Having issues with DCS core parking with the AMD ryzen 9950x3d CPU

[RTS354]

I just built a new PC with a 9950x3d and so far all of the games but DCS use the core parking feature of the AMD chipset and the Windows 11 game scheduler. I tried using the AMD Ryzen master in game mode and DCS still does not park the non-cached cores. Another issue is that if a game doesn't use core parking, the player will experience frame stuttering in the game. Does anyone know of a solution to this problem? Like I said previously ALL of my games but DCS World park the correct cores when they are running, so this is an issue with DCS World.  

[Czar66]

Intel here, 12600K. I did this recently to keep every core unparked. I think I got rid of the few stutters left I had in DCS. Last flight with the F-15E and its ground radar was remarkably smooth, but it also can be a placebo effect. All I know is that, resource manager in windows doesn't state any parked cores anymore even at idle.

I hope this helps once and for all.

First link on the description has the step by step with the correct path through the registry editor.

[RTS354]

The issue is that when gaming using the 9950x3d, you want the cores with no cache parked and the cores with the 3d cache unparked. The video show how to unpark all cores which is what DCS already does on my PC. As I stated in my post, ALL other games park the non-cache core with is the correct configuration for gaming. The only option that I have so far is to go into the BIOS and enable GAME mode which disables the non-cache cores which turns the 9950x3d into a 9800x3d. 

[Romo]

Did you figure anything out?  Got a 9950x3d  as well. Parking works perfectly in MSFS but not DCS 

[avenger82]

Looks like for DCS World you don’t want to park non 3d cache CCD. There is a video (you enable English subtitles) showing in VR it even beats 9800x3d in some scenarios :

However, It’s a bit weird , because CPU frame time is always a bit lower for 9950x3d, but at the same time current FPS is usually slightly lower.

[RTS354]

10 hours ago, Romo said:

Did you figure anything out?  Got a 9950x3d  as well. Parking works perfectly in MSFS but not DCS 

Not yet. So far the only solution is to go into the BIOS and select GAME MODE which disables the non-cached CPUS. This turns the 9950x3d into a 9800x3d. Note that when I played the game ATOMFALL, this game parked the CPU's with the vcache and used just the non-cached CPUs - weird? Note that CPUs 0 through 15 are the one's with 3d Vcache. You can use MSI Afterburner to watch which CPUs the game is using in real-time. Afterburner displays an overlay over the game.

[sleighzy]

16 minutes ago, RTS354 said:

You can use MSI Afterburner to watch which CPUs the game is using in real-time. Afterburner displays an overlay over the game.

One thing to be aware of that MSI Afterburner itself can cause micro-stutters in the game on AMD chips. This is due to the polling it does. The Power and Power Percent options there may potentially be the primary reason (folk can try turning those off), but just a heads-up in general. Overlays in general are bad.

[RTS354]

I get the same micro stutters when Afterburner is not running. My issue is that DCS doesn't tell the Windows 11 scheduler to park the non-cached CPUs 16 -31 when it should. I believe this has to do with how DCS is implementing multi-threading. The point of the core parking is to keep all of the game processes on the same CCD because passing game data between CCD0 (CPUs 0 - 15) and CCD1 (CPUs 16 - 31) will cause micro stutters in the program doing this. Note that I installed Lasso Pro and tried to force DCS to use CPUs cores 0 - 15, and DCS ignored the Lasso Pro settings and still used CPUs on both CCD's.

[MAXsenna]

Not yet. So far the only solution is to go into the BIOS and select GAME MODE which disables the non-cached CPUS. This turns the 9950x3d into a 9800x3d. Note that when I played the game ATOMFALL, this game parked the CPU's with the vcache and used just the non-cached CPUs - weird? Note that CPUs 0 through 15 are the one's with 3d Vcache. You can use MSI Afterburner to watch which CPUs the game is using in real-time. Afterburner displays an overlay over the game.

Hmm, so if money is not a hindrance, would it be better to get an 9950x3d (for future proofing) and turn it into a slightly faster 9800x3d, or am I totally missing something? Honest question.
Cheers!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[RTS354]

If your are only gaming just get a 9800x3d as a 9950x3d is a waste of money. I do both productivity and gaming on the same PC which is why I bought the 9950x3d. 

[MAXsenna]

47 minutes ago, RTS354 said:

If your are only gaming just get a 9800x3d as a 9950x3d is a waste of money. I do both productivity and gaming on the same PC which is why I bought the 9950x3d. 

Thanks!  

[avenger82]

17 hours ago, RTS354 said:

If your are only gaming just get a 9800x3d as a 9950x3d is a waste of money. I do both productivity and gaming on the same PC which is why I bought the 9950x3d. 

