prime95 slows computer after I stop

Raterus · 2006-08-10, 21:24

Hi,

I downloaded prime95 recently, and was planning on running it at night on my work computer.

Two times now I've ran it at night, and in both cases, when I come back to work the next day and stop the processing, my computer is terribly bogged down, even though the process has stopped. (I verified this in task manager) I end up having to reboot my computer if I'm to do anything.

I checked my page file usage after stopping the program, and noticed it was much higher than it normally would be when I don't have any programs open. (500mb higher)

Thinking the first time I ran the program, I must have done something wrong, I downloaded the NTPRIME service and installed that for both of my processors. In the morning, I stopped the services ok, but my computer was still slow like it was last time.

I'm not sure what I need to do to fix this, if it even can be fixed. I don't see anybody else having these problems with the program, so I'm wondering if it's just my PC (XP Pro).

If anyone can offer some troubleshooting tips, I'd appreciate it.

--Michael

axn · 2006-08-10, 21:32

Possibile cause.

Prime95 was doing P-1 testing consuming gobs of memory -> Drives system cache out of the memory -> Once you stop Prime95, it takes a while for the rest of the programs to be loaded back to system cache.

How much memory have you allocated for Prime95?

Raterus · 2006-08-11, 12:49

I had configured it to use the max possible (looks like Prime95 limited me to 1374MB) I have 1.5GB physical memory on my computer.

It was doing P-1 testing, I know that for sure.

axn · 2006-08-11, 16:14

Were both the instances doing P-1 -- with each grabbing 1.4 GB? If so, you might want to dial it down to 600 MB per instance, which should leave appr. 300 MB for the rest of the system.

If you leave 200-250 MB for your system, you should be fine.

Raterus · 2006-08-11, 16:25

My config for the first night was 1374, which slowed down after stopping it.

The second night I ran it I used the NT Services, one instance was using 1374, but the other only was using 8 (hadn't configured that one yet).

I've reconfigured both instances to use 600, I'll run it again, probably over the weekend and see how that works.

Thanks, I hope this works.

drew · 2006-08-11, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raterus

My config for the first night was 1374, which slowed down after stopping it.

The second night I ran it I used the NT Services, one instance was using 1374, but the other only was using 8 (hadn't configured that one yet).

I've reconfigured both instances to use 600, I'll run it again, probably over the weekend and see how that works.

Thanks, I hope this works.

FWIW, the best strategy is to stagger the P-1 testing between the two instances. Let one run to completion, and then start the other. You can then use higher memory settings on both and not bog down your system.

garo · 2006-08-12, 09:14

There is very little to be gained by using 1374MB. You are bogging your system down with minimal increae in Prime95 efficiency. If anything, even Prime95 is less efficient due to the swapping.

1) I would recomemd as Drew said, to stagger the P-1 instances.
2) In all cases leave at least 300MB for Windows.
3) P-1 runs very well with 500-600MB so set your memory at that for both instances.

Raterus · 2006-08-14, 12:42

Just got into work this Monday morning. Before I left for the weekend, I lowered the memory requirements according to the recommendations here (leaving a certain amount for windows). I ran two instances of Prime95 all weekend long and nothing seems slow like it was before. I definitely think this was the problem. Thanks for all your help!

2006-08-10, 21:24	#1
Raterus Aug 2006 2³ Posts	prime95 slows computer after I stop Hi, I downloaded prime95 recently, and was planning on running it at night on my work computer. Two times now I've ran it at night, and in both cases, when I come back to work the next day and stop the processing, my computer is terribly bogged down, even though the process has stopped. (I verified this in task manager) I end up having to reboot my computer if I'm to do anything. I checked my page file usage after stopping the program, and noticed it was much higher than it normally would be when I don't have any programs open. (500mb higher) Thinking the first time I ran the program, I must have done something wrong, I downloaded the NTPRIME service and installed that for both of my processors. In the morning, I stopped the services ok, but my computer was still slow like it was last time. I'm not sure what I need to do to fix this, if it even can be fixed. I don't see anybody else having these problems with the program, so I'm wondering if it's just my PC (XP Pro). If anyone can offer some troubleshooting tips, I'd appreciate it. --Michael

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2006-08-10, 21:32	#2
axn Jun 2003 2³×683 Posts	Possibile cause. Prime95 was doing P-1 testing consuming gobs of memory -> Drives system cache out of the memory -> Once you stop Prime95, it takes a while for the rest of the programs to be loaded back to system cache. How much memory have you allocated for Prime95?

2006-08-11, 12:49	#3
Raterus Aug 2006 2³ Posts	I had configured it to use the max possible (looks like Prime95 limited me to 1374MB) I have 1.5GB physical memory on my computer. It was doing P-1 testing, I know that for sure.

2006-08-11, 16:14	#4
axn Jun 2003 2³×683 Posts	Were both the instances doing P-1 -- with each grabbing 1.4 GB? If so, you might want to dial it down to 600 MB per instance, which should leave appr. 300 MB for the rest of the system. If you leave 200-250 MB for your system, you should be fine.

2006-08-11, 16:25	#5
Raterus Aug 2006 2³ Posts	My config for the first night was 1374, which slowed down after stopping it. The second night I ran it I used the NT Services, one instance was using 1374, but the other only was using 8 (hadn't configured that one yet). I've reconfigured both instances to use 600, I'll run it again, probably over the weekend and see how that works. Thanks, I hope this works.

2006-08-12, 09:14	#7
garo Aug 2002 Termonfeckin, IE 101011010000₂ Posts	There is very little to be gained by using 1374MB. You are bogging your system down with minimal increae in Prime95 efficiency. If anything, even Prime95 is less efficient due to the swapping. 1) I would recomemd as Drew said, to stagger the P-1 instances. 2) In all cases leave at least 300MB for Windows. 3) P-1 runs very well with 500-600MB so set your memory at that for both instances.

2006-08-14, 12:42	#8
Raterus Aug 2006 2³ Posts	Just got into work this Monday morning. Before I left for the weekend, I lowered the memory requirements according to the recommendations here (leaving a certain amount for windows). I ran two instances of Prime95 all weekend long and nothing seems slow like it was before. I definitely think this was the problem. Thanks for all your help!