Low framerate on main EmulationStation menu - Pi 4

rilight

Also @roslof, the issue isn't happening just with RetroArch but also in the main menu of EmulationStation... but it's not slow all the time. If I move from a custom category (unthemed, so no background) to a regular category, the animation is noticeably smoother than when I move between themed categories.

rilight

@roslof I remembered this HDMI adapter came in a two-pack, so I dug out the other one and tried switching it out. Still the same performance... either this adapter is just bad in general (which I wouldn't guess from the reviews saying it worked great with the Pi 4), I got shipped a bad batch, or the issue is something else.

d3sim8

I am having the same issue. Fresh install of the 4.6 image. Using a genuine Raspberry Pi HDMI cable. Tried another cable, tried another TV. Limited the resolution to 1080p / 720p. Turned Wi-Fi / Bluetooth off.

Still getting a low framerate in ES. I also experience tearing in lr-fbneo and lr-genesis-gx-plus.

Running a game then exiting seems to mitigate the framerate problem in ES. Turning off threaded video seems to mitigate the tearing in games.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what is causing the problem too!

roslof

Two people with the same symptoms. Hardware ruled out (TV/Cables)...

Couple of other things I could think of that we haven't discussed...

Upgrading/Upgraded PiOS (software/Kernel)
Graphic Drivers

PiOS/Kernel
I'm reaching here, but as an example, last year, I remember the kernel changed and GPU overclock was broken for a couple/few months. This is just an example of how Kernel changes can impact systems.

Use uname -a to get your Kernel version.
Mine:
Linux retropie 4.19.118-v7l+ #1311 SMP Mon Apr 27 14:26:42 BST 2020 armv7l GNU/Linux
I wager mine is older with that Apr 27th date, but I know this works for me.

Link to Updating and upgrading
(should backup everything first before attempting an upgrade/downgrade)

Graphic Drivers
I know least about this area, but wondering if there have been recent changes to the graphic drivers/dependencies that are causing issues. Maybe others could help suggest if this could be an area to investigate. Not sure which drivers may affect both ES and RetroArch (since the issues being reported here seem to affect both). Not sure how to surface driver versions or the best way to revert if desired.

Other than these two areas, I'm stumped.

mitu

The low fps in EmulationStation was reported during the Pi4 beta period - usually by running at 30 fps. This happens on certain themes - less likely with the default, Carbon, theme - but it goes away once a game is launched. You can see what FPS EmulationStation runs by toggling the Show Framerate option from the ES menu.

roslof

@rilight which theme are you running?

rilight

@roslof: I updated the OS during my installation process, so I'm currently on 5.4.51-v7l+.
@mitu: The FPS counter does show that when it seems more laggy, it's running at 30 fps. However, launching a game then exiting doesn't seem to solve the issue for me like it does for others? As I mentioned in my first post, I'm using the pixel-metadata theme and it does perform better on Carbon. However, even there it doesn't reach a consistent 60fps.

rilight

If anyone has more suggestions, let me know. For now I'll probably just deal with the low framerate and graphical problems and/or force it to run at 720p but I'd really like to figure out what's going on.

Krakatoa

To improve the themes try bumping up the vram. I was getting terrible performance in cardcrazy with the default vram (80). Once I upped to the max all my issues went away.

rilight

@Krakatoa I just tried cranking up the VRAM Limit setting to the max and restarted EmulationStation, no change. It still sits at 60fps when idle then drops down to 30-45fps or so when switching categories.

rilight

Oh, I also noticed that ES stays at a consistent 30fps when I'm in the start menu. No idea why that would be different than sitting on the main menu, but it is.

rilight

It looks like a few others have reported the same issue off-forum:

rilight

@d3sim8 Out of curiosity, what kernel version are you running?

roslof

@rilight said in Low framerate on main EmulationStation menu - Pi 4:

Oh, I also noticed that ES stays at a consistent 30fps when I'm in the start menu. No idea why that would be different than sitting on the main menu, but it is.

Curious: I've found that editing config.txt and setting force_turbo=1 solves any of my ES framerate problems. Careful with this, in that it throttles your CPU, but if you're feeling frisky, you may consider it.

Below are my current overclock settings. I'm using active and passive cooling, so these are good for me. Leaving these here if you want to experiment. WARNING: Without proper cooling, overclocking could harm your pi and possibly corrupt your microSD card. It could also prevent booting, and you'd have to inject your microSD into a computer to change config.txt to reasonable settings. Warranty may also be voided:

#overclock
force_turbo=1
arm_freq=2000
over_voltage=6
h264_freq=750
isp_freq=750
v3d_freq=830
hdmi_enable_4kp60=1
#the above line (hdmi_enable_4kp60=1) enables core_freq of 550 instead of default 500

rilight

Hmm, I'd really like to avoid overclocking if at all possible - I plan on making this a portable build and that would reduce battery life, as well as the warranty issue you mentioned. Besides, the 4B should be able to handle this without overclocking and since other people are having the issue I think it would be good to find the root cause instead of getting around it with OC. That said, I'll keep it in mind as a backup option.

roslof

@rilight I'm suggesting adjusting the throttle force_turbo=1. I this is not classified as overclocking provided you don't use it in conjunction with over_voltage . If you don't want to overclock, steer away from the chunk I pasted in 'code' format.

Here is the write-up from the Raspberry Pi crew:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt/overclocking.md

Specifically regarding force_turbo:
Forces turbo mode frequencies even when the ARM cores are not busy. Enabling this may set the warranty bit if over_voltage_ is also set.*

rilight

Oh, okay. Given what it says, ("forces maximum frequencies even when the ARM cores are not busy"), this could still decrease battery life though right? I'll give it a try and see how ES performs.

roslof

@rilight said in Low framerate on main EmulationStation menu - Pi 4:

Oh, okay. Given what it says, ("forces maximum frequencies even when the ARM cores are not busy"), this could still decrease battery life though right? I'll give it a try and see how ES performs.

Not sure what you mean by battery life. I've been running force_turbo since the Pi4B first came out and I haven't experienced any wear-and-tear or issues. Always keeping my Pi cool. Never had any warnings...

rilight

I mean in a portable build, without being always plugged into a power socket 😄 As for the effects of the option, setting force_turbo=1 did increase performance on the main ES menu, making it workable in Carbon and pixel-metadata, but the metapixel theme still struggles during movement between some screens. It's an okay workaround for now, but I still feel like it shouldn't be necessary...

rilight

Update: Even having force_turbo=1, I'm still getting tearing in Gambette randomly. I'll record a video.