According to the video I linked , in DCS , the  9950x3d is a little bit better than 9800x3d. AFAIK it’s the only game that shows benefit of having non 3d cache CCD.  Looks like for others it’s actually better to make sure non 3d cache is disabled.

Edited April 4 by avenger82

[hotstick]

It's a significant advantage that DCS doesn't park non-cached cores.
This allows the DCS game to occupy the 8 cached cores and leave all other processes with the non-cached cores. This way, DCS has all 8 cached cores to itself, unlike a 9800x3d, which has to share some of its cores with other processes.
The 9950x3d shares the same advantage of the 14900 (many e-core) over other processors in the same family.
The 1% and 0.1% are improved.

Part of a dcs.log on a 9800X3D.
common cores: {8, 9, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {0, 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 6, 7}
IO cores: {}
unavailable cores: {}

Can someone with a 9950X3D post the same part of their dcs.log?

[Mr_sukebe]

1 hour ago, hotstick said:

It's a significant advantage that DCS doesn't park non-cached cores.
This allows the DCS game to occupy the 8 cached cores and leave all other processes with the non-cached cores. This way, DCS has all 8 cached cores to itself, unlike a 9800x3d, which has to share some of its cores with other processes.
The 9950x3d shares the same advantage of the 14900 (many e-core) over other processors in the same family.
The 1% and 0.1% are improved.

Part of a dcs.log on a 9800X3D.
common cores: {8, 9, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {0, 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 6, 7}
IO cores: {}
unavailable cores: {}

Can someone with a 9950X3D post the same part of their dcs.log?

is that correct and confirmed by multiple people?

If so, that’s both very interesting and awesome 

[RTS354]

8 hours ago, hotstick said:

It's a significant advantage that DCS doesn't park non-cached cores.
This allows the DCS game to occupy the 8 cached cores and leave all other processes with the non-cached cores. This way, DCS has all 8 cached cores to itself, unlike a 9800x3d, which has to share some of its cores with other processes.
The 9950x3d shares the same advantage of the 14900 (many e-core) over other processors in the same family.
The 1% and 0.1% are improved.

Part of a dcs.log on a 9800X3D.
common cores: {8, 9, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {0, 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 6, 7}
IO cores: {}
unavailable cores: {}

Can someone with a 9950X3D post the same part of their dcs.log?

DCS beta in its current version is NOT compatible with any of the AMD X3D and INTEL hybrid processors and states this in the first lines of the log file:

2025-04-07 06:47:41.998 WARNING EDCORE (Main): CPU HAS PARKED LOGICAL CORES (this can be source of stuttering and reduced performance especially on hybrid CPUs with P/E-cores)

DCS tries to use the highest frequency cores for rendering and the other for common non-rendering processes. Here is how DCS is using my 9950x3D cores:

common cores: {10, 11, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {0, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7, 2, 3}

Note that the render cores are NOT using cores 0 thru 7 with the X3D-cache as it should. The render cores are using cores 8 and 9 instead of cores 4 and 5. This will cause various levels of stuttering depending on your graphics card and graphics settings.

The log shows that DCS Beta is telling Windows 11 to use ALL cores as stated in the log file:

system  affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111
process affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111

Another issue is that when the 9950x3d is correctly configured in both the BIOS and in Windows 11 for gaming, the AMD chipset drivers and the Windows 11 core schedular will constantly try to force all programs, drivers, and services to use cores 0 thru 7 which contain the X3D cache when your game has input focus. You can see this when using the MSI Afterburner overlay when playing games that are correctly using the X3D cache. Cores 0 thru 7 will be heavily utilized while cores 8 thru 15 will be in sleep mode. BUT you will occasionally see one or more of the cores 8 thru 15 wake up and immediately get put back to sleep when the new background process is switched to one of the X3D cores.

The issue here is that the DCS Beta game engine is using cores 8 thru 15 that the AMD chipset drivers and Windows 11 are constantly trying to put them to sleep. 

NOTE that I haven't tried changing the BIOS CPPC setting from DRIVER to FREQUENCY and disabling Game Mode and the Game Bar in Windows 11, as this may be the only way to run DCS Beta with no stuttering issues when using the 9950X3D. Or as I stated earlier, another approach at this point is to enable GAME MODE in the BIOS which will disable the non-X3D cores and turn your $800 9950X3D into a $480 9800X3D with no hyperthreading.

