High CPU usage in menu
#1
Is there any way to resolve XBMC using around 1/3 of my CPU when it is doing nothing and sitting at the menu screen on my black macbook? Turning vsync on helps but not much.

Tried searching but couldn't find anything.
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#2
Urgh, this topic again.

XBMC is not a static application, i.e. when it seems it is doing nothing - it is constantly rendering the screen hence the CPU usage.

Black macbooks - likely dual core, i think probably it is using 1/3 of one core (so 1/6). Does you activity monitor go up to 200% on max cpu - if so look at what XBMC is using (out of 200%).

There has been talk about it that I can remember:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=97205

Really what you've got to ask yourself is: Is there anything wrong with XBMC using 1/3 processor when doing nothing (what else is your computer doing)?

If you're not doing anything else, or not using a CPU intensive app then there should be no problem at all.

Flirc now has a forum: forum.flirc.tv
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#3
I wouldn't mind if it used 100% of the CPU if it wasn't for the fact that the fans kick in at anything above about 15% and render a "silent" machine less so. It also seemed odd that it uses more CPU power than the version on my old Xbox (also using Confluence @ 720p) which I why I thought it might've been a bug.

Presumably there's no way of putting a "sleep" delay into the menu render if there's no input/output being processed? A "don't redraw if nothing has changed"?

If it can't be fixed, then fine, was just wondering if it was a known "bug" or a "feature". If it was non-trivial then no doubt someone who knows how it all works (I don't know C++ so I can't contribute) would've already sorted it, so there's obviously more to it than I think.
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#4
http://xbmc.org/topfs2/2010/05/24/beagle...gsoc-2010/

Flirc now has a forum: forum.flirc.tv
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#5
Set the screensaver to black (trick I learned when I was using an AppleTV1) CPU goes from 30% to 2-3%.
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#6
Is there an option to limit fps (frames per second) of the menu interface? On MacBookPro with HD3000 graphics cpu temperature goes to 80°C and fan to 7000rpm, when surfing menus and not while watching videos.
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#7
It's probably not going to help the temperature (as mac laptops generally run hot) also your menu wouldn't feel as good.

A simpler option may be to switch to a less complex skin.

Flirc now has a forum: forum.flirc.tv
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#8
pseudo7 Wrote:It's probably not going to help the temperature (as mac laptops generally run hot) also your menu wouldn't feel as good.

A simpler option may be to switch to a less complex skin.

Which skin is less complex than Confluence?
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#9
I think confluence isn't particularly heavy so I doesn't look like it would make a difference.

Other than the fan sound annoying you when you browse through menus for an extended amount of time it doesn't seem like an issue, I know I don't spend huge amounts of time in the menus (because I use xbmc to watch videos).

If the cpu usage in menus really bugs you (for some reason) then perhaps XBMC isn't the solution for you, pretty menus/graphics have to come at a (extremely) small cost.

Flirc now has a forum: forum.flirc.tv
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#10
Is not possible at all, to limit gui at 30fps? Now (activating debug mode) it runs at 60fps, i think limiting it at 1/2 fps should reduce gpu heat.
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#11
The following helped me bring my macbook XBMC CPU usage from 35% os so to 10% or so and no annoying fan sound while idling.

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Dirty_Regions
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