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    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Emulationstation CPU usage

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    cpuemulationstatio
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    • SanoS
      Sano
      last edited by

      Don't you want to have some confirmation of other users before enabling panic mode ? :)

      I used to compile my linux kernel/drivers by myself, but it was nearly 20 years ago. apt killed my compilation skills... That said, I could give a try if needed, but on my "production" unit (don't have another Pi/SD to test).

      Moreover, I try to make a full update at least once a month, so IMHO, and if the problem is not only in my head (or on my setup), the origin won't be more than a few weeks old.

      pjftP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • cyperghostC
        cyperghost
        last edited by

        There might be an issue.

        I use top for monitoring cpu usage
        I use IO theme

        You start ES 99% CPU usage - that's okay
        ES is started and connected with BT controller - CPU usage is 6-8%
        You scroll around the carousel: 9-10% usage and it does not drop down
        You open Emulation System (Amiga for ex) it stays to 14-15%
        The Screensaver is activated by timer CPU usage drops down to 3% (does not work if you activate screen saver via select)

        I restart ES:
        CPU usage is 6-8%
        I scroll around... it raises 10% drops to 12%
        I open Emulation System ... CPU usage 15%
        It depends heavily on roms in folder 4000 roms CPU usage 20%, 10 roms in folder 10%

        Do you use interrupts for button managment or trigger timer?

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • pjftP
          pjft @Sano
          last edited by

          @Sano Yeah, you're right :)

          Let's leave it at that for now, but I'll keep it on the backburner.

          I know @Hex has forked ES to build a less-CPU-consuming version of it, so maybe this has been going on for a while.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • HexH
            Hex
            last edited by Hex

            Thanks @pjft for bringing me into the loop. My build was mostly for Pi zero /1 which would suffer heavily due to constant rendering of the screen. This doesn't mean there are any disadvantages on using it on Pi2/3. I would be glad to create a production ready branch that can then be installed by users using meleu's script.

            @Sano , @cyperghost would you guys be interested in testing this feature for me? I am interested in submitting this as a feature. It is quite stable for now but not ready for merge. As such testers would be most welcome.

            @meleu Based on this and many other experiences would you think it would be better if there are some repositories already included in the script. This will create awareness and testers can test branches out without having to hunt for which branches need testing.

            Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

            Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
            ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

            meleuM cyperghostC 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • meleuM
              meleu @Hex
              last edited by

              @Hex I'm not sure... Once the branch is merged there's no need to keep it in the list IMHO.

              I'm planning to work out my git-fu and try to find a way to get the branches from the open Pull Requests list in the EmulationStation repo and build a list based on that info. It would pretty cool, huh? :-)

              It seems that you're more experienced with git, do you know how to do that (get a list of open PRs and their respective repo/branch)?

              I've found some documentation here but didn't find enough free time to dive into it. I am planning to use curl to get the needed info...

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              meleuM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • meleuM
                meleu @meleu
                last edited by

                do you know how to do that (get a list of open PRs and their respective repo/branch)?

                Getting the info in a JSON format:
                https://api.github.com/repos/RetroPie/EmulationStation/pulls?status=open

                Now I need some time to learn how to use jq:
                https://stedolan.github.io/jq/

                Looks promising! I'll try to release something next weekend! ;-)

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                • HexH
                  Hex
                  last edited by

                  Json makes it very easy. I was already starting with curl (mobile page)+regex. I will let you know if i finish .

                  Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                  Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                  ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • HexH
                    Hex
                    last edited by Hex

                    @meleu How about this

                    Get page from github

                    curl https://api.github.com/repos/RetroPie/EmulationStation/pulls?status=open > page
                    

                    Loop over all PRs

                    n_pr=$(($(cat page | ./jq-linux64 'keys | length')-1))
                    for i in `seq 0 "$n_pr"`; do
                         cat page | ./jq-linux64 ".[$i] | {name: .user.login, title: .title, branch: .head.ref}"
                         # Do individual processing here eg. add each item to list
                        echo "Yolo \m/"
                    done
                    
                    # Or get all PRs in single operation
                    cat page | ./jq-linux64 ".[] |  {name: .user.login, title: .title, branch: .head.ref}"
                    
                    

                    Output

                    {
                      "name": "pjft",
                      "title": "Adding support for \"All\", \"Favorites\" and \"Last Played\" systems",
                      "branch": "RetroPie-Virtual-Systems-PR"
                    }
                    {
                      "name": "nschloe",
                      "title": "various code fixes",
                      "branch": "coverity-retropie"
                    }
                    {
                      "name": "PronkMedia",
                      "title": "Added a new (missing) transition style, 'carousel slide'.",
                      "branch": "master"
                    }
                    {
                      "name": "sokie",
                      "title": "Implemented favourites system",
                      "branch": "favourites"
                    }
                    {
                      "name": "seriema",
                      "title": "OSX compilation fixes",
                      "branch": "osx-compilation-fixes"
                    }
                    
                    

                    Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                    Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                    ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                    meleuM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • meleuM
                      meleu @Hex
                      last edited by

                      @Hex by the way, I have a raspi1 and I'm interested in test your branch. What's its name?

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                      • HexH
                        Hex
                        last edited by Hex

                        @meleu Its my master branch. It has all tweaks and works. I was thinking of separating the feature so that a pull request can be optionally submitted. The only downside is Screensaver is not triggered as the Pi waits for user input and stops rendering new frames as there is literally nothing to do. Although it can be manually triggered by pressing "select" in systems menu

                        Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

                        Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
                        ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • cyperghostC
                          cyperghost @Hex
                          last edited by cyperghost

                          @Hex said in Emulationstation CPU usage:

                          @Sano , @cyperghost would you guys be interested in testing this feature for me? I am interested in submitting this as a feature. It is quite stable for now but not ready for merge. As such testers would be most welcome.

                          Sure! I can test this on a RPi 2 - would you offer ready compiled binaries?
                          Is it enough to just exchange the binary from /opt/emulationstation?
                          Why do you use OMXPlayer as background player? I think mpg123 is less resource hungry and it's simple command structure is excellent in saving memory space.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • meleuM
                            meleu @Hex
                            last edited by

                            @Hex Yeah! That feature was added. Posted about it here: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/post/88716

                            Now I have to find some time to merge those improvements you made on your version of script...

                            Cheers!

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                            • F
                              finh @Sano
                              last edited by

                              Anyone experiencing this, using the "power saver modes" option solved the problem for me. The menu option is at start -> other settings -> power saver modes. Enhanced and instant worked well.

                              I'm using V2.6.3RP, on a Raspberry Pi 3 B. Idle, even with the screensaver set to a black screen, the emulationstation parent process would be at 30% cpu usage or more. On "instant," it ranges between 5% and 10%.

                              I realize this is an old post, but it's the only thing that came up in my search on this particular issue.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • P
                                praetorian55
                                last edited by

                                Thanks for that tip finh! I was trying to troubleshoot cpu usage on x86 emulationstation and happened on your post, works perfectly to address cpu usage!

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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