Below is an excerpt from the first several lines of my DCS log:

=== Log opened UTC 2025-04-07 06:47:42
2025-04-07 06:47:41.998 WARNING EDCORE (Main): hypervisor is active
2025-04-07 06:47:41.998 WARNING EDCORE (Main): CPU HAS PARKED LOGICAL CORES (this can be source of stuttering and reduced performance especially on hybrid CPUs with P/E-cores)
2025-04-07 06:47:43.465 INFO    EDCORE (Main): Platform Timer Resolution: 15.72ms
2025-04-07 06:47:43.880 INFO    EDCORE (Main): Created boot pool: n:32
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): Command line: "D:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin\DCS.exe" --restarted
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): DCS/2.9.14.8394 (x86_64; MT; Windows NT 10.0.26100)
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): Application revision: 248394
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): Renderer revision: 25901
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): Terrain revision: 25970
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): Build number: 306
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): CPU cores: 16, threads: 32, System RAM: 63116 MB, Pagefile: 3968 MB
2025-04-07 06:47:43.881 INFO    APP (Main): CPU info:
system  affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111
process affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 16-Core Processor           [2x L3 caches]
CPU caches have different sizes: [32-96] MB
Cores sharing L3 cache 96 MB: {0, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7, 2, 3, 10, 11, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15}
Cores sharing L3 cache 32 MB: {16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30, 31, 28, 29}
all CPU cores have the same efficiency class 0
CPU cores have different performance classes: [0-14]
logical cores with performance class 14: {16, 17, 18, 19}
logical cores with performance class 13: {22, 23}
logical cores with performance class 12: {26, 27}
logical cores with performance class 11: {20, 21}
logical cores with performance class 10: {24, 25}
logical cores with performance class 9: {30, 31}
logical cores with performance class 8: {28, 29}
logical cores with performance class 7: {0, 1}
logical cores with performance class 6: {8, 9}
logical cores with performance class 5: {6, 7}
logical cores with performance class 4: {2, 3}
logical cores with performance class 3: {10, 11}
logical cores with performance class 2: {4, 5}
logical cores with performance class 1: {12, 13}
logical cores with performance class 0: {14, 15}
common cores: {10, 11, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {0, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7, 2, 3}
IO cores: {16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30, 31, 28, 29}
unavailable cores: {}
 

[hotstick]

Thank you for all this information and for the dcs.log.

Here's the dcs.log file for a 14900K, which confirms the same warning message at the beginning of the log.

=== Log opened UTC 2025-03-21 03:56:55
2025-03-21 03:56:55.110 WARNING EDCORE (Main): CPU HAS PARKED LOGICAL CORES (this can be source of stuttering and reduced performance especially on hybrid CPUs with P/E-cores)
2025-03-21 03:56:56.563 INFO    EDCORE (Main): Platform Timer Resolution: 15.45ms
2025-03-21 03:56:57.191 INFO    EDCORE (Main): Created boot pool: n:32
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): Command line: "C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\bin/DCS.exe"
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): DCS/2.9.14.8222 (x86_64; MT; Windows NT 10.0.26100)
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): Application revision: 248222
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): Renderer revision: 25901
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): Terrain revision: 25769
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): Build number: 305
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): CPU cores: 24, threads: 32, System RAM: 65298 MB, Pagefile: 9216 MB
2025-03-21 03:56:57.192 INFO    APP (Main): CPU info:
system  affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111
process affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900K [1x L3 caches]
CPU has uniform cache size 36 MB (per cache)
CPU cores have different efficiency classes: [0-1]
logical cores with efficiency class 1: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}
logical cores with efficiency class 0: {16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31}
CPU cores have different performance classes: [0-2]
logical cores with performance class 2: {8, 9, 10, 11}
logical cores with performance class 1: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15}
logical cores with performance class 0: {16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31}
common cores: {4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {8, 9, 10, 11, 0, 1, 2, 3}
IO cores: {16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31}
unavailable cores: {}

However, a 12700K which is "a little" hybrid with its 4 e-cores does not have the same alert message at the start of the log:

=== Log opened UTC 2025-04-11 12:15:32
2025-04-11 12:15:32.826 INFO    EDCORE (Main): Platform Timer Resolution: 5.85ms
2025-04-11 12:15:32.899 INFO    EDCORE (Main): Created boot pool: n:20
2025-04-11 12:15:32.900 INFO    APP (Main): Command line: "D:\j\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\bin-mt\DCS.exe" --force_disable_VR --restarted
2025-04-11 12:15:32.900 INFO    APP (Main): DCS/2.9.14.8394 (x86_64; MT; Windows NT 10.0.22631)
2025-04-11 12:15:32.900 INFO    APP (Main): Application revision: 248394
2025-04-11 12:15:32.900 INFO    APP (Main): Renderer revision: 25901
2025-04-11 12:15:32.901 INFO    APP (Main): Terrain revision: 25970
2025-04-11 12:15:32.901 INFO    APP (Main): Build number: 306
2025-04-11 12:15:32.901 INFO    APP (Main): CPU cores: 12, threads: 20, System RAM: 65367 MB, Pagefile: 4096 MB
2025-04-11 12:15:32.901 INFO    APP (Main): CPU info:
system  affinity mask: 11111111111111111111
process affinity mask: 11111111111111111111
CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700KF [1x L3 caches]
CPU has uniform cache size 25 MB (per cache)
CPU cores have different efficiency classes: [0-1]
logical cores with efficiency class 1: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}
logical cores with efficiency class 0: {16, 17, 18, 19}
CPU cores have different performance classes: [0-1]
logical cores with performance class 1: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}
logical cores with performance class 0: {16, 17, 18, 19}
common cores: {8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}
render cores: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
IO cores: {16, 17, 18, 19}
unavailable cores: {}

I won't explain the reason, just to provide food for thought.

