Copycat Digital gave me a tweak to speed up the crunch time for WUs using the file dnetc-1.00 and changing the <processor-usage> priority from 4 to 9. This worked splendidly.

Two questions arise:

1. Can further gains be had by upping the processor priority from 9 to a higher figure? If so, what is the limit at which either the PC locks or the improvement is entirely lost?

2. Can additional gains be had when opening the file dnetc-cpu-1.2 file in Notepad, by modifying the command <processor-usage> priority=0 to a higher number? The other "max-threads=0" will remain unaltered.

Hi,

How nice. :)

1) That 9 is actually the maximum value supported by the D.net Client. I think I'll make it default in next app version.

2) By default the CPU client will use all cycles from one CPU that's not used by other processes (when the processor is "idle"). I wouldn't recommend increasing priority on a host that you use for regular work (especially Windows one). A dedicated cruncher machine might benefit from a priority bump but any improvement depends on if there are any other processes competing for CPU cycles running.

BTW, here's the online help for that option for reference:

The higher the client's priority, the greater will be its demand for
processor time. The operating system will fulfill this demand only after
the demands of other processes with a higher or equal priority are fulfilled
first. At priority zero, the client will get processing time only when all
other processes are idle (give up their chance to run). At priority nine, the
client will always get CPU time unless there is a time-critical process
waiting to be run - this is obviously not a good idea unless the client is
running on a machine that does nothing else.
*Warning*: Running the Win32 client at any priority level other than zero is
destructive to Operating System safety. Win32's thread scheduler is not nice.
Besides, a zero priority does not mean that the client will run slower than at
a higher priority. It simply means that all other processes have a better
*chance* to get processor time than client. If none of them want/need processor
time, the client will get it. Do *not* change the value of this option unless
you are intimately familiar with the way Win32 thread scheduling works.

-w

Many thanks Teemu.

The answers here are very succinct and say you already have the optimum set up ... leave the rest alone.

All questions answered in a single sweep and the reasons placed well.