MSG::time is later than timeGetTime

Question

After noticing some timing descrepencies with events in my code, I boiled the problem all the way down to my Windows Message Loop.

Basically, unless I'm doing something strange, I'm experiencing this behaviour:-

MSG message;

while (PeekMessage(&message, _applicationWindow.Handle, 0, 0, PM_REMOVE))
{
    int timestamp = timeGetTime();
    bool strange = message.time > timestamp; //strange == true!!!

    TranslateMessage(&message);
    DispatchMessage(&message);
}

The only rational conclusion I can draw is that MSG::time uses a different timing mechanism then timeGetTime() and therefore is free to produce differing results. Is this the case or am i missing something fundamental?

Answer 1

Yes, it does use a different source. If you look at the Windows documentation you will see that you should use GetTickCount/GetTickCount64 to compare against the message time.

If you need any kind of precision, I suggest not relying on the message time - GetTickCount has horrible resolution. (10-16ms)

Answer 2

I can see two reasons: Either they use different ways of measuring time (as you suggest), or, you have a AMD chip. These can in some cases have timing bugs that you need to either patch through a driver (I think) or handle in your application logic. Google for "AMD timing" and you will probably find something that might be of use.