Author: William Penn
Date: 20:07:21 04/29/04
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On April 29, 2004 at 19:33:29, John Conte, Jr. wrote: >According to Chessbase.com, your suppose to hear clicking for a while. >I have a Compaq Presario AMD ATHLON XP PROCESSOR at 2.08GHz, with 80 GB HARD >DRIVE, and 512 MB SDRAM memory. What I do hear is a sound like a fan. I am >confused...please help. I realize the hash tables make a big difference in the >program operating at peak performance and also Chessbase.com states if you have >a greasy fast computer, never set the hash tables above (I forget but it was 75 >or 85MB. Thanks! > >jack Hash tables make a difference, but don't overestimate their importance. The tests I've run indicate they do NOT make a big difference - just an ordinary one. You don't have a greasy fast computer, but it's a good one. The advice you read about hash size sounds wrong for Infinite Analysis mode. It's OK to use 75-85MB hash for speed chess or ordinary games, but in general Infinite Analysis mode can use all of the hash possible. The more the better, usually. You can probably use up to about 384MB hash in Infinite Analysis mode if the GUI's maximum allows. If the op system is sluggish and you're running Windows XP, you can set the priority one notch lower via Task Manager for ChessProgram8.exe by rightclicking that process. That will improve the op system response and multitasking, and won't hurt engine speed significantly. However you shouldn't try to do much multitasking with this large proportion of hash (not much free RAM remaining) which could hang your system, or make it too slow to be useful. Or you can probably use 256MB hash with no problems, except possibly when the endgame approaches and if tablebase access becomes heavy with all 3-4-5 piece files. Then it may be necessary to reduce hash size somewhat to keep a reasonable engine speed. Let windows manage your pagefile size entirely. I've tried tweaking alternatives and now believe that's best. As for the sound, I suppose they're talking about the pagefile spinup delay for the allocated hash size. I'd forget about the clicking sound vs a fan noise advice. It doesn't sound useful. Instead, keep an eye on your hard drive activity light. It will be constantly active during the spinup, then subside. You may not get any significant spinup delays (or sound) with 256MB hash or less, but probably will with 384MB hash or more. It doesn't hurt anything in Infinite Analysis mode to maximize your hash size, so long as the spinup stops after awhile, sometimes taking several minutes. The engine speed will take off when the hash size has been fully allocated in the pagefile, and the hard drive activity light will subside. Good luck! WP
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