USB3
Clock Range: 100.0000 - 100.0000 MHz
SSC Change: Down, Max = 0.50%
Current Clock: 100.0000 MHz
[ICC Record 2: DIV3]
Clock Usage: Not Used
Clock Range: 100.0000 - 100.0000 MHz
SSC Change: Down, Max = 0.50%
Current Clock: 133.3333 MHz
[ICC Record 3: DIV4]
Clock Usage: Display Bending
Clock Range: 119.3473 - 120.6599 MHz
SSC Change: Down/Center, Max = 2.50%
Current Clock: 100.0000 MHz
[ICC Record 4: DIV1-NS]
Clock Usage: Display
Clock Range: 120.0000 - 120.0000 MHz
SSC Change: Fixed
Current Clock: 120.0000 MHz
[ICC Record 5: DIV2-NS]
Clock Usage: BCLK/DMI/PEG/PCIe/PCI33/SATA/USB3
Clock Range: 100.0000 - 100.0000 MHz
SSC Change: Fixed
Current Clock: 100.0000 MHz
[General Properties]
PCI Clock Source: SSC2 Spread (Non-OC)
DMI Port Clock Source: Non-Overclockable PXP PLL
CLKOUT_SRC[3:0] Clock Source: SSC2 Spread (Non-OC)
CLKOUT_SRC[7:4] Clock Source: SSC2 Spread (Non-OC)
FLEXCLK3 Clock Source: 48 MHz
FLEXCLK2 Clock Source: 33.3 MHz
FLEXCLK1 Clock Source: 14.31818 MHz
FLEXCLK0 Clock Source: 33.3 MHz
CSSCn Source for PXP PLL: SSC2 (Non-OC)
SATA PLL Reference Clock: SSC2 (Non-OC)
Modulator 4: Disabled
PEG_C Output Clock: Disabled
DMI2 Output Clock: Disabled
DMI Output Clock: Enabled
PEG_B Output Clock: Enabled
PEG_A Output Clock: Enabled
CLKOUT_DP Output Clock: Enabled
CLKOUT_ITPXDP Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC7 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC6 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC5 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC4 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC3 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC2 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC1 Output Clock: Enabled
PCIe/SRC0 Output Clock: Disabled
CLKOUT_PCI4 Output Clock: Enabled
CLKOUT_PCI3 Output Clock: Enabled
CLKOUT_PCI2 Output Clock: Enabled
CLKOUT_PCI1 Output Clock: Enabled
CLKOUT_PCI0 Output Clock: Enabled
FLEXCLK3 Output Clock: Enabled
FLEXCLK2 Output Clock: Enabled
FLEXCLK1 Output Clock: Enabled
FLEXCLK0 Output Clock: Enabled
DIV7: Disabled
DIV5 Stage 2: Enabled
DIV5 Stage 1: Enabled
DIV4: Enabled
DIV3: Disabled
DIV2-S: Enabled
DIV2-NS: Disabled
DIV1-S: Enabled
DIV1-NS: Enabled
Intel Ivy Bridge-DT - PCI Express Graphics Root Port [E1/L1/N0/P0] --------

[General Information]
Device Name: Intel Ivy Bridge-DT - PCI Express Graphics Root Port [E1/L1/N0/P0]
Original Device Name: Intel Ivy Bridge-DT - PCI Express Graphics Root Port [E1/L1/N0/P0]
Device Class: PCI-to-PCI Bridge
Revision ID: 9
Bus Number: 0
Device Number: 1
Function Number: 0
PCI Latency Timer: 0
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0151&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_09
[PCI Express]
Version: 3.0
Maximum Link Width: 16x
Current Link Width: 16x
Maximum Link Speed: 8.0 Gb/s
Current Link Speed: 5.0 Gb/s
Device/Port Type: Root Port of PCI Express Root Complex
Slot Implemented: Yes
Hot-Plug: Not Capable
Hot-Plug Surprise: Not Capable
Slot Power Limit: 75.000 W
Active State Power Management (ASPM) Support: L0s and L1
Active State Power Management (ASPM) Status: L0s and L1 Entry
[System Resources]
Interrupt Line: IRQ16
Interrupt Pin: INTA#
[Features]
Bus Mastering: Enabled
Running At 66 MHz: Not Capable
Fast Back-to-Back Transactions: Not Capable
[Driver Information]
Driver Manufacturer: Intel
Driver Description: Xeon(R) processor E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port - 0151
Driver Provider: Intel
Driver Version: 9.3.0.1029
Driver Date: 24-Jul-2013
DeviceInstanceId PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0151&SUBSYS_2AE5103C&REV_09\3&11583659&0&08

Motherboard ---------------------------------------------------------------

[Computer]
Computer Brand Name: Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY TS 20-d030xt AiO PC
[Motherboard]
Motherboard Model: Hewlett-Packard 2AE5
Motherboard Chipset: Intel H61 (Cougar Point)
Motherboard Slots: 5xPCI Express x1, 1xPCI Express x16
PCI Express Version Supported: v3.0
USB Version Supported: v3.0
[PCH Features]
USB Port Count: 10 ports
RAID Capability: Not Supported
SATA Ports 2 and 3: Not Supported
SATA Port 1 6 Gb/s: Not Supported
SATA Port 0 6 Gb/s: Not Supported
PCI Interface: Not Supported
PCI Express Ports 5 and 6: Supported
USB Redirect (USBr): Not Supported
Intel Anti-Theft Technology: Supported
PCI Express Ports 7 and 8: Not Supported
PCH Integrated Graphics Support: Supported
Data Center Manageability Interface (DCMI): Supported
Node Manager: Supported
[BIOS]
BIOS Manufacturer: AMI
BIOS Date: 10/17/2012
BIOS Version: 8.11
UEFI BIOS: Capable
Super-IO/LPC Chip: ITE IT8518E

I have an Intel based machine with Nvidia 630 graphics card details below.

