To begin, I apologize for the length of this posting.
Here’s one reason RM (and other programs) may be slow on your computer. Some background: RM used to open and run pretty fast on my HP Ryzen 5 laptop (AMD cpu) running Windows 11. The laptop is only about 7 months old, but a month or two ago everything began to slow down. RM went from opening in about 10 seconds to over 2 minutes. I was mystified because there were no viruses and I had tried all the recommended settings to improve performance. That went on for at least a month, then one day I started Task Manager and went to the Performance tab. Clicking on CPU and looking at the bottom of the window, it shows utilization, speed, processes, etc. The speed was showing a CONSTANT 0.40 GHz when my CPU is rated at a base speed of 2.1 GHz and could go to nearly 4 GHz in bursts. I normally always use the laptop at home on the wall adapter instead of battery. A few days later I happened to run the laptop on battery power instead of the wall adapter. Lo and behold, the computer ran fast on battery and Task Manager was showing a speed that varied between 2 and 4 GHz. As soon as I plugged in the laptop, the speed dropped back to the constant 0.40 GHz.
So, why? I did various searches on the Internet and discovered other people had the same problem, and some of them mentioned HP products. Many so called experts in forums gave all the same usual ways to speed up a computer (which usually have negligible effect and I had already tried). One mentioned a registry change which I have not tried yet and a few mentioned they replaced the wall power adapter with a new one. From the responses, the registry change helped some but not others. The same for the new adapter.
Anyway, I have ordered a new adapter (they’re fairly cheap online) and I will let you know if it helps. If it doesn’t I will try the registry change and let you know. If neither helps, I guess I will just junk the computer and get a new one.
The Windows OS seems to run at different speed on battery vs AC power. However, macs have no such OS problem and RM8 takes a good 1+ minute to open and close on my M1 Pro MBP14 which runs all other programs instantly. CPU usage is also 10-100X that of other normal mac programs.
It is not a problem with Windows OS. My problem is most likely some kind of hardware or firmware problem which can be extremely hard to track down. The problem is some kind of throttling signal that is causing the CPU to run very slowly when plugged in. It runs just fine on battery power. I’d be willing to bet that Macs run at different CPU speeds too, depending on the system’s performance and power needs.
RM8 is the slowest app on my otherwise very fast HP laptop. I do have ample memory and a fast SDD. But with the exception of the severe performance problem I have reported several times with RM8’s Advanced Search, my RM8 performance is quite tolerable - not great, but nothing like as slow as you are describing.
I work on a long term project of many years duration which has absolutely nothing to do with genealogy and which might best be described as a high performance computing project. It involves C++ code I have written myself. I have worked long and hard to optimize memory and CPU performance, including the use of multiple threads to run all the processor cores at 100% utilization for many hours at a time. In every extensive timing test I have performed, the machine slows down while on battery power. I’m pretty sure that Windows Power Management is downclocking the processor while on battery power to extend battery life. It also can downclock even on wall power if it gets too hot because it runs cooler if the CPU is running slower. So I’m extremely puzzled and I have no ideas whatsoever to offer about your machine running RM8 faster on battery power than on wall power. It seems totally opposite to my many years experience working to get the most performance possible out of my machine.
No. Macs run consistently fast due to their much better OS and its fine tuning to matching hardware. As Jerry points out Windows computers run slower on battery and this is mentioned in many reviews.
Please give it a rest - this constant sniping on the ‘Mac is better than Windows’ is just pointless. I’m a dissatisfied Mac user too at the moment (RM8 currently consumes far too much CPU), but this sort of stuff is adding nothing to readers’ understanding of using RM8 nor the cause of getting the imperfections or capabilities improved.
Rooty, get your facts straight Apple fanboy. Macs do vary their cpu speeds depending on load. See this discussion on an Apple site where a user ask a question about extremely low CPU frequency. Remove the spaces in the URL.
If you read that old thread carefully it referred to one problem on an intel mac with a failing battery which apparently causes the cpu to be throttled.
Windows computers do slow down significantly over time in normal use even if software is kept current and files are organized well. Macs really do not. My 2014 MBP intel was still as speedy as new when it went to the Daisy Hill retirement village in 2022.
RM8 starts in 4 seconds on my 2 1/2 year old Lenovo Legion 545 running Windows 11.
Modern multicore processors include performance cores and low power cores. Perhaps the OS on your HP is running RM on a low power core when on plugged-in power.
Maybe HP support can be of help - at 7 months your computer should still be under warranty.
The new power adapter did not help me although others have noted in forums that it helped them. The registry change did help some. The computer now runs at a constant 2.1 GHz, but the speed burst to 3.7 to 4 GHz when on heavy load no longer works. It just runs at the constant baseline CPU frequency. I guess I will accept that for now. I can think of a couple of other things to try but I don’t have very high hopes.
Bye the way the registry change involves changing the start value on the amdppm entry (if you have an intel cpu it is intelppm). It is found in this part of the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\amdppm. It has 4 possible values: 1,2,3,4. Do searches on the internet if you want more info. After changing, do a reboot.
Also by the way: ignore Rooty, you will have less stress in your life.
Do you have any more options for power/performance management on that laptop? I have an old Fujitsu laptop, on which RM 8 runs fairly well, and its specs are much lower than yours. HP may have all kinds of ‘smart’ software on it, or software donated by AMD, that might get in the way. And Windows gives you the chance to use different schemes when it’s plugged in, or running on battery power. You may try to look at these schemes, and change one.