| Info | Message |
|---|---|
| 1) Message boards : Questions and problems : Scheduling and CPU use
Message 118431 Posted 11 Mar 2026 by Rich |
Thanks for the input. This is a combined response having been through your suggestions. The latest BOINC ver I see is 8.2.8 which is what I am using. I don't see an 8.3 (for Win x64). It seems that: 1) BOINC time estimates are broken. I am not concerned with the initial estimate, only when I see excessive values (17 days recently) for tasks that have been running for some time. 2) BOINC does not play nicely with high-end Intel processors. 3) Suspending may be counterproductive. So setting Exclusive apps may not be a good idea. DXO PhotoLab will grab all the CPU it can get - to 100% on multiple cores. However it only does this when actually processing (outputting), not when setting up parameters for each image. Depending on the number of images and what is being done to them a batch may take 30 sec-5+ mins on this machine. But it may take an hour to do the setup. Similarly using suspend to give more CPU to other tasks may result in the suspended tasks taking significantly longer. Suspending before a reboot (rarely, runs 24/7) seems inevitable. 4) I am currently only getting work from 3 sources, Einstein, WCG and SI Dock so this may not be an issue. 5) Given the CPU scheduling issue (Item 2 above), it may be appropriate to reduce the %CPU utilization (currently 55%, but previously 100% that resulted in many tasks sitting at near-zero utilization) I'll try this and see if it resolves the problem without reducing throughput too much. Thanks, Richard |
| 2) Message boards : Questions and problems : Scheduling and CPU use
Message 118418 Posted 11 Mar 2026 by Rich |
In reply to robsmith's message of 10 Mar 2026:I can't answer every one of your questions, but I can suggest what's happening with a few of them.... Thanks for the quick response Rob. 1) - Initial estimates of time to finish" are known to be very pessimistic, what you have to do is allow at least a dozen tasks of a given type to run to completion and be validated. I've been running these tasks for years, I should have accumulated enough "Knowledge". Also, if you have very large cache of tasks BOINC can really struggle to work out which task is really going to run beyond its deadline and which task will actually finish much quicker than its initial estimate. The solution is to have a small cache, one suggestion is to have "store at least" 1 (or less), and "store up to an additional"set to 0.1 (or less). This means you don't have such a high risk of congestion, which triggers the need to run tasks at high priority. Cache is set to .25 +.1 day. With this and 55% CPU usage there are several "Waiting to Start" tasks. "Struggle to work out" - I would have though that "deadline - time to end" would give a clear answer? Also, suspending tasks can cause more problems than it solves as some applications roll back processing on a restart..... Oh, that is not good. Exclusive apps does that to all. If I am managing manually, I suspend only those with longer deadlines. 2) It appears that only Bionc does this. I've not let it run for very long, I suspect long enough to settle down, which it does not seem to do. b) Many applications are only single threaded, so will only ever use one core, so 3% is about right. That was my assumption. However allowing many tasks (%CPU near 100) seems to make this issue worse. It does however provide greater throughput. d) Good news! My objective is to get as much done without throttling. e) The use x% of CPU tells BOINC it can only use that fraction of the CPU's cores. One problem is that the Windows task manager can get a bit confused..... I suspected a possible conflict/misunderstanding may be an issue. f) I've no experience of using WSL to run BOINC, but have found it to cause some rather unexpected behaviours when doing other work.[quote] My understanding that is WSL only runs when needed although multiple WSLx tasks are shown, they show as 0 activity. Boinc itself and anything running within it is not using WSL as they are windows apps. It is only tasks from LHC that need WSL. Richard |
| 3) Message boards : Questions and problems : Scheduling and CPU use
Message 118415 Posted 10 Mar 2026 by Rich |
I’m having some Boinc issues related to task scheduling and CPU usage. Win 11 2H/25 i9 149000K, RTX 4050 ti, 64gb RAM, running at default BIOS settings, not overclocked. Boinc Mgr 8.2.8 x64 Boinc buda runner wsl installer (26-02-05 download) Boinc settings (current) CPU 55%, 100% of time, suspend 90%, mem 85%, swap 30 mins. BOINC tasks include Einstein, Rosetta, SI Dock, WCG, Dennis, GPU Grid. Also, LCG – not currently using, see comment under CPU utilization. Monitoring tools: Argus Fan controller/monitor (CPU temp), Resource Manager (CPU loads) and Intel’s Extreme Tuning Util [ETU] (CPU load, temp, throttling, memory) 2 issues (these may be related): 1 Task scheduling in Boinc I am getting multiple instances where “Time to finish†vastly exceeds the deadline time (in some cases over 10 days). If I suspend most other tasks, then these tasks finish rapidly. It appears that Boinc is not recognising the issue and swaps these tasks out or reduces their CPU load. This results in having to continually check status and adjust tasks. 