intel nic drivers 19.3 huge 6000+ dpc latency spike once a few secs

[ATay3]

hi, i would like to report that the new intel nic drivers version 19.3 that just released recently has huge 6000+ dpc latency spike once in a few secs.

my specs

Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection

windows 7 SP1 32bit + lastest windows update

i downgrade to intel nic drivers previous version 19.1 and the problem is just gone.

[st4]

Hi Apoklyps3,

Good day. Just want to double check if you have check with your board vendor since we have limited information on the actual motherboard.

I understand you are using torrent to test and the result is the client dpc latency goes thru the roof. Is there any other "appropriate" software you use to test the latency aside from qbitorrent since we are not allowed to use this software for testing.

You can share more information about your hardware (the exact board model or system) and software for us to better check on this. The best is also to check with your board vendor for appropriate driver that is customized on your system.

rgds,

wb

[CX]

In case this helps you - my motherboard is Asus Maximus VIII Hero which has Intel i219-v ethernet adapter.

On the official download page for that motherboard the latest driver for LAN is still Intel(R) Gigabit Ethernet Driver V20.2, the same as on installation disk.

Also one thing i've noticed about that issue - it gets progressively worse the more pc is working. After 8 hours the lag spikes seem to appear much more frequently when something is downloading or the internet is actively used (pages load or refresh, videos downloading on youtube, etc).

Switching off the ethernet adapter or just unplugging the cable fixes this of course no matter how much time has passed. Also if you switch the cable back in - a huge lag spike appears.

Lag spikes/latency also seems to be affecting youtube videos the most as they would frequently "hiccup" if the internet channel is used and sometimes stop working altogether (might be just a flash issue though).

Im also using latencymon to check all the lagspikes and DPC, not torrents. Though downloading torrents does cause latency spikes, as does downloading files with the browser, caching youtube videos and so on.

[vioni]

The board is http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97PRO_GAMER/ ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer. I have checked the vendor site and the latest driver there for LAN is http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/lan/Intel_LAN_Win10_20120190.zip Intel LAN Driver V20.1.2019.0 for Windows Win10 32bit & 64bit.

Torrent clients are very appropriate . Everybody uses them and they are not only used for piracy, you know? you can get linux distribustion and all sorts of legal sofware very fast and easy. So don't tell me you are not allowed. are you not allowed to do anything in your power to fix a problem you caused yourselves? There wasn't any stutterts on previous windows OSes with older drivers. I never had any on windows 8.1 or windows 7, but those OSes use a diferent driver and NDIS.SYS version that that you provide for windows 10.

Furthermore, not only intensive network software like torrent clients cause this. Playing Pro evolution soccer 2016 online also...and let's face it this game uses less NIC power than anything in this world.

[CX]

I've got Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V on Asus Maximus VIII Hero Motherboard which is not listed in the latest 20.4.1 driver description. Guessing im out of luck?

I've had huge lag spikes on 20.3 with ndis.sys and tcpip.sys (10 ms delays!). Also pretty bad interrupt to process latency (up to 20000 when disconnecting cable and up 12000 when downloading something heavy). Switching off ethernet adapter removes latency spikes completely so it was clearly ethernet driver fault. 20.2 works better (up to 2200 delay according to latencymon but its not really noticeable) and ndis.sys over 1800.

Should i try installing 20.4.1 anyway or just stick with an older driver? A lot of Asus users reported this issue on latest z170 motherboard. In fact i think everyone has it but some just can't figure out what's causing it. People think that its related to audio because of the latency spikes those drivers produce. Other are simply returning the motherboards. Its a really big issue to be honest and it takes a while before you realize that its Intel driver fault. Not everyone knows about latencymon.

[st4]

Hi Cel,

Please try installing version 20.4.1

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25016/Network-Adapter-Driver-for-Windows-10 Download Network Adapter Driver for Windows® 10

Thanks,

wb

[vioni]

the driver for windows 10 isn't even new. it dates from august...so our problem wasn't even taken into account.

just realeasing driver packages for the sake of changing numbers doesn't help.

[CHaag]

Same issue here...

Intel 82579LM

Windows 10, 64 Bit

With the 10.4.1 driver package the DPC latency issues no longer start after 2-10 seconds, but after about one minute. They re-occur about every minute. Our studio PC is basically unusable.

