Windows 10, high load from WUDFHost.exe Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver

[Jouni]

1. OS Build Info

OS Build: 10.0.14393.0 (Debug = False)
OS Build Label: 14393.rs1_release.161220-1747

2. Monitors Connected:

SMS24A650 Manufacturer: SAM ProductCode: 082A Serial: HVRB900381 Built: 38/2011
SMS24A650 Manufacturer: SAM ProductCode: 082A Serial: HVRB900369 Built: 38/2011

3. CPU

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6600U CPU @ 2.60GHz

4. GPU Details

Graphics: Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 (Intel Corporation)
Graphics Driver: 21.20.16.4534 Dated 2016/10/07
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01

The Intel internal graphics is used to take the load off the CPU when streaming through Open Broadcast Studio.

5. CPU Usages
WUDF mainly 5-35%

6. Total CPU Usage
20%-100%

7. Analysis

7a: Content fully static: WUDF idles at around 0%-2% CPU usage.

7b: Same as 7a

7c: When just moving the mouse around the displays WUDF uses around 6-12% of the CPU.

7d: When moving a window around WUDF usage goes up to around 20-28% of the CPU.

7e: Not installed

7f: Full screen video on:
Opera = 15-22%
Edge = 14- 20%


7g: No games to test.

8. Display Link Driver Installed

DisplayLink Graphics Driver (8.1.848.0) on 2017/01/10 Status is Installed

[boardshorts]

1. Windows 10 Build Number
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (x64-based PC), No Service Pack, English
OS Build: 10.0.14393.0 (Debug = False)
OS Build Label: 14393.rs1_release.161220-1747

2. Enumerate each display, its resolution and if it is connected to the graphics card or a USB adapter:

Manufacturer: AUO ProductCode: 139E Serial: 0 Built: 1/2009 - 1600x900 - AMD Radeon 6600M
ACER V243HQ Manufacturer: ACR ProductCode: 00B0 Serial: LG8080074221 Built: 20/2011 -1920x1080 -USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360
ACER V243HQ Manufacturer: ACR ProductCode: 00B0 Serial: LG8080074221 Built: 20/2011 -1920x1080 -USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360
ACER V243HQ Manufacturer: ACR ProductCode: 00B0 Serial: LG8080074221 Built: 19/2011 -1920x1080 -USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360
ACER V243HQ Manufacturer: ACR ProductCode: 00B0 Serial: LG8080074221 Built: 20/2011 -1920x1080 -USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360
ACER V243HQ Manufacturer: ACR ProductCode: 00B0 Serial: LG8080074221 Built: 20/2011 -1920x1080 -USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360
ACER V243HQ Manufacturer: ACR ProductCode: 00B0 Serial: LG8080074221 Built: 20/2011 -1920x1080 -USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360

3. The CPU ***full*** name including the numbers after iX (available from System_Details.txt as well). Generation is more important to understand the architecture rather than if it is an i3 or i7.

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz
Number of Cores: 8


4. The GPU details (available from System_Details.txt as well).

Graphics: AMD Radeon 6600M and 6700M Series (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
Graphics Driver: 15.201.1151.1008 Dated 2015/11/04
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01
WEI Base Score is 4.5, CPU 7.4, RAM 7.4, GPU 4.5, Gaming 6.1, Disk 7.9


5. What you include in your CPU usage (which processes: overall, WUDF, DWM...). Note: I really need WUDF more than the rest as DWM is a Windows process).

6. The value of CPU being used.
Total CPU
Total % but when I look at the resource monitor it is spread across all 8 cores
7. What happens on ALL indirect displays (indirect = through USB). If you have Task Manager on an indirect display, then it is NOT idling as content changes!!! This is really one of the most important point. Here are some examples:
7a. Content fully static: nothing changes at all, and I mean nothing, not the clock, not the mouse pointer.
With 3 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected 5%
With 6 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected fluctuates 12%
7b. Some little area changes: like for instance you only have some numbers on the clock or the numbers in Task Manager.
7c. Only the mouse pointer across indirect displays. (if you do this, please do NOT use the mouse trail accessibility feature or this is the same use case as 7b).
With 3 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected fluctuates from 30-50% with 6 Word documents open on these screens
With 6 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected fluctuates from 30-70% with 6 Word documents open on these screens

7d. Moving a window. Indicate an idea of the size of the window... I mean moving a 10x10 pixels windows is obviously fundamentally different to moving a 4kx4k one.
With 3 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected fluctuates from 30-50% with 6 Word documents open on these screens
With 6 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected fluctuates from 30-100% with 6 Word documents open on these screens, mouse and keyboard stutter and Windows starts reporting USB device errors

