How to utilize both P-core and E-core on my Intel i9 12900K for best performance?

Rohan_V · ‎08-21-2023

My intel i9 12900k processor only utilizes 8 E-core threads out of all 24 available threads while using a software called Advisor 5.3 by Sarine Technologies on windows 10. It is a 3D diamond planning software. I also have intel i7 11700F which uses all 16 threads while using this same software. So on my i7 processor it utilizes 100% of CPU capacity. On the other hand on my i9 processor is utilizing only 40% of the CPU capacity. It only uses last 8 threads (CPU 16 to CPU 23 on resource monitor) which I'm assuming is E-core only. All the other cores i.e. CPU 0 to CPU 15 are showing parked. So basically my i7 processor is doing the task quicker than i9. I only purchased this very costly i9 12th gen processor to do my work faster but I am not getting satisfying results.

How can I configure my processor either directly or through bios to run faster?

Is there any way to utilize those remaining cores (or threads) to get 100% CPU utilization?

I have attached some screen shots here.

Please help me regarding this.

Thank you.

DeividA_Intel · ‎08-22-2023

Hello Rohan_V,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. I understand you want all your threads while using Advisor.

I would like to let you know that sometimes, multiple instructions are completed in a single clock cycle; in other cases, one instruction might be handled over multiple clock cycles. Since different CPU designs handle instructions differently, it’s best to compare clock speeds within the same CPU brand and generation.

For example, a CPU with a higher clock speed from five years ago might be outperformed by a new CPU with a lower clock speed, as the newer architecture deals with instructions more efficiently.

Recent features like the Intel® Thread Director allow the latest generation Intel processors to intelligently distribute workloads to multiple cores. That’s one reason why newer processors often outperform older ones on benchmark tests even when they have similar clock speeds.

Bear in mind that the operating system chooses what core and threads use and when to enable them. You can check more information at the following links:

1. What Is Clock Speed?: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/cpu-clock-speed.html#:~:text=What%20Does%20Turbo%20Frequency%20Mean%3F

2. Technical Product Specification: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/processors/core/core-technical-resources.html

Check 12th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family> Volume 1> Processor IA Core Power Management> page 60.

Regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

DeividA_Intel · ‎08-25-2023

Hello Rohan_V,

I am following up to check if you need further assistance and confirm if you still have questions related to the P-Cores and E-Cores.

Please, let me know if you need my help.

Regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Rohan_V · ‎08-26-2023

Thank you very much DeividA.

I have one more question,

Is it okay if I disable all the E-cores and only use my software on P-core to boost up my performance?

Will it affect the operation of the CPU ?

DeividA_Intel · ‎08-28-2023

Hello Rohan_V,

Thanks for your response. In this case, it is not recommended to disable the E-cores as this may negatively impact system performance and at least one E-core will remain enabled (not all of them can be disabled).

If you would like to proceed, you can use the following steps:

Access the system BIOS.
Go to the "Power, Performance, and Cooling" menu.
Set "External Ambient Temperature -Tolerance" to "User Defined".
Click on Performance.
Click on Processor
Set all Active Atom Cores to 1

Regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

DeividA_Intel · ‎08-31-2023

Hello Rohan_V,

I am following up to confirm if you proceeded to disable the E-Cores or if did not do it. I would like to know if you need further assistance.

I will be waiting for your confirmation.

Best regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

DeividA_Intel · ‎09-05-2023

Hello Rohan_V,

I was checking your thread and noticed that we have not heard back from you. I’m going to close your post, but if you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to create a new thread.

Regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

dcblakeman · ‎09-24-2025

Hello Deivid,

I noticed that this thread is related to question I had:

Are we able to use the P cores as E cores in job distributions?

We have a customer that is using job distribution and when using a leader machine in local mode only, all cores are being used, but when being used in distributed mode, only the E cores are being used. Is there a limitation being placed on the job distribution by Intel?

The customer believes that our software is the issue, but the technology is so new, I don't think our software is taking into account the E cores vs the P cores and the Intel processors are determining which jobs are being sent to the cores.

pressed_for_time · ‎09-24-2025

The options under Windows to control P and E cores are limited. A process can be selected from the list that appears under Details in Task Manager. A right click will bring up a menu with a Set Priority option on it. Setting priority to the highest level - Realtime - might help. There is also a Set Affinity option which allows specific cores to be selected, really only useful if you want to run the process on for example all the P cores plus hyper-threading and not on E-cores at all (see graphic below)

dcblakeman · ‎09-25-2025

Okay thank you! I'm having the customer set the priority as well as the affinity to see if that makes a difference. It seems like a lot o software hasn't been created to utilize the P and E cores effectively yet.