In Boinc, Client state, I found this line near the top:
<p_features>fpu tsc sse sse2 mmx</p_features>

That lists the features my pc has. This might help those who don't know, I just now saw this. It might be good to post with the opti apps to figure out which to use.

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Doesn't expecting the unexpected make the unexpected the expected?
If it makes sense, DON'T do it.

This list is a bit conservative in some cases. Certainly if you go by it everything "should" work. My AMD 5600+ X2 (Linux) shows SSE2, but it can actually do SSE3 (and is doing it). My T8300 (Windows) shows SSE3, but will do SSE4.1 (likewise successful). The operating system has a lot to do with what is reported.

As a first cut this is good advice. Start here and use CPU-Z to find out what the processor really does. It may do more.

Stickied because this is useful information :)

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I find this in my BOINC manager in the messenger tab;

||Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 mmx

but CPUZ gives me;

Instructions MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T

Presumably I should go for CPU-Z and pick the optimized app for SSSE3 than go for the BOINC manager suggestion of SSE2 ?

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... Presumably I should go for CPU-Z and pick the optimized app for SSSE3 than go for the BOINC manager suggestion of SSE2 ?

CPU-Z wins!!! :-)))
Had the same issue here and I was very happy to find out my lappy is actually faster than BOINC thinks. *grin*

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Lovely greetings, Cori

Yes, CPU-Z is more accurate. Go for it!

Yes, CPU-Z is more accurate. Go for it!

Yes I thought so to, and will do ;)

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... Presumably I should go for CPU-Z and pick the optimized app for SSSE3 than go for the BOINC manager suggestion of SSE2 ?

CPU-Z wins!!! :-)))
Had the same issue here and I was very happy to find out my lappy is actually faster than BOINC thinks. *grin*

Interestingly CORI, my lappy is faster than BOINC thinks also. I get this from BOINC manager;

Processor features: fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni mmx

and this from CPU-Z;

Instructions MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, EM64T

Not that I know what any of it means :/

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BOINC reports what the operating system says your CPU can do. XP will report only up to SSE2, Vista up to SSE3. If your CPU can do better than that, CPU-Z will tell you about it and then you can use the optimized app that's compiled with the flags for those instructions. Same as with Seti.

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Jord.

The BOINC FAQ Service.

Yes, what Ageless said :) I just want to add that any 64 bit extensions CPU-Z shows (doesn't apply to the current SSE*.** discussion) requires a 64 bit OS.

@Ice Your confusion in SSE levels is understandable. Presumably the increase in SSE may increase processing speed. Not necessarily, it depends upon the project. MW (in my small universe) seems to run better (faster) with the increasing SSE numbers. This all depends upon on what calculations they do. It seems (to me) that higher SSE versions seem to work better (faster)

BOINC reports what the operating system says your CPU can do. XP will report only up to SSE2, Vista up to SSE3. If your CPU can do better than that, CPU-Z will tell you about it and then you can use the optimized app that's compiled with the flags for those instructions. Same as with Seti.

Ah so what banditwolf said doesn't help us is choosing an optimized app, but let's us know what Bill Gates wants us to know? :P

In Boinc, Client state, I found this line near the top:
<p_features>fpu tsc sse sse2 mmx</p_features>

That lists the features my pc has. This might help those who don't know, I just now saw this. It might be good to post with the opti apps to figure out which to use.

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What Banditwolf suggested is quite adequate to get people going. There may be some more opimiation to do.

The reporting of CPU capabilities is about the same between Windows and Linux. I think any Bill Gates conspiracies can be ruled out. It's more about the age of the release than the originator. Accept the the deficiencies and adapt!

Oh Barf :) The reporting of CPU capabilities is about the same between Windows and Linux. It's more about the age of the release than the originator. Accept the the deficiencies and adapt!

It's not about accepting deficiencies or adapting, but to know what to do with information and deciding on whether to rely on it or to use external programs, readily available and free, which give the information to base a decision about which optimized app to use.

What can (generally) go with XP or Linux is not as useful as a program which tells you about a computer's capabilities (eg, CPU-Z).

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It's atleast a baseline to go by. And a starting point, better than stock app. I know by trying sse3 mine doesn't work with it. So it would seem to be accurate for me.

Boinc could get an upgrade to let users know 'all' of the information.

I'd rather not install anymore apps than I have too, and other than here I haven't heard of cpu-z being used for anything. I'm sure it's good though. Trying worked just fine & I now know what I can do anyways.

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Doesn't expecting the unexpected make the unexpected the expected?
If it makes sense, DON'T do it.

Ah so what banditwolf said doesn't help us is choosing an optimized app, but let's us know what Bill Gates wants us to know? :P

I don't think it's windows issuing the info, but Boinc asking/or looking and that's all that is returned or is known to look for. Boinc does list other CPU info such as: flops, disk space, etc.

Do the newer versions of Boinc (6.*.*) give a better reading? I use 5.10.45.

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Doesn't expecting the unexpected make the unexpected the expected?
If it makes sense, DON'T do it.

I think that experience with a project will tell you if a higher SSE version is useful. For MW, I think it is at least to some extent.

The OS reports what it knows. It was written years earlier. CPU-Z (and the like) are more current. BOINC can help with showing the capabilities, but it can't do anything with things OS doesn't report.

iMac, May 2008 build, intel E8235, 2.8GHz
Mac OS X reports:
FPU VME DE PSE TSC MSR PAE MCE CX8 APIC SEP MTRR PGE MCA CMOV PAT PSE36 CLFSH DS ACPI MMX FXSR SSE SSE2 SS HTT TM SSE3 MON DSCPL VMX EST TM2 SSSE3 CX16 TPR PDCM SSE4.1

Do the newer versions of Boinc (6.*.*) give a better reading? I use 5.10.45.

If anything, 6.2.19 reports less. On Win7 beta x64 and Vista x64:

<p_features>fpu tsc pae nx sse sse2 pni</p_features>

The machine in question has a Q6600, which is capable of not only SSE3, but SSSE3.

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This list is a bit conservative in some cases. Certainly if you go by it everything "should" work. My AMD 5600+ X2 (Linux) shows SSE2, but it can actually do SSE3 (and is doing it). My T8300 (Windows) shows SSE3, but will do SSE4.1 (likewise successful). The operating system has a lot to do with what is reported.

As a first cut this is good advice. Start here and use CPU-Z to find out what the processor really does. It may do more.

In case nobody knows where to find this wonderful free tool its http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

In case nobody knows where to find this wonderful free tool its http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

...and those running Linux already have a tool on board. ;)
Open a terminal and type

cat /proc/cpuinfo

and look at the "flags" section.

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mic.