WUDF is always the top of usage list. Screens are landscape with each document occupying have of one screen. ie 960x1080
7e. Playing video on VLC
Not tested.
7f. Playing video on a browser (and the value is constant across browsers). Our driver CANNOT differentiate which browser is playing.
Not Tested.
7g. Game, full screen or windowed? Games do NOT use the same as video playback.
No games.
8. Which version of DisplayLink driver you are running as, like Windows builds, they don't all have the same features. (available from System_Details.txt as well).
Graphics Driver: 8.1.843.0 Dated 2016/12/01

With 6 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 connected and the CPU above peaking across all threads when we resize, edit and copy/paste the CPU temp rises to over 90 degrees C and the CPU throttles and the documents drop back to the laptop. It is as though Windows has reset the USB port/s.

Current workaround is to use only 3 of the 6 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 until patch available. The 6 x USB\\VID_17E9&PID_0360 have worked well for years under Windows 7 and then Windows 10 and started misbehaving with the Windows Anniversary edition.

[Domdus]

Hi all,

I'm following this thread since the lag & high load issues started with the Win 10 Anniversary Update and still waiting for the solution.

I have the same mouse lag (= screen update lag) that has been reported by others, and it especially appears when I launch my eclipse development environment or watch youtube videos etc. on the Displaylink screen.

Now the lag fix for me was the processes priority:

In the task manager, I go to services and I always see a single WUDFHost.exe, which behaves completely normal and has a process priority set to HIGH by default it seems.

As soon as the Displaylink monitor is attached I have a second WUDFHost.exe process in the task manager, so 2 in total.
This second "new" one always uses a lot more RAM than the first (40 - 50 MB) and causes high CPU load depending on the Displaylink screen changes.
Now I changed the proccess priority for this one from default NORMAL to HIGH and the mouse lag (screen update lag) was gone completely.

Note this does not lower the CPU load or something, but there is simply no screen lag any longer.
I hope this works for someone else.

Keep in mind that the task manager keeps this information only for the current session, the priority setting is back to normal at the next start of windows. There are some tools and command line scripts or batch jobs to trigger this for each startup.

#UPDATE#
Setup: Dell XPS 13 9350 + FHD Monitor (USB Displaylink) + FHD Monitor (USB C/HDMI via DA200)

Best Regards

[Novi]

Originally Posted by Domdus

Hi all,

I'm following this thread since the lag & high load issues started with the Win 10 Anniversary Update and still waiting for the solution.

I have the same mouse lag (= screen update lag) that has been reported by others, and it especially appears when I launch my eclipse development environment or watch youtube videos etc. on the Displaylink screen.

Now the lag fix for me was the processes priority:

In the task manager, I go to services and I always see a single WUDFHost.exe, which behaves completely normal and has a process priority set to HIGH by default it seems.

As soon as the Displaylink monitor is attached I have a second WUDFHost.exe process in the task manager, so 2 in total.
This second "new" one always uses a lot more RAM than the first (40 - 50 MB) and causes high CPU load depending on the Displaylink screen changes.
Now I changed the proccess priority for this one from default NORMAL to HIGH and the mouse lag (screen update lag) was gone completely.

Note this does not lower the CPU load or something, but there is simply no screen lag any longer.
I hope this works for someone else.

Keep in mind that the task manager keeps this information only for the current session, the priority setting is back to normal at the next start of windows. There are some tools and command line scripts or batch jobs to trigger this for each startup.

Best Regards

This dramatically reduced my input and system lag. It is not completely gone, but is by far not as noticeable as before.

Dell XPS13 and D3100 (2 x 2560x1440 screens)

[AlbanRampon]

Hi Domdus, and all,

Because of the delay in getting the development build out, I am changing strategy a bit.
I should have an 8.2 Alpha available around Friday and I'll create a dedicated forum board for it as it includes more than this.

Some priority changes has been done in the driver. There are other priority changes that can be done but they are not straight forward: the OS scheduler will penalise you with lower priority than low if you claim highest all the time... Unless, like some game, you decide to decrease the "responsiveness" index but we're not ready to do that.

The alpha has other changes around smoothness. We've been running them this week over dual-4K display setups.
As soon as the 8.2 Alpha is available, I will add a link to the thread about it.

Kind regards,
Alban

[AlbanRampon]

Good afternoon everyone,

Here are links to the 8.2 Beta forum I created for the feedback on that version.