2 CPU utilisation a) On a reboot (rarely, runs 24/7) Boinc will show CPU utilisation of 100% on first starting it. Closing and reopening Boinc manager resolves this. b) I am unable to get Resource manager to show more than 3% CPU utilisation for any single task (equivalent to 1 cpu core) c) Total CPU utilisation (including other tasks generally runs about 50% (+/- 10%) except when using specific high load tasks (Image editing). In this case I have now set these as “Exclusive apps†in Boinc. d) Throttling is not occurring. e) If I change % CPU used by Boinc, then all that changes is the number of tasks, not CPU utilization (as reported by resource manager/ETU). f) A specific issue when using LHC is that it takes the CPU usage to 100%. I have set the .wslconfig to: [ws12] memory=4GB processors=1 but this has not changed this. Any ideas/suggestions would be welcome. Richard |
| 4) Message boards : Questions and problems : BOINC 8.2.4
Message 116423 Posted 19 Jul 2025 by Rich |
Thanks, that is helpful. |
| 5) Message boards : Questions and problems : BOINC 8.2.4
Message 116420 Posted 19 Jul 2025 by Rich |
I have multiple projects, some may use VB (have in the past). Is anything actually running today, no. But may be in the future. So, wait and see or abandon them and wait, until when? Richard |
| 6) Message boards : Questions and problems : BOINC 8.2.4
Message 116407 Posted 19 Jul 2025 by Rich |
For Win 11: just updated "BOINC client version has changed from 8.0.2 to 8.2.4" and note the Read-me says 8.2.5 is available but does not seem to be.... In the installation instructions for Docker: "Note: Docker and VirtualBox are incompatible on Windows. If you're using VirtualBox for something other than BOINC, do not install Docker." So, are any BOINC processes using Docker yet, if so which? Are any Vbox processes still being produced, if so which? IOW, when to switch? Thanks Richard |
| 7) Message boards : BOINC Manager : Boinc Mgr and CPU Usage
Message 115017 Posted 16 Dec 2024 by Rich |
Grant said:... >> If BOINC Mgr is not involved in running the tasks, why does the task CPU utilization double with no change in BOINC Mgr utilization when it is running? > Check closely if that is actually the case. That is what resource manager shows. It lists each task separately with "Current" and "average" CPU usage. Strangely, I have noticed that if I open/close Boinc Mgr a few times it reverts to 1/2 the specified CPU usage for the task, and no Throttling. On reboot, it reverts to what I describe... done this at least twice in the last couple of days. Anytime it reverts, I will try this and see if it is really repeatable. > On my system, i use all cores/threads for BOINC. I am currently using 50% CPUs @ 100% of time (should be close to 50% CPU load... my interpretation of what "uses" means, ) [The machine is used for other purposes, not dedicated.] It shows 16 tasks (32 CPUs). Average utilization 1.2% = 20% CPU, not 50%. Even if I add up the "Current" values it is nowhere close... > In Task Manager it shows as 100% CPU usage, with 8.3% per running BOINC project Task (6c/12t CPU). I have noticed that BOINC tasks (running at "idle" priority), do not seem to readily yield to other tasks at "Normal" priority. > On my system with BOINC Manager open (or minimised), BOINC Manager shows as 33% CPU usage (sometimes 44%). The Tasks each still show 8.3%, but there are now only 8 in Tasks (sometimes 7) showing in Task Manager. Resource mgr show Boinc Mgr currently at "Average" 0.02% CPU, seems what I normally see. > The CPU usage for BOINC Manager and BOINC client themselves are 0% Yes. > ... however the fact is that BOINC Manager itself isn't using any CPU time when it is running. So it should be, but I am seeing differently under some circumstances. FWIW, the reason that I am investigating this is that I am having issues with Throttling under low CPU loads. Waiting for the next response from Intel... Thanks. Richard, from an island in the Pacific, Victoria, BC |
| 8) Message boards : BOINC Manager : Boinc Mgr and CPU Usage
Message 114982 Posted 11 Dec 2024 by Rich |
Jord, Thank you for your comments which have assisted me in reviewing this further. I am trying to understand and manage these tasks to maximize productivity without reducing system performance. The focus is specifically on CPU temperatures. I am also dealing with Intel on issues related to the 14th generation CPUs resulting from the complete failure of the first one on this system. I have now looked at two cases: BOINC manager not running or minimized and, visible on the desktop. I briefly reviewed the BOINC Mgr user guide online and can see nothing referring to what I am observing. I understand that BOINC Mgr (advanced mode) is only monitoring tasks and displaying information and is not involved in the actual running of the tasks. I understand that the preferred operation mode is to specify CPU usage and run at 100% time to minimize task swapping. BOINC settings: 50% CPU, 100% time. FAH set at seven cores (22%), whether running or