My situation is this: In my global preferences setting in community prefs, I ask that on multiprocessor systems only four at maximum be used and on multiprocessor systems only 50% be used. Yet on my quad core 8 processor cpu, all 8 processors are always used and I have to go into task manager and manually set each running Boinc related process to affinity for four of the eight. If the running processes are allowed to use all eight processors, especially Climate Prediction wu's, my computer crawls. Why don't the wu's run as set in my community prefs? I. e. why do they hog all eight processors? Also, must all processors be used consecutively when only 2 but fewer than 8 are in use by the Boinc wu's or may they be discontiguous, i.e. processors 1-4 vs 1,3,5,7 or 1,3 etc.?

Local computing preferences override Web Computing preferences, try going into Boinc Manager's Tools>Computing preferences page, then hit the Clear Button in the top right, then Yes.

Posting the Boinc startup from the Event log (the first 30 lines or so) is a lot more useful than posting all your hardware info,

Claggy

Sorry. But I had read the read about asking questions in another thread and thought that hardware was very important. I'm just a 72yo geezer who wants to help improve the world. In any case, I have tried local prefs and come up with the same problem else I wouldn't have posted. I again tried setting local prefs but nothing changes after I hit the clear button. It doesn't seem to clear the settings to default. The problem with my computer running at a crawl only occurs when running Climate Prediction Net wu's so maybe I should be asking them about it.

I also am interested in the answer to arch's cpu question in message 53215 above. I think it's an excellent question and would probably help a lot of users if it were possible.

Also I wonder about setting discontiguous cpu affinity in Windows task manager. Is that going to make any difference in processing wu time or is that a question for another forum elsewhere?

Below is the log data. Thanks for any help to solve my problem. I don't want to remove any projects unless I have to. Thanks for your help, Claggy.

If I could edit my previous post or even delete it I would do so.

Jupiter56. Just another user.

3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | cc_config.xml not found - using defaults
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Starting BOINC client version 7.2.42 for windows_x86_64
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Libraries: libcurl/7.25.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1 zlib/1.2.6
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Data directory: C:\ProgramData\BOINC
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Running under account Administrator
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | CUDA: NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GT 630M (driver version 327.02, CUDA version 5.5, compute capability 2.1, 2048MB, 1909MB available, 250 GFLOPS peak)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | OpenCL: NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GT 630M (driver version 327.02, device version OpenCL 1.1 CUDA, 2048MB, 1909MB available, 250 GFLOPS peak)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Host name: HPENVY20PC
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Processor: 8 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770S CPU @ 3.10GHz [Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9]
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss htt tm pni 3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | cc_config.xml not found - using defaults
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Starting BOINC client version 7.2.42 for windows_x86_64
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Libraries: libcurl/7.25.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1 zlib/1.2.6
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Data directory: C:\ProgramData\BOINC
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Running under account Administrator
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | CUDA: NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GT 630M (driver version 327.02, CUDA version 5.5, compute capability 2.1, 2048MB, 1909MB available, 250 GFLOPS peak)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | OpenCL: NVIDIA GPU 0: GeForce GT 630M (driver version 327.02, device version OpenCL 1.1 CUDA, 2048MB, 1909MB available, 250 GFLOPS peak)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Host name: HPENVY20PC
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Processor: 8 GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770S CPU @ 3.10GHz [Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9]
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Processor features: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss htt tm pni ssse3 cx16 sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt aes syscall nx lm vmx smx tm2 pbe
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1: Core x64 Edition, (06.03.9600.00)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Memory: 7.95 GB physical, 8.34 GB virtual
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Disk: 913.73 GB total, 828.53 GB free
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Local time is UTC -5 hours
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | VirtualBox version: 4.3.8
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Asteroids@home | URL http://asteroidsathome.net/boinc/; Computer ID 69438; resource share 100
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | climateprediction.net | URL http://climateprediction.net/; Computer ID 1310407; resource share 100
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Einstein@Home | URL http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/; Computer ID 10342975; resource share 100
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | eon2 | URL http://eon.ices.utexas.edu/eon2/; Computer ID 3057920; resource share 100
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Milkyway@Home | URL http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/; Computer ID 560631; resource share 100
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Cosmology@Home | URL http://www.cosmologyathome.org/; Computer ID 207034; resource share 100
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Einstein@Home | General prefs: from Einstein@Home (last modified 24-Mar-2014 17:42:06)

etc., etc.

3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Einstein@Home | General prefs: from Einstein@Home (last modified 24-Mar-2014 17:42:06)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Einstein@Home | Host location: none
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | Einstein@Home | General prefs: using your defaults
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Reading preferences override file
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Preferences:
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | max memory usage when active: 4071.69MB
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | max memory usage when idle: 7329.04MB
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | max disk usage: 100.00GB
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | max CPUs used: 4
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | (to change preferences, visit a project web site or select Preferences in the Manager)
3/30/2014 2:53:32 PM | | Not using a proxy

How many actual CPU tasks are running? It should be a maximum of four, But, after that it is up to the OS which cores different portions of the app runs on.
On my i7-2600K, when I run four CPU Seti tasks is see some load on all the cores, usability doesn't suffer through, perhaps in your case it the amount of memory the CPDN tasks use,
you could use an app_config.xml to limit the amount of CPDN Wu's that are allowed to run at once:

Application configuration

Claggy

Thanks, I'll try that and let you know. And if you want to edit my first post or delete it please feel free.

Claggy won't be able to edit or delete anything, as other than a skillful helper, he's not a moderator around here. I might be able to hide it, but don't really see the need. Other than you yourself, and only for an hour after posting it, no-one can edit your post.

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