Regarding the 9950x3d, the hardware allows for core separation between the game and the rest, but optimizations and tweaks are required to achieve this result.

Can ED confirm that they're working on this issue?
A little more transparency on how core processing currently works and future developments would help us move forward.

In the meantime, perhaps Process Lasso could clean things up. Has anyone tried it?
 

[JohnRedcorn]

11 hours ago, RTS354 said:

DCS beta in its current version is NOT compatible with any of the AMD X3D and INTEL hybrid processors and states this in the first lines of the log file:
 

DCS doesn't have a BETA version anymore. They united the BETA and Stable into a Global version (or something like this) a long time ago already. So there is currently only one version of DCS. If you are till using the Steam BETA version, you should switch to the Stable(Global). Because the Beta which is still available in Steam is not supported for a long time already.

[RTS354]

I'm using the version I downloaded from the DCS web site. Thanks for clarifying that  DCS is now one version.  The log files shows that I am using version 2.9.14.8222, the march 19, 2025 update.  I'm still having stuttering issues with DCS and the new 9950x3d system that I just built. I do not have any issues when running DCS on my older 5800x3D system with the same graphical settings. I'm currently testing DCS after changing the BIOS CPPC setting from DRIVER to FREQUENCY, disabling GAME MODE in the BIOS, and disabling Game Mode and the Game Bar in Windows 11. I'll add to this post after I do some testing this weekend. 

[JohnRedcorn]

1 hour ago, RTS354 said:

I'm using the version I downloaded from the DCS web site. Thanks for clarifying that  DCS is now one version.  The log files shows that I am using version 2.9.14.8222, the march 19, 2025 update.  I'm still having stuttering issues with DCS and the new 9950x3d system that I just built. I do not have any issues when running DCS on my older 5800x3D system with the same graphical settings. I'm currently testing DCS after changing the BIOS CPPC setting from DRIVER to FREQUENCY, disabling GAME MODE in the BIOS, and disabling Game Mode and the Game Bar in Windows 11. I'll add to this post after I do some testing this weekend. 

The newest version is 2.9.14.8394. You have a version which is one version older.

You should try to update it using the update menu in "Eagle Dynamics" folder in "Start button menu".

Edited April 11 by JohnRedcorn

[RTS354]

I'm upgraded to the latest version and still have the same micro stuttering issues unless I change the BIOS CPPC setting from DRIVER to FREQUENCY, disabling GAME MODE in the BIOS, and change the Windows 11 power settings to PERFORMANCE.

I decided to swap out the 9950x3D with a 9800x3D because I'm experiencing too many issues with other games stuttering and occasional one second frame rate pauses. I'm experiencing a 50% success rate with 9950x3d  with smooth game performance and a 100% success rate with the 9800x3D. 

Thanks for the info, but I think the technology that the 9950x3D relies on is not stable at this time. DCS is not programmed to work with the 9950x3d at this time. I'm not having any stuttering issues with DCS with the 9800X3d, so I'll just stick with this processor for now.

[Buzzer1977]

On 4/3/2025 at 8:44 PM, RTS354 said:

If your are only gaming just get a 9800x3d as a 9950x3d is a waste of money. I do both productivity and gaming on the same PC which is why I bought the 9950x3d. 

You can make good usage of the 9950x3d when you run the DCS server on the non-cached cores, while running the DCS client on the cached ones. 

[hotstick]

The YouTuber at the video link below describes the goal, which is to have the DCS game on the core with cache and everything else on the core without cache.

He also mentions the fact that, as it stands, Windows management (and perhaps also DCS) doesn't allow this goal to be achieved.
However, it is possible to achieve this by manually addressing the problem (process lasso and other actions).

It's worth a try!

[RTS354]

I tried Process Lasso Pro and DCS ignores the assign core affinities and you can see DCS doing this when examining the DCS log file:

system  affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111
process affinity mask: 11111111111111111111111111111111

[hotstick]

Even though DCS performs its analysis at launch, it's still possible to disrupt its operation by modifying the core affinity on the DCS task using the task manager (DCS is already running).
This isn't a permanent action, but it at least allows you to run tests (excluding process lasso) and see if stuttering is still present.

[RTS354]

I'm just sticking with the 9800x3d for now as there are no extra complexities that I have to deal with. Thanks for the info.