ProcessX

A lightweight Windows tool for managing per-process CPU priority, I/O priority, and CPU affinity — with automatic detection of Intel P-core/E-core and AMD CCD topology, so you can isolate processes to the right cores with one click.

Features

• CPU Priority — set Idle / Below Normal / Normal / Above Normal / High / Realtime per process
• I/O Priority — set Very Low / Low / Normal / High per process
• CPU affinity (CPU sets) — pick exactly which logical CPUs a process is allowed to run on (CPU Sets work with all known anti-cheat systems, including Easy Anti-Cheat.)
• Topology-aware quick presets
  • Intel hybrid CPUs: one-click "E-Cores Off" / "P-Cores Off"
  • AMD CPUs with two CCDs: one-click "CCD0 Off" / "CCD1 Off"
  • SMT On / SMT Off toggle (AMD) / HT On / HT Off toggle (Intel)
• Rules persist automatically — save a rule once for an .exe name, and it's re-applied every time that process launches, including to every running instance if there are multiple copies open
• System tray support — runs quietly in the background
• Portable single-file JSON config — rules are stored in %APPDATA%\ProcessX\rules.json

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• Must be run as Administrator for priority/affinity changes to apply to processes you don't own, and for some topology-detection APIs to work correctly
• No Python installation needed — see Download below

Download

Grab the latest ProcessX.exe from the Releases page. No installation, no Python, no dependencies — download and run.

Note: The exe is unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen and some antivirus tools may flag it on first run ("Windows protected your PC" or a false-positive malware warning). This is common for small unsigned utilities, especially ones that touch process priority/affinity via ctypes — behavior that looks similar to what actual malware does. If SmartScreen blocks it, click "More info" → "Run anyway". If you'd rather not trust a prebuilt binary, you can always build it yourself from source.

Usage

Right-click ProcessX.exe → Run as administrator.

• The main window lists running processes. Double-click one (or use "Add Rule") to open the rule editor.
• Set CPU priority, I/O priority, and CPU affinity, then Apply & Save.
• The rule is saved by process name (e.g. game.exe) and automatically re-applied to that process every time it starts — you don't need to keep ProcessX open in the foreground once a rule exists, but the background watcher (which auto-applies rules to newly launched processes) does need the app running.

Command-line flag

ProcessX.exe --apply-rules

Applies all saved rules to currently running processes and exits immediately — useful for a scheduled task or startup script instead of running the full GUI.

Building from source

Only needed if you want to modify the code yourself; most users should just use the prebuilt .exe above.

Requirements: Python 3.8+, psutil, and optionally pystray + Pillow for system tray support.

git clone https://github.com/jadenpeek/ProcessX.git
cd ProcessX
pip install psutil pystray pillow
python ProcessX.py

How CPU topology detection works

On startup, ProcessX tries to identify your CPU's core layout so it can offer relevant quick-select buttons:

• Intel: uses GetLogicalProcessorInformationEx to check whether Hyper-Threading is enabled, and GetSystemCpuSetInformation (plus a built-in table of known hybrid CPU model numbers) to determine the P-core/E-core split.
• AMD: assumes a second CCD exists if the CPU reports 16+ logical CPUs (a heuristic based on common Ryzen chiplet layouts — not a guaranteed-accurate topology read on every SKU).

If detection fails or your CPU isn't hybrid/multi-CCD, the relevant quick buttons simply won't appear — manual per-CPU checkboxes always work regardless.

Notes & limitations

• Rules match on process name only, not full path. Two different programs sharing an executable name will share the same rule.
• A rule applies to every running instance of a matching process name, not just one.
• Realtime CPU priority can starve other processes, including OS-critical ones — use with caution.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. If you're adding support for a new CPU family or fixing a topology-detection edge case, please include the CPU model and a brief description of what was misdetected.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.