System configuration performance

[icgbob]

I didn't see a "combined" or "system" thread so hopefully I've chosen the correct place for this post. If not, please point me to the correct one.

I recently built a new machine and am disappointed in it's performance as compared to my current one. I did a lot of reading before I decided on the particular components in an effort to make the best decisions. I figured if there was a place to find out if I had something mis-configured or get other tips this would be it. Or course Windows boots pretty quick on the new one; that's about the only real improvement I've seen so far though. I know that even though it has 6 cores, the 9010T is a tad slower than the 965 but I'm confident I can increase its speed once I have things running well at defaults.

I don't use either for games. Mostly for Photoshop, Premier (and other video programs) and typical day to day desktop activities. The other day I encoded 4 videos (about 45 min each) on both machines at the same time (each having their own source files to work with) and was very surprised that the old machine did the job 3 minutes and change quicker than the new one. Same software on both. While the machines worked I used Resource Monitor just to get a feel for how things were being used. The SSD on the new machine seems incredibly slow as does the overall performance of the machine. I've done various types of reads / writes using large and small files; none of which impressed me vs. the older system.

Hopefully I've given you all the info needed. Thanks in advance for your help.

The Old (to be used to upgrade my HTPC when new is one dialed in):

GA-890GPA-UD3H Rev 1.0
BIOS: F3
AMD Phenom II Black X4 965 3.4GHZ Processor
2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 (8)
WDC 1001FALS-00J7B0 1TB SATA II HD (OS / Programs)
2 x WD 74GB Raptor SATA HDs Raid 0 (34.7 GB - Photoshop Scratch / 34.7GB Premier Scratch / 69.25GB Page File)
Plextor BDDVDR PX-B320SA SATA II DVD Drive
On-board GX-890 Graphics Display (Side Port + System)
On-board sound
Windows Vista Home Premium (SP2) 32bit
A few minor tweaks for better performance - mostly registry changes
All drivers updated
Loads of various software running for about six months


The New:
GA-890GPA-UD3H Rev 2.1
BIOS: FD
AMD Phenom II Black X6 9010T 3.2GHZ Processor
4 x 4GB DDR3 1333 (16)
OWC 120GB Mercury Extreme Pro SSD - Set to AHCI (OS & Programs)
WDC WD10 02FAEX-00Z3A0 SATA III 1TB HD
Plextor BDDVDR PX-B320SA SATA II DVD Drive
On-board GX-890 Graphics Display (Disabled)
PNY NVidia Quadro FX580 (recommended for Photoshop / Premier)
On-board sound
Windows 7 Professional 64bit (clean install)
A few minor tweaks for better performance - mostly registry changes
All drivers updated to current 64bit versions
Almost no software at this point


Neither system is over clocked, though I'd like to do so on the new one once properly configured and tweaked. I've been searching for more info on configuring things for the SSD but haven't actually seen much. At this point, due to the price and lack of improvement, I'll probably return the OWC and try another brand or simply stick with a fast HDD.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated

 

[DelJo63]

Frequently, systems are lack-luster due to too many programs running OR autoupdates.

1. reduce the system services to only what is necessary
2. stop all those autoupdate programs
3. remove the startup applications from your user id profile

3) is easy to find

• \users\all users\start menu\programs\startups
• also look in yourLoginID {ie substituted it for all users above}

Everything in these folders get started when you logon - - "Do you really need it?"

2) can be found unsing the Taskmgr and look at the names. Once you get a list of these,
you can use Spybot Search & Distroy to stop them.

1) is more complex and needs to be done with care, but is very productive.
Many System Services are not necessary even though MS marks them as autostart.
The correction is to change autostart to manual and the nice part is, they can start if requested. To prohibit starting, change to disable.

System Services are accessed by using run services.msc and you need admin privs.

I'll expand on (1-2) with your follow-up ---

 

[icgbob]

Hi jobeard and thanks for the suggestions. Most of those things have already been done on both machines; the type of tweaks I was referring to (should have been clearer).

The new machine has little software installed yet. When I did the videos those were the only programs running at the time on either machine. I just walked away and let them run without disturbance.

 

[Leeky]

Does your DVD encoding software actually utilise the full 6 processing cores of your new CPU though?

I ask, as I'm not actually sure if it will do. Assuming it will only use 4 cores, the performance with CPU load would be very alike I'd imagine.

Also, what are the read/write figures for your new SSD? A link to it would be cool if possible.

 

[icgbob]

I doubt if one does, as it only seemed to use about 50% of the CPU. I've submitted a request for info from them. However, I'm pretty sure Adobe Premier uses all available processors; I'll find out for sure.

The SSD averaged about 75mbs running from almost none to s a few times when it was about 132. Certainly not what I expected.

I'll see about setting up a link to the drive for you.

Thanks much