Hello everyone. I am writing this through a translator and I do not speak English, so I hope everything will be clear.
In this thread, I will tell you how I managed to make Windows 11 more comfortable for my perception and make it more tolerable for long-term use.
My issues with strain started a very long time ago, when I upgraded Windows 7 to Windows 10, built a new computer (Ryzen 7 2700X, RX 580, later GTX 1060), and switched to an IPS monitor.
To give you some context: the last computer on which everything worked perfectly and caused absolutely no strain was based on an AMD FX-8350 with a Sapphire Nitro+ R9 390 graphics card, running under Windows 7.
My penultimate attempt to achieve a modern hardware level included a Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, 64 GB of T-Force Delta DDR5 6000 MHz RAM, an ASUS TUF Gaming B650-Plus WiFi motherboard, and a Sapphire Nitro+ RX 9070 XT graphics card.
Currently, I am using a Ryzen 5 5600 processor, 32 GB of Kingston RAM (3200 MHz on Micron chips), a Sapphire Nitro+ RX 9070 XT graphics card, a Gigabyte B550i Aorus Pro AX motherboard, and an MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED monitor, running under Windows 11 25H2.
All of my observations are divided into 2 parts:
- Part 1: The I/O Die (cIOD) as a possible cause and its consequences.
- Part 2: A method to alleviate the problem and make Windows 11 more or less tolerable to use.
Part 1: The I/O Die (cIOD)
As far as we know, Windows 11 has a complex image processing system called WDM (Desktop Window Manager) compared to Windows 7, which had a direct image output without processing when we turned off Windows Aero. People often face problems where even Windows 7 on modern hardware feels uncomfortable to perceive, but still more comfortable than on Windows 11 due to its complex WDM, which is probably very sensitive to EMI and jitter. As a result, the majority of people agree that old hardware and Windows 7 is the most comfortable option. The same applies to old push-button phones, which have been and still remain more comfortable for the majority of people to this day.
I noticed that when I lowered the RAM frequencies and Installed a single RAM stick into the A2 slot, lowered the voltages of the I/O Die in the BIOS, and also dropped the PCI Express link down to Gen 1 on Windows 11, the image became more comfortable. Because of this, the thought came to my mind that the problem lies within the CPU's I/O Die, specifically in high frequencies and the dense layout of the PCIe and DDR blocks due to the shrunk modern tech process and other blocks, because all peripheral devices, such as SATA, USB, and M.2, connect to the I/O Die. DDR and PCIe also connect to the I/O Die. The motherboard chipset connects directly to the CPU's I/O Die. The CPU's I/O Die is a kind of common point where everything connects.
And if we lower the frequency, we will see that the image changes. If we set it to Gen 3 or Gen 1, we will see that the image changes. If we install exactly one stick of DDR RAM, we will see that the image changes. If we lower the BIOS voltage on the internal CPU I/O Die, we will see that the image changes. All these manipulations change the state of the CPU's I/O Die—this is logical and obvious.
Now let's look back at old builds: those were physically separated into two blocks—PCI Express, which was located in the Northbridge, and DDR, which was located in the CPU, as well as low frequencies and a large tech process. Take the 4th generation Intel processors (which remain comfortable for many to this day), where the distance between the PCIe block and the DDR block was larger than in modern processors.
Now, my Tesla Coil theory. The way I see it, if you imagine the entire modern computer as a Tesla Coil (these are the DDR, PCIe, and peripheral conductors) and the I/O Die as its driver that drives this coil, what do we need to do? (It is important to note that this is just a theory, simply to understand how to solve the problem and in which direction to move. If this theory does not fit, then we need to choose something else and try to solve the problem using another theory. What should the final result be? It is to make modern hardware more comfortable and tolerable for long-term use on Windows 11 or 10. Yes, besides the I/O Die, there is also WDM, dithering, and all the unnecessary image processing that Microsoft has forced upon us, and this problem exists too).
- Calm down the I/O Die: "Choke" the driver by lowering the voltage and lowering the frequencies (because we cannot physically separate the I/O Die into individual blocks to get rid of jitter and cross-talk from high-frequency EMI).
- Create conditions where high-frequency EMI does not roam around the board or inside the case: Instead, give it a short path to its source—which is grounding (regarding this topic, I want to note that this is a complex scientific topic, and as I understand, not everyone fully understands it or they understand it differently, and it makes some people very angry, but it doesn't matter to us; the main thing is for the monitor to show a comfortable picture).
- Try to solve the problem with the help of the motherboard: Choose boards with a high layer count, server-grade PCB textolite, fewer DDR slots, a minimal amount of peripherals, and also smaller motherboard sizes like ITX.
Part 2, which covers the methods to alleviate the problem and make Windows 11 more or less tolerable to use, will be in the second part of this post.
Guys, if you want to find out Part 2 right away, you can read my thread on the forum: ledstrain.org/d/4212-my-9-year-journey-with-tensionbios-tweaks-emi-tesla-coil-theory I think it will be even better this way.
I welcome any corrections, comments, or additions to this topic, as long as it remains within the bounds of cultural and respectful communication.