It is clearly the Intel driver. Switching off other devices, as for example USB 3.0, does not help. Deactivating the Intel network card provides excellent DPC performance. Usually around 1 nano second. Some spikes of the nVidia driver causing about 300 nano seconds. The PC is well optimized. With deactivated the intel network card the PC runs LatencyMon (or audio software Nuendo) stable and fast for hours.

Re-installing the Intel driver without advanced options (see above) did not help.

Intel, please provide an updated driver solving the issue.

[vioni]

the problem is that they keep releasing driver packages but none of them contains newer driver (hopefuly fixed too) for windows 10.

the driver for windows 10 is dated from august wich is when windows 10 came out basicaly and we noticed this problem, yet they didn't fix it and keep releasing driver packages with date drivers that have real problems.

[PLee27]

That means they'd just upgraded the ProSet software but not upgraded the actual driver for Windows 10 yet.

[CX]

So i've been using 20.4.1 driver since last month and can confirm that it doesn't fix this issue.

There is still a HUGE stutter when you are downloading something, refreshing pages or watching a video and downloading something at the same time.

The worst stutter happens if you actually try to switch off ethernet adapter/router so its definitely related to network drivers. Also latmon clearly shows huge lag spikes of ndis.sys and tcpip.sys - the execution time can be over 50ms which creates awful lag spikes and distorts sounds/video and even mouse movements.

I really don't know what to do at this point aside from returning the motherboard. Its unbearable.

I've decided to download 19.1 drivers. It appears that they do not support windows 10 or recent motherboards but its a last resort for me i guess.

# disappointedintel

upd:

Wasn't able to install 19.1. They did not detect i219-v network adapter, probably because they were released a year ago before that motherboard and adapter were available.

# reallydisappointedintel

[st4]

Hi Cel,

I am sorry to hear the issue persist still. We will check on this.

rgds,

wb

[st4]

Hi Cel,

Just wondering if you have contacted Asus the board vendor for further support as we have limited information on the board. What I understand is you are experiencing stuttering when downloading something, What is the model of the switch or router you connected? Have you tried connecting to other switch or router to isolate the issue?

Thanks,

wb

[CX]

Well i've found a thread on the Asus forums which mentioned specifically this issue and this thread about dpc latency and it appears to be exactly the same issue as mine. Just like people who wrote here already - im experiencing latency spikes and huge DPC with ndis.sys and tcpip.sys drivers according to latencymon. This in turn results in sound cracks on youtube videos for example. Also im not the only one who has this issue, just the one who decided to write here about it. Most people either return the motherboard or buy a separate network card, or wait for the new drivers/bios.

So the issue is not the stuttering itself but the latency which is causing this. This is clearly related to the ethernet adapter though.

I did not contact Asus support as this appears to be related to intel's drivers/ethernet adapter rather than to anything else. I've had Asus motherboards with different adapters which never caused this issue before. I am using Asus AC68U router but i never had issues with it before either.

[vioni]

I sense ,yet another, month of silence from intel with a comeback of "we will check into this further".

it's laughable that microsoft and intel can't work togheter to fix this huge issue that affects both of their sales.

[vioni]

How much RAM do you have?

I have upgraded to 16GB DDR3 from 8GB , two days ago and although DPC latency of ndis.sys is still high I haven't noticed any sutters/freezes since.

One other thing that I did in the same day that I exchanged my RAM was updating intel MEI firmware.

Wich did the trick (if it really did...will test further for that), I don't know...

[CX]

I've got 32 gb ram. I've no idea where to find updates to management engine software at least on intel's site. On the motherboard's manufacturer's site there's only an older version from month's ago.

[vioni]

i got it from station-drivers.

don't know exctly wich version I applied . will tell you when I get home if interested.

[vioni]

false alarm unfortunately. just got a mini-freeze now...

[st4]

Hi apoklyps3,

Just want to double check if you have contacted Asus support ? We have very limited information on this board, please try contacting Asus directly so that Asus can report it directly to their appropriate department as well.

thanks,

wb

[vioni]

you can double check how many times you want. untill you and microsoft work together towards releasing proper drivers for windows 10 nothing good will happen.

asus has nothing to do with this. they don't make drivers for intel products.

[vioni]

can you try a couple of things and tel me if they make any diffference?

disable intel speed step and C--states from bios.

set your power plan to high performance.