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#1 |
Registered
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2
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Sleep - what does it do?
I have downloaded the latest beta 11f and I'm using it as a screen saver and general stress reliever. I'm delighted with it - it just gets better and better!
For the first time, I'm actually taking notice of what the stats are saying in the top left hand corner, and I see that the Sleep function can be adjusted with the up and down arrows. But what is this actually for? Can I improve the quality of the MA3 display? I'm using a 3 year old Dell laptop hooked up to a 22" HD LCD television as a monitor, and the quality of the display is just fine. Marine Aquarium looks stunning on it - the colours are amazing. Thank you, Jim, for the continued work you do which is giving pleasure and relaxation to so many. ![]() |
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#2 |
Developer
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 9,785
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The Sleep function adjusts the time between animation frames. Each frame requires that the entire 3D world is re-created from polygon coordinates and textrures, then that frame is sent to the monitor. Some computers are so powerful that they can generate hundreds of frames per second, but most monitors can only display about 60 frames per second. Any frames that are generated between monitor refreshes are thrown away and never displayed, but they contribute to power consumption and heat in the CPU and GPU. So it's best to adjust the Sleep timer so that the frame rate roughly matches the monitor refresh rate.
Note: The computer is not actually sleeping (idle) between frames. It's working on any other tasks that might be on the multitasking list. If other tasks seem to be slowing down when the Aquarium is running, increasing the Aquarium's Sleep time will speed up the others.
Jim Sachs
Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium |
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#3 |
Registered
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2
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Thanks for your reply, Jim.
This may be a more complicated question than it sounds, but is there a default or optimum setting for the sleep figure? I've fiddled about with it now, so I can't remember what it was set to. I haven't noticed anything particular happening when I change the setting. At the moment, it's set to 10. |
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#4 |
Forum Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 10,939
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The ideal Sleep setting is the highest number, while the animation of the fish and the Aquarium are still smooth.
When Sleep is set to 0, your computer is working as hard as it possibly can to generate frames of animation, possibly generating hundreds of frames of animation you don't even see. By increasing the Sleep amount, you are 'giving your computer a break' and allowing it to generate less frames of animation. If, with a setting of 10, you still have smooth animation, then that's where I would leave it. If you press the "S" key, you can bring up a display in the upper left corner that shows you several pieces of information including the number of frames per second of animation being produced. If that number is over 40, you'll typically have smooth animation. Press the "S" key again to hide this data readout.
"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell
"If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman |
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#5 |
Banned
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Western Missouri
Posts: 960
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![]() This may be a more complicated question than it sounds, but is there a default or optimum setting for the sleep figure? I've fiddled about with it now, so I can't remember what it was set to.
![]() It would be helpful if Jim's explanation of the sleep setting was added to the documentation, along with the default value. CTRL-R is supposed to do "Reset all to default settings" - but it doesn't seem to work for "Sleep". That's probably a bug that should be fixed? |
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#6 |
Only me...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Essex, England
Posts: 2,584
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The default value of 'Sleep' is 10. This should be bumped up if you have wicked high frame rates as per that little stats panel at the top left of the screen, but if you have frame rates around 60fps then leave it as is. If you have lower frame rates than that then you can start bumping the 'Sleep' value down a bit.
Mark
----------- Intel i7 12700K | Aorus Z690 Pro | Corsair DDR5 5600 32GB | Asus Dual RTX3060ti 6GB v2 Mini OC | Corsair RM850 Gold PSU | 1TB NVMe M.2 WD Black SN850 | 4TB Seagate BarraCuda HDD | Corsair Airflow 5000D Case | HP 32QHD 4K Monitor | Windows 11 x64 Professional |
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#7 |
Developer
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 9,785
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Right, default is 10.
Jim Sachs
Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium |
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#8 |
Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2000
![]() Location: Tennessee
Posts: 9,725
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The sleep setting itself in not the important factor in the equation. The important factor is to use the settings to get your fps to manageable levels so you don't fry your hardware.
If that's a sleep setting of 10 or 30 it's irrelevant, just that it is accomplished. Use the sleep tool to get your fps to a level of between 40 and 60 depending on your personal tastes.
