How to fix Slow or Unresponsive Performance on Systems with the X58 chipset, including S5500 and S5520 based platforms

Problem

When you install Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008R2 on affected platforms the system performance can be noticeably poor. The mouse cursor is slow to respond; the system appears to be busy or have high CPU usage, and screen updates can be slow.

Affected Systems

Systems affected include:

Servers based on the S5500 and S5520 platform, including the S5520UR, S5520HC, S5520HCR, S5520HCT, S5520SC and S5500BC
Server systems based on the S2600UR platform (which include the S5520UR motherboard)
Desktop boards based on the X58 PCH, including the Intel DX58SO, DX58SO2 and DX58OG

Cause

The root cause is the Microsoft provided Intel LAN controller driver which ships with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008R2. This driver does not properly support the controller and it will cause the above symptoms.

Resolution

Update the driver with the latest Intel LAN driver available from the Stone driver finder or Intel website. Updating the driver will restore the lost performance and also add the additional features provided by the full Intel LAN driver package.

The LAN driver for these systems should be date 2011 or newer, as opposed to the Microsoft 2009 in box driver.

Additional: On rare occasions we have seen system hangs during Windows setup, again because of this issue. If you encounter a system hang whilst installing Windows, disconnect the system from the network and then use a patch cable to connect both LAN adapters together. Then, attempt to install Windows again. When installed, then update the LAN driver as above.

Applies to:

Desktops and Servers that use the Intel X58 PCH