paused does not impact what happens with BOINC Mgr. I have also looked at it with BOINC utilization set to 10% but this does not seem to impact what I see. 1. Not running or minimized: Resource manager shows 22 to 25% CPU for BOINC tasks (varies somewhat depending on what is running). Resource manager also shows utilization total of 50% (essentially BOINC and FAH are the only tasks consuming resources) when the system is otherwise idle. 2. With BOINC Mgr open on the desktop: P-core utilization spikes in the 80 to 100% range initiating thermal and/or Current/GDP throttling. Resource manager shows CPU utilization for BOINC tasks doubles to approximately 50% (compared with the 25% shown when it’s not running). There is no change in utilization by boinc.exe or boincmgr.exe. Questions: a. If BOINC is set to use 50% CPU why does resource manager only show around 25% when the manager is not running? b. If BOINC Mgr is not involved in running the tasks, why does the task CPU utilization double with no change in BOINC Mgr utilization when it is running? I think the question is really about the difference between BOINC Mgr being on the screen versus hidden or not running. This does not seem to be logical to me. Richard |
| 9) Message boards : BOINC Manager : Boinc Mgr and CPU Usage
Message 114979 Posted 10 Dec 2024 by Rich |
In reply to Jord's message of 10 Dec 2024:You have an i9-14900K, with total of 24 cores, of which 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. "Locked", I don't see that mentioned here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/how-hybrid-design-works.html (text under the CPU images). Or, do you mean that Boinc is designed to only use the e-cores? So you're running 16 threads of Rosetta-beta (all single core tasks, or one n-thread?), one Einstein@Home task and Folding@Home. This varies, I'm using multiple sources as said. Resource Manager shows them as "separate tasks". Boinc is set to 50% CPU usage. What I see in the graph is that the blue efficiency core's line doesn't go up. Only the black performance core line goes up. That's probably because you're running BOINC Manager (which does a lot more than just show pretty pictures, like polling the client for updated information of all the project apps that are running, and that every second). Boinc Mgr is always running, when it is minimized (hidden - taskbar) I see lower usage that suddenly goes up when it is revealed. This does not make sense to me. I wouldn't try to run both FAH and BOINC actively on the same system, they'll clash and try to take each other's resources, but if you feel it works for you, be my guest. FAH is set to a limited # cores, not to -1 - let system decide. So, it should not be trying to steal cores. Boinc is set to 50%, also should not be stealing (unless this means as manged by the OS/CPU systems. Richard |
| 10) Message boards : BOINC Manager : Boinc Mgr and CPU Usage
Message 114977 Posted 10 Dec 2024 by Rich |
Additional information added [img]http://rjassociates.ca/Boinc 50-100-Profile.jpg[/img] I have discovered a strange situation, when the Boinc Mgr window is open, CPU usage for Boinc tasks approximately doubles. But when the window is minimized, it falls back. The attached image shows (on left graph) window minimized on left, visible in middle, minimized on right. The red line is Thermal Throttling, if I leave it up for longer Current/EDP throttling also occurs. The lower black line is CPU usage, blue is e-core temp, upper black line is p-core temp. It is the p-core temp that is peaking. Resource manager on the left shows CPU load by task, this doubles when the window is visible. However, the Boinc/BoincMgr loads do not change. "Average" is normally (with window minimized) around 1.3%/task - this gives around 20% CPU usage but should be 50%. Graph is for 50% cores and 100% time (I just read the thread about not using less than 100% time). Boinc sources normally include Rosetta, Einstein, WCG, Dennis and GPUGrid. System: Win 11, ASUS Maximus Z790 Hero m/b, i9 14900K processor, RTX 4070ti GPU, 64GB RAM. Questions: Is it normal/expected that this variation occurs? If this is normal, then clearly I can't run this at 50% CPU/100% time. 50% time shows rapid on/off of throttling peaks. Thanks. Richard |
| 11) Message boards : BOINC Manager : Boinc Mgr and CPU Usage
Message 114976 Posted 10 Dec 2024 by Rich |
Strange, never seen that before... Will try. |
| 12) Message boards : BOINC Manager : Boinc Mgr and CPU Usage
Message 114973 Posted 9 Dec 2024 by Rich |
I have discovered a strange situation, when the Boinc Mgr window is open, CPU usage for Boinc tasks approximately doubles. But when the window is minimized, it falls back. Boinc sources normally include Rosetta, Einstein, WCG, Dennis and GPUGrid. System: Win 11, ASUS Maximus Z790 Hero m/b, i9 14900K processor, RTX 4070ti GPU, 64GB RAM. I tried to insert an image and more text but didn't work... Questions: Is it normal/expected that this variation occurs? If this is normal, then clearly I can't run this at 50% CPU/100% time. 50% time shows rapid on/off of throttling peaks. Thanks. Richard |
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