Windows 7 Hotfix Promises AMD Bulldozer Performance Boost

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Microsoft has quietly issued a Knowledge Base article that promises greater performance of AMD Bulldozer processors under Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

"Currently, the performance of AMD Bulldozer CPUs is slower than expected," the article states, and explains that Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 do not support AMD's Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) scheduling feature.

The #2592546 fix solves the problem, according to Microsoft, and boosts the performance of the chip "to the expected performance level". However, as it is a hotfix and not an official patch yet, Microsoft says it may require further testing and only supplies the software upon special request and recommends that it should only be used by those who are "severely affected by this problem".

If that is not the case, the advice is to wait until the next software update is issued. In any case, the hotfix requires an installed Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

First tests of the patch reveal a mixed bag of results on AMD's FX-8150 processor. At least those benchmarks suggest that some games will see a slight improvement of performance, while others will decline. The strongest gains are apparently seen in PCMark7 (+14.0 percent) as well as ScienceMark (+10.4 percent).

Wolfgang Gruener
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62 Comments Comment from the forums
  • fnugk
    anyone know about linux having the same problem / fix?
    Reply
  • araas
    yaya my new fx will have a tad bit more kick :D
    Reply
  • SpadeM
    The update was pulled cause of some issues so ... pls post an update to the article for ppl who own bulldozer.
    Reply
  • chumly
    SpadeMThe update was pulled cause of some issues so ... pls post an update to the article for ppl who own bulldozer.
    I'm sure they will.
    Reply
  • coldmast
    Games?
    Reply
  • so.....the mythical patch arrives......but what kind of prophesies will it behold ???

    PS: go AMD go !!!
    Reply
  • danimal_the_animal
    "I'm sure they will."

    Don't Assume.
    Reply
  • Dyseman
    Well, by going off of the chart given in the "Reveal" link, the Patch has a total of 36.5% drop in performance with an average of .91% drop per benchmark. More bad over good?
    Reply
  • r0ck3tm@n
    I expect that we won't be seeing the performance that we want until the next version of Bulldozer. I hope that AMD will do well. I have my first ever Intel cpu sitting on my workbench waiting for me to rebuild. I'm not really happy about abandoning my Phenom™ II X6. In fact I'm actually sad about it.
    Reply
  • ta152h
    So now it can equal the 486 in single threaded application performance?

    Kind of funny that it seems to go up in benchmarks, but can go down in real performance. That's a fix? Typical Microsoft crap. It runs benchmarks better, but not necessarily real performance and games? What desktop apps need really fast processing outside of games?

    I looked at the results, but they are in German. Even though I can't understand German too well (I'm pretty sure they're benchmarks, but if they're not, they're probably an updated version of the Schlieffen Plan), I can see a lot more red than green. So, most of the time, the "fix" slows down more apps than it speeds up.

    That's the big fix all the Bulldozer lovers were waiting for? If so, you're heading for disappointment. It's a benchmark fixer, nothing more.
    Reply