13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

Increase
Performance

Quick CPU
(Core Parking Manager v3)

Latest Version: 3.1.0.0 - Released: 6/14/2019

Quick CPU (formerly known as Core Parking Manager v3) is an application that was designed to fine-tune
and monitor CPU performance settings such as: Core Parking, Frequency Scaling and Turbo Boost,
as well as making other adjustments. Below you’ll find all the information about how it works, how to
interpret application data and settings, and how to make these adjustments.

CPU PERFORMANCE AND POWER CONSUMPTION

Back in a day, most computers were desktop machines with the main goal for the hardware, to offer absolute best performance and there was no real need
for technologies such as SpeedStep, Turbo Boost etc.

However, in the modern world, power consumption sometimes takes a higher priority than performance output. Considering significant change in
technology and expectations from the hardware, CPU's have gotten a lot of new features such as TurboBoost, SpeedStep, Hyper-Threading and individual
core state/s that help to reduce power consumption and heat. Even though these are all positive changes, it sometimes creates a situation where an end
user is not getting top performance when it is required (delayed performance boostboost). This can be caused by many hard to predict factors, such as
system state, availability, CPU state, heat and many many more. This application was made to provide help in controlling such factors and reduce the effect
of degrading performance when possible. Many features mentioned above will be described in greater details in the description below, so if you are
interested read on ...

CPU CORE PARKING

CPU Core parking is a feature that was introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2. The processor power management (PPM) engine and the scheduler work
together to dynamically adjust the number of cores that are available to run threads. The PPM engine chooses a minimum number of cores for the threads
that will be scheduled. Cores that are parked generally do not have any threads scheduled, and they will drop into very low power states when they are not
processing interrupts, DPCs, or other strictly affinitized work. The remaining cores are responsible for the remainder of the workload. Core parking can
potentially increase energy efficiency during lower usage.

The problem with Windows way of core parking is lack of flexibility since by default you are given very few options for setting Core parking index on your
machine

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 1/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

The functionality of this application allows for you to control the number of CPU cores that need to be enabled or disabled (or you can simply enable all the
cores at all times, see explanations on how it works below) based on your personal requirements, also now by looking at CPU graph you can tell if the

specific core is enabled or disabled. This information is also available in the CPU performance tab under “Number of currently enabled cores” and “Number
of currently parked cores”. This is real time info, so you don’t have to press the “Refresh” button to find out the current status.

Here's an example of how core parking actually works and the meaning of an index number:

Let's say we have a CPU with total of 6 cores (including logical) this will be 100% of our CPU power, where each core will represent about ~ 17%
(100 / 6 = 16.6 ~17). Now for example we would like that 4 cores out of 6 to never be parked by the OS regardless of the load. In this case we set
the number to 68% (17 * 4 = 68). This will tell the OS that it can only park 2 cores out of 6. For example, if we set the number to a 100% we are
basically telling the OS that NONE of our CPU cores can be parked and they should function at all times with full performance (see the pictures
below), and in the opposite case scenario if we set the number to 0% or close to that, OS will be able to park any number of cores (don't forget to
press the "Apply" button when you are setting the number). I hope this'll help explaining how it works.

FREQUENCY SCALING

CPU frequency scaling is a feature that enables the operating system to scale CPU frequency up or down to try and match supply to demand, delivering
CPU performance when necessary or saving energy when possible. Similar to Core Parking OS is trying to scale CPU frequency dynamically based on the
system load. The index for this control works similar to Core parking. On specific detail about the frequency scaling is that even if you set an index to 100%
it’ll increase (and keep) the frequency up to the CPU base frequency level, and still use dynamic scaling for any extra performance

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 2/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

You can see an example in the image below where frequency scaling is set to 100% and the OS is keeping CPU frequency as close to its base (2.6 GHz in
this specific example) as possible at all times. However, you can see that during heavy system loads CPU can spike higher than its base frequency thanks

to ‘Turbo Boost’ technology. The good news is that you can go above the base frequency levels and keep your CPU close to it’s Maximum possible
frequency thanks to Intel Turbo Boost and AMD Turbo CORE technologies. And that’s what the next section is about.

TURBO BOOST

During the normal system load CPU in your system operates at a standard clock speed (which indicates its overall performance). In fact, if some heavy
lifting is required (considering power usage) Turbo Boost kicks in increasing CPU clock frequency for the duration of the task. By setting TurboBoost index
to its maximum value CPU will try to provide performance greater than the performance level corresponding to the Processor base frequency at all times.

Intel Turbo Boost and AMD Turbo CORE technologies are features that allow processors to achieve additional performance when it is most useful (that is,
at high system loads). Basically it raises CPU operating frequency (as well as performance) in a dynamic (non deterministic) way.

Here’s what Intel states about their turbo boost technology:

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.01 accelerates processor and graphics performance for peak loads, automatically allowing processor cores to
run faster than the rated operating frequency if they’re operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits. Whether the
processor enters into Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and the amount of time the processor spends in that state depends on the workload
and operating environment.

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 3/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

C-STATE RESIDENCY (INTEL)

Important: C-State Residency configuration settings are saved on the actual CPU (hardware registers). This is not an OS configuration. Please do it
with caution.

