[Feature] High CPU Utilization in Display Properties

[Dale]

A rather healthy system, Intel 2.8 GHz hyperthreaded processor, 2GB memory. WXP Pro, SP3.

MA3 set as default screensaver. Right-click on desktop, Properties, Display Properties, Screen Saver. Just that - NOT clicking preview. The Screen Saver window shows the small live view of MA3.

Task manager shows an Image Name "MARINE~1.SCR", with CPU of about 61%. [That's nice in one way, because clearly MA3 is using both hyperthreaded processors]. But 61% of this CPU without even opening the screensaver?

Clicking on "preview" brings up a SECOND Image MARINE~1.SCR, using something around 20% of the CPU. The other image is still using around 60%.

That's about 80% of the 2.8 GHz CPU, just to run the preview mode of MA3.

Exiting the visible screensaver goes back to 60% (and one process). Exiting the Display Properties window gets rid of the remaining MARINE~1.SCR image (and the 60% CPU).

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Additional observation.

The Display Properties window has 5 tabs -- themes, desktop, screen saver, etc. etc. By default, it comes up in "themes", and that doesn't start the MARINE~1.SCR image. Clicking on the screen saver tab does start it. And then clicking on any other tab does not stop it - it just keeps doing 60%.

That behavior does NOT happen with MA2.6 (when set as default) - clicking back on the themes tab kills the MA2_6.SCR image (which was only doing 0% CPU anyhow).

[Dale]

Additional observation about Display Properties/Screen Saver.

MA3 set as default screensaver. Go to Display Properties/Screen Saver. The MA3 animated "thumbnail" is displayed.

Try to change to any other screensaver - say 3D pipes or flower box or whatever. There's now a "fight" between the animated thumbnails. Note: that's because the MARINE~1.SCR image is still running, even though some other screensaver has been selected.

[Jim Sachs]

Well, you may have pointed out a problem or two there.

But first, I'll clear up a couple of things. If the Aquarium is running, it's running no matter what the window size. If the size is very small, the graphics card may not be doing much, but the CPU is doing every calculation for every fish and function in the program, just as if it were running full-screen. Your reading of 61% does seem pretty high - mine's about 40% on my main development machine, and I think less that 20% on my Vista machine.

MA2.6 didn't use any resources when displaying the tiny Preview window because it didn't run the program. It just displayed a static picture in the window.

You are right about MA3 not wanting to release the thumbnail window - I'll have to fix that.

[Dale]

Yes, I understand that MA3 has to be running to show the animated thumbnail in the "screen saver" window.

The question would be: Why does it use 60% when running the thumbnail, and only 20% when doing the full screen image? I would think that they would be roughly the same CPU load.

[Jim Sachs]

Not a clue.

[Dale]

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:

Not a clue.  

I looked a bit farther at the symptom.

Thumbnail-only: that process takes ~60%
With preview, the preview is taking ~60% and the thumbnail takes ~20%
Stop the preview, and the thumbnail is back to ~60%

[Percentages approximate, of course]

[Jim Sachs]

My multimonitor guru, Edgar, is looking into the thumbnail-view problem. It's an actual bug.

[Dale]

Hey, finding an actual bug gets "extra credit", right?

Seriously, one data point:

Athlon Thunderbird processor 1.2 GHz, with 1 GB memory, WXP Pro.

Running just the "thumbnail" == 100% CPU (in other words, the 1.2 GHz CPU wasn't fast enough to do the thumbnail).

If I click "preview", the screen turns black for about 30 seconds, after which the preview comes up, running about 50 fps. [That's about what I would expect, with the thumbnail still running, too]

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The REAL data point:

Starting "normally" on time (without the Display Properties/Screen Saver preview) - fullscreen mode runs about 80%, and windowed mode runs about 60%.

It's getting about 110 fps, 1024x768x32, NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 card.

After you get all of the rest of the stuff plugged in, it's going to be a real chore for this particular computer. Glad it has good fans in the case.

[Jim Sachs]

You can use the UP-DOWN ARROW keys to slow that 110 fps down to about 60. That should have an impact on CPU usage.

[clifdene]

Will we have a control in due course to limit frame rate as in MA2.6?

[Jim Sachs]

Yes.

[clifdene]

Many thanks.