I have been spending some time reading some very interesting stuff in this forum. I am truly getting ‘educated’!
Quick question if you all don’t mind, on something that I am really not very sure about.
What are the benefits of enabling Multi Core Enhancement, and would the enabling of this benefit the sim? Are there any downsides?
My system:
i7-9700KF
RTX 2070 Super
Z390 Phantom Gaming 4S
32gb G Skill 3600
2TB 970 Evo Plus M.2 NVme
2TB 860 EVO SSD
1TB 860 EVO SSD
Thanks!
Multicore enhancement allows the program to spread its workload over additional cores. EG the render thread on core 0, terrain loading on core 1, sound engine on core 2 and so on. There’s little reason to not have it on these days. I would only recommend turning it off if its causing you issues.
Are you asking about the CPU BIOS option?
Yes, that is what I am referring to. The multi core enhancement option in the Bios (UEFI).
My understanding is that MCE is controlling the turbo boost on your CPU. The option in BIOS is usually to either use the default intel option or the m/b vendor option (ASUS in my case).
Just do an internet search on MCE to learn more. It definitely has a positive impact on running MSFS because you get faster clock speeds with the downside of higher heat generation.
That is correct. MCE will usually be a bit more aggresive with the base clocks (mine goes from 3.6 to 4.0), but the boost clocks remain the same.
I might be wrong here but IIRC, Multi Core Enhancement is a setting for ‘K’ processors which have the capability to turbo boost all cores at the same time instead of just one. ‘Regular’ Intel CPU Turbo boost is only 1 core at a time otherwise.
Most of what I have read is exactly in line with what you say here.
I got a new pre-built a couple months back, and I see in the UEFI that Multi Core Enhancement is Disabled. I have been wondering what are the real benefits of enabling it (and of course, if there are any negatives).
I have tried enabling it and running the sim, but did not really notice any improvements - but I really did not do much testing. I am running the sim in High settings, with clouds on ultra, and all shadows dialed down 1 click. I am frame limited at 60 and typically don’t see less than 45.
Thoughts?
Hi,
What processor do you have?
MCE is a way for the processor to lengthen the duration of PL1 and PL2 power limits. On my own processor (10900k) PL1 is 125w and PL2 is a boost up to 225w. This allows a processor to boost its power and thus clockspeed from a base boost up to a maximum boost for a duration of time (tau).
Intel spec states (for 10 series processors) that tau (time duration between PL1 and PL2) must be a minimum of 56 seconds. What MCE will do is increase this duration. Some board manufacturers can increase this indefinitely meaning it will always boost using increased power.
There is a caveat to this. Increasing power through the chip constantly will reduce its lifespan and increase temps. In the case of gaming in general and MSFS all cores will never be 100% fully utilised so this sort of boosting won’t apply. I would recommend that you DO NOT enable MCE for the above reasons. Your processor will settle on a default boost clock across all cores and will lock to that using MSFS. MCE will not change this and will not affect performance. Reading your comments it would seem you have already seen that for yourself.
Thank you for that response. I had actually been a bit hesitant on enabling it. It shall go back to ‘disabled’.
I’m running an i7-9700KF. (Full specs are in my original post).
If you want to read more this is a really interesting article.
It is specifically about Z490 boards but I have read and seen the same applying to the Z390 boards.
Bottom line is it messes with intel spec so probably not recommended.