8.2 Beta 1 - 8.2.1336 17th February 2017 to get the file with its limitations.
Please create a new thread in 8.2 Beta for Windows with your feedback about that version.

The focus for that version has been addressing performance first. There is also CPU reduction for some tasks. The reduction will depend on the application being used. For instance, Windows Photo Viewer sends full screen updates even when displaying a static photo... Improving the behaviour with non-optimal applications will come later.

I'd like to attract your attention to the known bugs listed under the limitations.

Have a nice weekend,
Alban

[Davers]

The service was taking an average of 20% cpu for me until I disabled it then rebooted and then enabled it again as manual. I noticed that the original startup mode was manual (triggered) so I suppose it was constantly being triggered. Note that your displaylink monitors will not work after the disable reboot but set the service to manual and reboot again and you should be good to go.

I suppose this is more of a workaround but I have not seen any negative consequences yet so ignorance is bliss.

[jeremy]

We are seeing this issue across our organization. We have Latitude E5570 with Dell D1000 docks. We use these docks for two monitors, USB inputs, and Ethernet. Our display cables are Display Port and (can be any of the following) HDMI-to-DVI/VGA-to-VGA/HDMI-to-HDMI. We may also use audio if the users have the auxiliary speakers attached.

Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help or any additional details you need about our environment.

Here's my system info:
1. Windows 10 Build Number (available from System_Details.txt of our Customer Support Tool). Home/Pro/Enterprise is not needed.

OS Build: 10.0.14393.0

2. Enumerate each display, its resolution and if it is connected to the graphics card or a USB adapter (available from System_Details.txt as well).

DELL P2214H Manufacturer: DEL ProductCode: A097 Serial: KW14V478528L Built: 28/2014
DELL P2214H Manufacturer: DEL ProductCode: A098 Serial: KW14V4CF27KL Built: 51/2014

3. The CPU ***full*** name including the numbers after iX (available from System_Details.txt as well). Generation is more important to understand the architecture rather than if it is an i3 or i7.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6200U CPU @ 2.30GHz

4. The GPU details (available from System_Details.txt as well).

Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.0.762.0 Dated 2016/08/17
Graphics: DisplayLink USB Device (DisplayLink)
Graphics Driver: 8.0.762.0 Dated 2016/08/17
Graphics: Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 (Intel Corporation)
Graphics Driver: 21.20.16.4574 Dated 2016/12/23

5. What you include in your CPU usage (which processes: overall, WUDF, DWM...). Note: I really need WUDF more than the rest as DWM is a Windows process).

WUDFHost.exe @ 30% when active. Using Skype, jumps to 70%.
Desktop Window Manager stays between .7% and 3%.

6. The value of CPU being used.

50-70% with normal usage.

7. What happens on ALL indirect displays (indirect = through USB). If you have Task Manager on an indirect display, then it is NOT idling as content changes!!! This is really one of the most important point. Here are some examples:
7a. Content fully static: nothing changes at all, and I mean nothing, not the clock, not the mouse pointer.

WUDF idles between .2% and 3%.

7b. Some little area changes: like for instance you only have some numbers on the clock or the numbers in Task Manager.

WUDF idles the same as 7a.

7c. Only the mouse pointer across indirect displays. (if you do this, please do NOT use the mouse trail accessibility feature or this is the same use case as 7b).

WUDF is active 26-33%.

7d. Moving a window. Indicate an idea of the size of the window... I mean moving a 10x10 pixels windows is obviously fundamentally different to moving a 4kx4k one.

WUDF is active 38-46% moving a Chrome window half the size of one of my monitors. Oddly enough, Chrome usage spikes.
WUDF is active 38-42% moving a Skype for Business 2016 window 1/3 the size of one of my monitors. Even more odd, the input lag from moving the single window is several seconds, whereas the Chrome window had very little.

7e. Playing video on VLC

WUDF is active 30-45%.

7f. Playing video on a browser (and the value is constant across browsers). Our driver CANNOT differentiate which browser is playing.

WUDF is active from 28-40%.

7g. Game, full screen or windowed? Games do NOT use the same as video playback.

No games are installed on our PCs.

8. Which version of DisplayLink driver you are running as, like Windows builds, they don't all have the same features. (available from System_Details.txt as well).

DisplayLink Graphics Driver (8.0.778.0) on 2017/03/20 Status is Installed
This is the driver available from Dell's site for the D1000 USB docking station. Will be attempting the same tests with the latest drivers as well after seeing this thread.