It would be helpful if Jim's explanation of the sleep setting was added to the documentation, along with the default value.
If you take time to read the FAQ you will see that it is already explained here on the forum. Including it in software documentation might be useful or not following the 1000 monkeys and 1000 years viewpoint.
Michael
Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & Gallery DVD Collection |
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#9 |
Banned
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Western Missouri
Posts: 960
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![]() Use the sleep tool to get your fps to a level of between 40 and 60 depending on your personal tastes.
... If you take time to read the FAQ you will see that it is already explained here on the forum. Including it in software documentation might be useful or not ... ![]() But the operative question might be what percentage of the purchasers of MA3 are members of this forum? Yes, few people would read the documentation if it were available. But I'm betting that more people would read the documentation, than will read the FAQ here. And having two sources would reach even more people who might have questions about that setting. Footnote: with regard to "sleep" - the FAQ on SereneScreen http://www.serenescreen.com/product/...3/info/faq.php isn't very close to being helpful - and isn't informative at all. |
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#10 |
Registered
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tampa Bay Area, Florida
Posts: 486
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It would seem to me that both sets of "FAQs" should be updated.
Serene Screen's website regarding MA should be reflecting Windows 7 now. Maybe we need another thread with recommended changes to these? |
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#11 |
Forum Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 10,939
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I believe a compatibility note about the Aquarium working with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions will be added to the site soon. One of the top 10 support e-mails is "Is the Aquarium compatible with Windows 7?" or "Will the Aquarium run on 64-bit?"
"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell
"If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman |
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#12 |
Registered
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tampa Bay Area, Florida
Posts: 486
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An example - the Installation Instructions, which now reflect Vista, should also show Windows 7 screens.
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#13 |
Sugar Plum Fairy
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,267
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One little nitpick. Under will MA3 run on my laptop, for ATI it says it will only run with Rage Mobility graphics. Doesn't mention Radeon at all, which I think replaced Rage about 6 years ago.
Run you clever boy. And remember...
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#14 |
Banned
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Western Missouri
Posts: 960
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![]() One little nitpick. Under will MA3 run on my laptop, for ATI it says it will only run with Rage Mobility graphics. Doesn't mention Radeon at all, which I think replaced Rage about 6 years ago.
![]() That's the SereneScreen FAQ. The one on this forum doesn't say anything about laptops. |
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#15 |
Sugar Plum Fairy
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,267
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That is indeed correct Dale. My bad.
Run you clever boy. And remember...
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#16 |
Registered
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tampa Bay Area, Florida
Posts: 486
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The one on this board was last updated:
Last edited by feldon34; 11-10-2008 at 02:29 PM. The Serene Screen FAQ page does mention Windows 7, but otherwise, it should be updated somewhat, too as it focuses more on Vista than it does the current OS (W7). |
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#17 |
Forum Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 10,939
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SereneScreen.com is in the process of getting some minor updates and tweaks sooner, and then a complete revamp later on.
"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell
"If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman |
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#18 |
Registered
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tampa Bay Area, Florida
Posts: 486
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![]() Right, default is 10.
![]() On my system, 10 gives a frame rate of 111 fps. I get about 62 fps if I change this to 17. I'm wondering if most new systems wouldn't be closer to 50 - 70 fps with a default of 15? Maybe a thread just asking current users what Sleep setting they are using to get 50 - 70 fps would be helpful? I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant!
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#19 |
Sugar Plum Fairy
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,267
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With sleep set at 10 I get 65-83 fps. This is with no AA, AF or Vsync. It all looks fine to me, no really noticeable jaggies or any tearing at all. Generally I set sleep to 21 for an even 50 fps. My graphics are a fairly modest ATi Radeon Xpress 200M.
Run you clever boy. And remember...
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#20 |
Developer
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 9,785
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Raising the number would make the Aquarium run slow and jerky on the older machines out there. It's better to allow the speed-demons to slow down than to require the older folks to do anything special just to see the program run normally.
Jim Sachs
Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium |
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