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FAQ: How can I optimize my Display PC for the best timing / performance?
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SR Research
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Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 20

#1
09-02-2020, 09:53 AM
You could upgrade the following hardware to optimize the timing and performance of the Display PC:
  • Install more RAM and/or faster RAM
  • Upgrade to a better video card, e.g. one that supports >100Hz refresh rates 
  • Use an SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
To maximize the real-time performance of the Display PC, users should do the following:
  • Shut down all other applications (browser windows, chat clients, email programs, etc.) prior to running an EyeLink experiment. These applications are listed in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. 
  • Shut down any programs (volume controller, Windows Messenger, Google Desktop, etc.) running in the notification area of the taskbar where you usually see the current time displayed (lower-right corner of the screen). In - Windows 10, click "Settings -> System -> Notifications & Actions". Set "Notifications - Get notifications from apps and other senders" to "Off". 
  • Remove live tiles from the Start menu of Windows 10. Open the Start menu, right-click a tile and select "Unpin from Start". Now do that for every single tile on the right side of the Start menu.
  • Make sure no scheduled tasks (e.g. data backup, virus checking, Windows Update) are active.
  • Remove unnecessary devices (e.g., flash drive, external hard drives) connected to the computer.
  • Scan the computer for viruses, spyware, and malware, but make sure to disable the antivirus program when deploying or running experiments.
  • Shut down screen-saver management. On Windows 7, click the right mouse button at a blank space on the Display PC desktop and choose "Personalize" from the popup menu. Click the "Screen Saver" icon at the bottom-right corner of the window, and set the screen saver to "None" in the following dialog box. On Windows 10, click "Settings -> Personalization -> Lock Screen". Click the "Screen Saver Settings" at the bottom of the "Lock Screen" page.
  • Choose a high-performance power setting. On Windows 7, click "Control Panel -> Power options". Choose the "High Performance" option in the "Select a power plan" page. On Windows 10, click "Settings -> System -> Power and Sleep". Choose "Never" for both the Screen and Sleep dropdown lists. Click the "Additional Power Settings" button. Choose the "High Performance" option in the "Choose or Customize a power plan" page.
  • For a computer with multiple Ethernet cards installed, use the Windows Control Panel to temporarily disable all network connections except for the one dedicated for EyeLink connection. Disable wi-fi and Bluetooth when they are not in use.
  • If you are using a monitor that uses Nvidia G-Sync technology, please disable the G-SYNC feature using Nvidia Control Panel.
    • Right-click on the desktop screen and select Nvidia Control Panel in the menu. 
    • Click on the + symbol next to Display.
    • Click on Set up G-SYNC.
    • Uncheck the box next to Enable G-SYNC. 

         
  • Uninstall any unneeded programs on the PC (e.g., the bloatware and trial software supplied by the manufacturer of the computer). If using an NVIDIA video card, make sure the "NVIDIA GeForce Experience" program is not installed.
  • Stop some of the unnecessary services running in the background. For example, you can stop the Index "Windows Search" process. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del three keys together to start the Task Manager. Click the "Services" tab. Find the "WSearch" by name, select the service and click the right mouse button, and choose "Stop". Now click the "Processes" tab and review the applications and processes listed. On Windows 10, you can pretty much kill all processes listed in the "Background processes" section except for Cortana and a few Windows processes. If you are using an Nvidia video card, make sure the "NVIDIA Backend" or "NvBackend.exe" process is disabled in the Processed list. WARNING: Disabling the wrong service could hurt performance, or even cripple Windows. If you do not truly know what you are doing, then it's highly recommended not to do this.
    If you are using a recent Nvidia graphics card, please make sure NVIDIA Streamer Service, NVIDIA Streamer Network Service and NVIDIA Streamer User Agent are disabled. Type "services.msc" in the Windows search box to start the Services Window. If you find these services listed in the Services Window, select the process, click the Stop button to disable it for the session, and set the "Start type" to "Disabled".
  • Stop all virtual machines if you have them running (e.g. virtual box, hyper-v services, vmware, etc). Make sure that the idling CPU usage of the computer is very low. 
  • To run the experiment project, go to the deployed folder, and double click the file .exe file in the folder. Click "Yes" in the following "User Account Control" dialog box. Please don't collect data by using the "Test Run" option from the Experiment Builder software. Please make sure the Experiment Builder application window(s) is closed before you collect data with your experiment. 
  • When running experiments with an LCD monitor that supports high refresh rates, use the native screen resolution and the highest refresh rate offered by the monitor.