Timer Resolution

Timer Resolution refers to the smallest unit of time that a timer can measure. It is a crucial concept in software and operating systems, especially in high-resolution timing and performance-critical applications.

Why Should You Use Timer Resolution?

Timer resolution affects the precision and accuracy of time measurements. A higher timer resolution allows for more precise timing, which is essential in various applications, such as:

Audio and video processing
Gaming
Real-time control systems

In these scenarios, high-resolution timers help to reduce latency and ensure smooth and accurate operations, resulting in faster and more responsive systems.

On Windows, the default system timer resolution is typically around 15.6ms. With Timer Resolution adjustments, it can be reduced to around 0.5ms. Results

Why "Better" Timer Resolution?

A timer resolution of 0.5ms may not be suitable for all users as it can potentially deteriorate performance. Therefore, it is essential to adjust the timer resolution to the optimal setting for your specific system.

Requirements

Windows 11
Registry Editor
CPU Stress Test (Prime95)
bench.ps1
MeasureSleep.exe
SetTimerResolution.exe

How to Tune Timer Resolution

Copy bench.ps1, MeasureSleep.exe, and SetTimerResolution.exe into the C: drive.
Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\kernel. Create a new DWORD called GlobalTimerResolutionRequests with the value set to 1.
Open CMD as Admin and execute:
```
bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes
```
Restart Your PC
Open Windows PowerShell as Admin and execute:
```
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
```
After that, press "A" and enter.
Use a CPU Stress Test (e.g., Prime95) to operate the CPU at the highest P-State P0.

Warning!: Running a CPU stress test can cause overheating, system instability, and accelerated hardware wear. Ensure adequate cooling and monitor system health.
Open Windows PowerShell as Admin and navigate to the root directory using:
```
cd..
cd..
.\bench.ps1
```
Choose "R" (or in some cases "M") to run it once and press enter.

The benchmark will run for about 5 minutes. After it finishes, you can close it.
After the benchmark, a file called results.txt will be created. Look for the lowest DeltaMs and STDEV values. For me it is 0.51ms (results can vary).

You can also plot the results on Plotly.
Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and create a shortcut for TimerResolution.exe. Paste it into the startup folder and modify the shortcut path to include:
```
--resolution 5XXX --no-console
```
(Replace 5XXX with your result from step 7.)

Testing

All testing was conducted with the application MeasureSleep.exe. To test, start MeasureSleep.exe as Admin and observe the results. The goal is for the number following "slept" to be close to 1 and the delta to be low, indicating optimal performance.

Without Timer Resolution / GlobalTimerResolutionRequests 0 / disabledynamictick false
Without Timer Resolution / GlobalTimerResolutionRequests 1 / disabledynamictick yes
With Timer Resolution at 0.51ms / GlobalTimerResolutionRequests 0 / disabledynamictick false
With Timer Resolution at 0.51ms / GlobalTimerResolutionRequests 1 / disabledynamictick yes