Interactive rendering slows down.

[maru]

@davevc here is what we know so far, based on user reports:

We have received multiple user reports of slowdowns / freezing issues with the 9950X CPU. It seems to be related to Windows Update. Here are the things that are currently known to help users with this problem:
- Rolling back to Windows version 23H2, if possible. You could also check for Windows Updates and install the newest one if it is available - perhaps the problem is fixed there.
- Disabling the EXPO/XMP/DOCP option in BIOS. This option is responsible for RAM overclocking and apparently disabling it improves the performance for users with this problem.
- USE AT YOUR OWN RISK - we are not responsible for any potential issues caused by this and you may not be able to disable this option or return to a previous Windows version: enable the Windows Insider Program in the Windows Update settings and download the newest available Windows Update. 

Other than that, you can try the following steps one by one, but they seem to improve performance only intermittently:
- disable core parking - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1524213/remove-parked-status-of-cpu
- disable core isolation and virtual machine platform - https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-disable-two-virtualizations-game-performance-boose/
- go to BIOS and set CPU SoC voltage from the default 1.25V to 1.2V and Infinity Fabric (FCLK) to 2000 MHz
- change your power plan in Windows (try all available options, power saving, high performance, etc)
- disable SMT (simultaneous multithreading) in BIOS

Unfortunately, this issue doesn't seem to be caused by Corona, it is rather a side-effect of some changes introduced in Windows Updates, so we can only hope that Microsoft will release an official fixed update soon.

[davevc]

@maru

Many thanks for your swift reply. I will have a look at those options and also keep my fingers crossed that Microsoft release a fix for this very soon, if thats where the problem lies.

[davevc]

Hi @maru

Just a quick update to let you know that disabling DOCP in the BIOS seems to have worked. Interactive render, local full render and ditributed render no longer causes the workstation to freeze, it is much more stable.

I will keep an eye out for any Microsoft updates that may fix this issue and then try enabling the DOCP again

thanks again for your quick response on this, very much appreciated.

[maru]

Great, thank you for confirming. Disabling the DOCP/EXPO/XMP option seems to be the most reliable workaround for now.

[maru]

Just a random idea: could someone with this problem try switching to the 3ds Max VFB and see if the issue is still there?
Render Setup > System > System Settings > VFB Settings > Type > Native 3ds Max VFB (you need to reset/reload scene for this to take effect)

[skogskalle]

Ive been away for a couple of weeks, but the latest win11 update seems to have fixed everything for me.  I can run Bitdefender too and render without problems.  For me the main problem was definitely a windows-issue.

[maru]

Fantastic news! Do you have the EXPO/XMP/DOCP option enabled in BIOS? In some of the previous reports the Windows Update kind of helped, but only with EXPO off.

[skogskalle]

No overclocking here whatsoever. I tried enabling expo before but the computer wouldnt even boot. The problems seems to be me having 4 sticks of ram. It seems to be a better idea to use only two sticks if you want to run them at faster speeds.

[Quest]

Just a random idea: could someone with this problem try switching to the 3ds Max VFB and see if the issue is still there?
Render Setup > System > System Settings > VFB Settings > Type > Native 3ds Max VFB (you need to reset/reload scene for this to take effect)

Hey

Native 3ds Max VFB = no effect
Legacy Corona VFB = no effect
Another big update for windows 11 24h2 = no effect

Also, I have big feel that's corona and 3ds max in general works slower and worse on Windows 11 than on Windows 10)

[maru]

Another wild guess, but hopefully worth trying:
Navigate to Windows Security > App & Browser Control > Exploit Protection and disable "Control Flow Guard"
You can also try disabling all the other settings which are listed there.
Afterwards, please restart your computer and check if the performance is any better. If not, then please turn all those options back on.
Thank you in advance for testing this.

[Quest]

No effect

[maru]

Thank you for checking!

[Sedrax]

I want to correct my last message. I described that after updating Windows the problem disappeared - and it really is. But yesterday a new update  was released (10.0.26120.3576) (KB5053650), after which the freeze during interactive rendering returned again... How much can you.......


I want to add. If you disable the XMP profile, the problem is solved... Before this update, everything worked with the XMP profile. In general, we'll see what happens next, because this is not normal.
New update with XMP profile disabled - works correctly

[andy.shust]

I have a Ryzen 9900x and I experience the same described freezes in Interactive Render. The program freezes for a second every 5-10 seconds.
I am using Corona 9 Hotfix 2 and 3DsMax 2022, on Windows 11 Home 24H2 (build 26100.3476), no Beta / Insider Program updates. CPU hits around 70-75 degrees when rendering / benchmarking.
From all the suggested solutions in this thread I only set memory speed to default in BIOS, and it solved the problem. I have a 6400Mhz RAM, and I have to have it running on 4800 which the system chooses as default.
Also, setting memory speed to default improved my Corona Benchmark score slightly (which is weird tbh).

[andy.shust]

I have a Ryzen 9900x and I experience the same described freezes in Interactive Render. The program freezes for a second every 5-10 seconds.
I am using Corona 9 Hotfix 2 and 3DsMax 2022, on Windows 11 Home 24H2 (build 26100.3476), no Beta / Insider Program updates. CPU hits around 70-75 degrees when rendering / benchmarking.
From all the suggested solutions in this thread I only set memory speed to default in BIOS, and it solved the problem. I have a 6400Mhz RAM, and I have to have it running on 4800 which the system chooses as default.
Also, setting memory speed to default improved my Corona Benchmark score slightly (which is weird tbh).

Quick update to my post. The problem is gone for some reason. I enabled DOCP II in my BIOS, and I have zero stuttering or freezing in Interactive Rendering (Production Render works fine, like earlier, too). I don't remember Windows updating in recent days, if that could have fixed the issue.
When I first encountered this problem, my memory was set to 6400 Mhz speed manually in BIOS, however I'm not sure this could be the reason. Maybe later I will set memory speed manually and see if it re-introduces the stuttering, because asides from speed, DOCP also adjusts several other parameters which may have some effects.
I am already confused by this whole issue to a very high degree =D