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Process Lasso and Affinity Mask

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Hi all-

 

I've read about Process Lasso and what it can do in a few threads and downloaded it last night.

 

I see it has the capability to set affinity masks.

 

Can this be used to change AMs instead of the JOBSCHEDULER cfg entry in P3D? Looks like a quick and easy way to do this but was wondering if any caveats from others might be worth noting before I proceed.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

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Hi all-

 

I've read about Process Lasso and what it can do in a few threads and downloaded it last night.

 

I see it has the capability to set affinity masks.

 

Can this be used to change AMs instead of the JOBSCHEDULER cfg entry in P3D? Looks like a quick and easy way to do this but was wondering if any caveats from others might be worth noting before I proceed.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

Yes it can be used to set AM. At the moment  I testing using the option 'avoid non-phisical cores' for  prepare3d.exe. I suppose its switching off HT, helpful while testing and your switching between HT on and off and saves going to the BIOS and restarting the computer.  

running FTX pnw with ASN, soft clouds and running quite smooth with no blurries.

a further option is to run p3d in game mode, there are notes on it in the help docs.

 

bob

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I didn't know that it manages HT as well. 

 

Interesting.

 

Thanks,

Mark

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Purchased last night, I have an Intel 6700 4 cores and 4 logical 0 - 7 still not sure what to set. Hope the experts can expand on this thread.


- Paul Cartier

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Purchased last night, I have an Intel 6700 4 cores and 4 logical 0 - 7 still not sure what to set. Hope the experts can expand on this thread.

Check this thread -

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/482415-my-version-on-how-to-get-smooth-and-stutter-free-p3d-31/page-1


 

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Do not use Process Lasso to set P3D's affinity. Instead set affinity as usual in the config file. Then use lasso to move addons and external apps to cores (or logical processors - LPs) not used by P3D.

 

Setting the AM of P3D using Lasso or any other external program will inevitably screw up the internal threading process. Hence its better to use Lasso to move other addons and programs off to cores not used by P3D.

 

E.g. You have a 4 core CPU with 8 logical processors (Hyperthreading). Use an AM of 116 (01110100) for P3D (set in config as usual) then move addons like ASN and EZCA to LPs 0-1.

 

For me personally I move ASN, GSX, EZCA to  LPs 0-1 and then chrome and some other background apps to LPs 0-1;4-7. That way you ensure that the main thread used by P3D which is LP 2 is as empty as can be.

 

The one thing of P3D you can change in Lasso for convenience is the CPU Priority. Set to High or Realtime and you don't have to do this via Task Manager before every session anymore.

 

Edit : One more thing you can do is set P3D as a game in Lasso. Then whenever you launch it, it will automatically change your power plan to the high performance one. Unless you already run a high performance power plan in Windows all the time.

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I already set P3d affinity in lasso, is there a way to reset it back to defaults in lasso?

 

Right click Prepar3d.exe -> Select CPU Affinity -> Always then press None.

 

If you do not see a preconfigured AM for Prepar3d.exe under the Rules section then you're good to go.

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Setting the AM of P3D using Lasso or any other external program will inevitably screw up the internal threading process.

 

Where did you read this?


FlightSim UK - Live To Fly

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I wouldn't know where he might have read it, but when I think it thru it makes sense, for example... P3D itself sets an AM after simple determination of what your processor is, but if you set the AM thru Process Lasso, then P3D sets the AM, what is the ramification of that combined set of actions?

 

You got me, I don't know but like I said, makes sense to me, to not tie a knot.


Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700F CPU @ 2.90GHz (8 cores) Hyper on, Evga RTX 3060 12 Gig, 32 GB ram, Windows 11, P3D v6, and MSFS 2020 and a couple of SSD's

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Where did you read this?

This info was actually on many other threads in posts made by Steve and other experts alike. I did not think much of it either until I tried it myself with Task Manager and noticed how the loads shifted within the threads. Something that should not happen if you set an internal Affinity Mask within P3D and leave it as it be.

 

Try it and see for yourself. The actual consequences of that happening are not very well documented but it will definitely cause unnecessary issues with rendering and data loading. E.g. Blurries, scenery popping or slow texture loading etc.

 

Why risk it? I'd rather not add yet another cause for concern or problem to fix in P3D.

 

Edit : I should add it's not just P3D but many other apps and programs that don't like to be told what to do in relation to Affinity Masks. Certain programs will not even run and crash when you try to set an external affinity mask setting to them. So far all the addons I have moved using Lasso seem to be doing fine however I once had a system lock up before when I tried to Lasso my Antivirus program.

 

I wouldn't know where he might have read it, but when I think it thru it makes sense, for example... P3D itself sets an AM after simple determination of what your processor is, but if you set the AM thru Process Lasso, then P3D sets the AM, what is the ramification of that combined set of actions?

You got me, I don't know but like I said, makes sense to me, to not tie a knot.

You are right. However it's the movement of the existing jobs on the LPs chosen by P3D that's the issue. Because Lasso forces the jobs off the LPs and moves them onto the new one selected by Lasso they are jumbled up.

 

The P3D/FSX engine has a certain order : 1st thread is the "main" thread, 2nd thread is the "fiber" thread and all that follow (depending on your am) are scenery rendering threads. When you lasso it this order is lost and the jobs just end up all over the place even though you see the correct LPs being used.

 

Sorry for the long post.

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So far all the addons I have moved using Lasso seem to be doing fine however I once had a system lock up before when I tried to Lasso my Antivirus program.

 

Yes, don't try to lasso your antivirus software - it will cause problems. I believe this is mentioned in the developer's help document where it states that antivirus products are exempt from any restraint by PL.

 

Setting an Affinity Mask for Prepar3D.exe in the configuration file is definitely the way to go. Do not use Process Lasso for this. You will only hinder performance. Steve Waite has discussed this matter on several occasions in other threads. It has been tested thoroughly and, believe me, he knows what he is doing.

 

Mike

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Yes, don't try to lasso your antivirus software - it will cause problems. I believe this is mentioned in the developer's help document where it states that antivirus products are exempt from any restraint by PL.

 

Setting an Affinity Mask for Prepar3D.exe in the configuration file is definitely the way to go. Do not use Process Lasso for this. You will only hinder performance. Steve Waite has discussed this matter on several occasions in other threads. It has been tested thoroughly and, believe me, he knows what he is doing.

 

Mike

egads, is there a guide to tweaking P3D?  I am going in circles: I  had gone through youtube videos and some threads here that are quite long, don't know how I missed this one.


10700k / Gigabyte 3060

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Followed TheBoom instructions my sim is running very smooth! I have Ezdox, GSX and ASN on cores 0 - 1 left virus software default cores (Avast) not sure what else to lasso.

 

Running sim at 120hz (default is 144) and half vsync and frames lock to 58 in NI I tried 30 but was not as smooth.


- Paul Cartier

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