Processor C-states are idle power saving states and during all the C-state/s (other than C0) the processor is idle, meaning that nothing is executing. C0
can be considered as an idle power state, meaning it is the non-idle state when the core is actually executing instructions.

CORE IDLE STATES - HOW IT WORKS

Each core has several idle states, C0, C1, C3 etc ... After all hardware threads supported by a core have executed HALT instruction (instruction which
halts CPU/unit until the next external interrupt is fired) core transitions to the first non iddle state C1. Now that the core is in C1, the coprocessor's power
management (don't mistake with the OS power manager) routine needs to figure out whether it is worthwhile to shut the core down further and drop it into
a next C-state. In which case, further parts of the core are shut down and power gated.

On the images below (see aplication footer) you can observe the percentage of time CPU spends in the specific C-State supported by the CPU.

C-State Description

C0 At least one hardware thread within the core is executing some task. In this state core stays active.

C1 All four hardware threads within the core finish their tasks. They all execute HALT instruction. At this point the core is clock-gated

C2 Can also be considered as a transition state. Core clock is gated, Interrupts are not served.

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 4/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

C-State Description


C3 Sometimes referred as a sleep state. In this state the processor might not be keeping its cache coherent, internal clock is off

C6 and up Deep power down state

C-State configuration changes: Sometimes changes to C-State would not be immediately reflected on the C-State Settings form UI, even though
changes are in effect already. An example would be after Resetting C-State (by pressing reset button) from C1 State auto demotion, you will notice
on application footer that your CPU has already entered one of the C-State/s, however, the first check box on the C-State settings will remain
checked. The UI update should be effective in minute or so.

ADVANCED CPU SETTINGS (INTEL)

All the features presented on the Advanced CPU Settings form are CPU dependent and will or will not be available depending on your CPU model.
Another factor that can affect the availability of a particular setting is the fact that it’s not locked by your system BIOS

Remember that all of these settings are not OS settings and will be stored directly on your CPU hardware registers, that being said, make sure you know
what you are doing and perform it with caution.

To find out more information about all the features presented on the form please visit the following page: Advanced CPU Settings

PROGRAM FEATURES

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 5/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

Performance graph for each core. Displays if the core is Active or Parked
Adjustable size for the individual CPU graph

Real time counter to display number of active vs parked cores
Adjustable CPU core parking settings
Adjustable CPU frequency scaling settings
Adjustable CPU turbo boost settings
Real time C-State Residency indicators and configuration
Real time CPU speed
Real time CPU utilization
Real time CPU temperature
System power output
System power state settings support (AC/DC)
System power plan support
Ability to check for application updates (Manual & Auto) under "Help->Check for updates" menu option
Changes are applied on the fly. NO NEED TO RESTART

Prerequisites: This application requires .NET Framework 4.6.1 to be installed on your machine. In case you don’t have it yet, you can download it
from the Microsoft site:
.NET Framework 4.6.1 Web Installer

PACKAGE:

Quick CPU-3.1.0.0-x64.msi
Quick CPU-3.1.0.0-x32.msi

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 6/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

NOTE: Versions prior to 3.1.0.0 were compiled to target both platforms x64 and x32 however, even on the x64 platform the app was running as 32
bit process. Now if you do choose to install 64 bit version of the app please do manual uninstall of any versions prior to 3.1.0.0.


Current version 3.1.0.0

Release date: 6/14/2019
Compiled for: .NET 4.6.1
Tested on platforms: Win7 x64-en SP 1, Win8 x64-en, Win8.1 x64-en, Win10 x64-en
Send your suggestions to: support@coderbag.com

Download Quick CPU

Release history

Release

Release version Release date Download Release notes

3.1.0.0 Jun 14, 2019 Download version 3.1.0.0 View release notes

3.0.1.0 Mar 7, 2019 Download version 3.0.1.0 View release notes

3.0.0.0 Feb 14, 2019 Download version 3.0.0.0 View release notes

2.1.4.0 Nov 4, 2018 Download version 2.1.4.0 View release notes

2.1.3.0 Sep 30, 2018 Download version 2.1.3.0 View release notes

2.1.2.0 Jun 18, 2018 Download version 2.1.2.0 View release notes

2.1.1.0 Apr 10, 2018 Download version 2.1.1.0 View release notes

2.0.1.0 Feb 1, 2018 Download version 2.0.1.0 View release notes

2.0.0.0 Nov 14, 2017 Download version 2.0.0.0 View release notes

1.1.1.0 Aug 19, 2017 Download version 1.1.1.0 View release notes

1.0.1.0 Jul 14, 2017 Download version 1.0.1.0 View release notes

1.0.0.5 Jun 19, 2017 Download version 1.0.0.5 View release notes

1.0.0.0 May 18, 2017 Download version 1.0.0.0 Initial release

About Our Software

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 7/8
13/09/2019 Quick CPU - CPU Core Parking and Performance Optimization

Enhance and monitor system performance, customize favorite settings and more…


Get your system up to speed !

CPU core parking - performance tuning and monitoring tool

Learn more

CoderBag - © Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.

https://www.coderbag.com/product/quickcpu 8/8