How to permanently set cpu affinity for programs?

quicksilverstud said:

Using the command "wmic process where name="mspaint.exe" CALL setpriority128" would set paint to a high priority but what if i want to set the affinity of paint, is there a command for program affinity?

If not i know process hacker supposedly does the trick but i dont know how accurate and legit process hacker is. Do you guys know any tricks?

I use batch scripts to set the affinity and priority.



Binary/Decimal/Hexadecimal Converter

Code:

@echo off
:: Administrative Permissions Required to Run a Process in Realtime.
reg query "HKU\S-1-5-19\Environment" >nul 2>&1
If Not %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 (
powershell.exe -command "Start-Process -FilePath '%0' -Verb runAs"
exit )
pushd "%CD%"
CD /D "%~dp0"

:: Priority Options: Low, Below Normal, Normal, Above Normal, High, Realtime
:: Affinity Options for Dual Core CPU:
:: CPU 0+1 (2 Treads) Binary=11 Hexadecimal=3
:: CPU 0 (1 Tread) Binary=01 Hexadecimal=1
:: CPU 1 (1 Tread) Binary=10 Hexadecimal=2
start "" /High /Affinity 2 "mspaint.exe"
exit

You can also create a shortcut on the Desktop:

Code:

 C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c start "" /High /Affinity 1 "C:\Windows\System32\mspaint.exe"

Hello @quicksilverstud,

If you like, you could create a shortcut using the method in the tutorial below to always open a program with a set CPU Affinity. It still applies to Windows 10.

CPU Affinity Shortcut for a Program - Create in Windows | Windows 8 Help Forums

You're most welcome. Glad we could help.

quicksilverstud said:

Those are all really good ideas thank you everyone

It's a pleasure.

d4005 said:

Is there a way to achieve permanent affinity for a program that is used without a shortcut? I use the WinFF program for video conversion, which is a UI wrapper around ffmpeg.exe that does the actual converting. So I could set the affinity for WinFF in my WinFF shortcut, but once it starts FFmpeg to do the conversion, I've lost that affinity connection because it's a brand new program. I can do it manually, but if I'd set WinFF with the task of converting 50 video files, I'd have to set the affinity 50 times.

I'm answering this old reply for anyone who needs to know how to permanently set affinity without a shortcut file.
Download System Explorer from this link www.raymond.cc/blog and go to settings, then make sure boot from startup, so that System Explorer will alternatively replace Windows Task Manager but no worries, you are able to revert back to the original task manager.

Anyway, now all you need to do is select the number of CPU threads and tick the permanent option then done.

P.S. There are more alternative task managers to try out on the website if this is not suited to your needs. Enjoy!

- - - Updated - - -

Anyhow, I've created this chart which makes it much easier to understand; just enter the hex value H in the command line to enable the number of CPU threads. Also, you can set the priority as well. Enjoy! 😎👍

Code:

CPU - HEX  - BINARY
00 -- 1 ---- 0001
01 -- 3 ---- 0011
02 -- 7 ---- 0111
03 -- F ---- 1111
04 -- 1F --- 0001 1111
05 -- 3F --- 0011 1111
06 -- 7F --- 0111 1111
07 -- FF --- 1111 1111
08 -- 1FF -- 0001 1111 1111
09 -- 3FF -- 0011 1111 1111
10 -- 7FF -- 0111 1111 1111
11 -- FFF -- 1111 1111 1111
12 -- 1FFF - 0001 1111 1111 1111
13 -- 3FFF - 0011 1111 1111 1111
14 -- 7FFF - 0111 1111 1111 1111
15 -- FFFF - 1111 1111 1111 1111

Set Priority:
High
AboveNormal
Normal
BelowNormal
Low

Target Location:
%ComSpec% /C Start /Normal /Affinity H %UserProfile%\AppData\Folder\App.exe

I haven't tested this app myself, but WinAFC is a configurable program for controlling CPU affinities and priority settings and may be helpful to anyone. Here the download link: www.sourceforge.net/affinitychanger

P.S. Also, the link for WinAFC documentation is here: www.affinitychanger.sourceforge.net