Memory/CPU Usage - Is GameEx Bloatware??

[David R Hilgendorf]

I checked my task manager a couple times while GameEx was running to find that it is using between 50MB and 150MB of memory. Is there a memory leak or is it really that bloated? It stays at or near the top of the list on mem usage.

Also I noticed CPU usage was at 95%+ for gameEx just sitting at the GameEx start page. This is on my laptop which has a Pentium M Centrino 1.6Ghz and 1.25GB of RAM. Hardly a slouch.

I need to check these specs on my arcade cab, though I know the memory usage is high there as well, but I haven't checked the CPU usage. It would seem that some optimizations could be made in both respects?

[Tom Speirs]

I checked my task manager a couple times while GameEx was running to find that it is using between 50MB and 150MB of memory.  Is there a memory leak or is it really that bloated?  It stays at or near the top of the list on mem usage.

Also I noticed CPU usage was at 95%+ for gameEx just sitting at the GameEx start page.  This is on my laptop which has a Pentium M Centrino 1.6Ghz and 1.25GB of RAM.  Hardly a slouch.

I need to check these specs on my arcade cab, though I know the memory usage is high there as well, but I haven't checked the CPU usage.  It would seem that some optimizations could be made in both respects?

I know the memory usage is high. Its similar to an app like MCE or other HTPC software. I really dont know why it needs quite so much. I dont see any obvious optimisations, but is a possibly. There may be a memory leak for avi snap videos though possibly.

However GameEx uses as much CPU time as you want it to, and all of it by default. Theres info about this on the docs page.

I agree, it is bloated for old (and I mean very old) systems, but as I've said before, GameEx is a high end frontend and basically htpc software. Its designed for MCE systems, and full spec arcade machines. It aint mean to run on a 486. On all my modern systems, its stable as a rock, and runs for days and days without a slow down or issue, but then again I dont own a system with less than 512MB. I also only run NT based OS's.

Would you run DOOM 3, any of the available HTPC software or even Windows XP on a pentium 2?

I can highly recommend MAMEWah or Gamelauncher if you want a smaller less functional front end.

Tom

[David R Hilgendorf]

I guess you are right about MCE (eshell) using nearly the same amount of RAM. Since I tend to run high amounts of RAM this doesn't bug me as much as the CPU load. Even running video MCE only hits about 50% CPU usage, where GameEx is constantly over 95% just sitting idle. That seems a bit abnormal and can cause other apps to slow down (including windows itself).

The funny thing is that on my P4 2.4ghz I don't see this anomaly, however on my 1.6GHZ Centrino I do. I may have the GameEx config different on both, and I still need to check my Arcade cab (850mhz) to see if it has this problem, which I am pretty sure it does not. I'll see if I can narrow it down some more.

[Tom Speirs]

I guess you are right about MCE (eshell) using nearly the same amount of RAM.  Since I tend to run high amounts of RAM this doesn't bug me as much as the CPU load. Even running video MCE only hits about 50% CPU usage, where GameEx is constantly over 95% just sitting idle.  That seems a bit abnormal and can cause other apps to slow down (including windows itself). 

The funny thing is that on my P4 2.4ghz I don't see this anomaly, however on my 1.6GHZ Centrino I do.  I may have the GameEx config different on both, and I still need to check my Arcade cab (850mhz) to see if it has this problem, which I am pretty sure it does not.  I'll see if I can narrow it down some more.

If you go into Tweaks/Performance you can set a sleep delay in milliseconds which gameex releases to the CPU for each frame.

GameEx runs in a main loop and is constantly running code. Even sitting in the main menu it is drawing to the screen each monitor refresh, and processing input, audio and the display. On my living room room PC, I have the sleep setting at 8 MS. This makes GameEx run at around 50% usage and still at full smooth frame rate. Although I do have an athlon 64 3400. You can set this sleep setting higher if you turn off the VSYNC. This is like the VSYNC in MAME where if you look at the mame docs states it takes up CPU cycles. On an 800Mhz you will probably notice a slow down with the sleep setting unless you turn off Vsync too, but I run it on my my MCE machine to make sure the PC has plenty of power left for recording TV.

I did think this is covered in the docs page. Should I write up some more on it?

[djrobx]

Tom, have you considered going with a modular (plugin) design? While I like the idea that I can use FFDSHOW to play MCE videos and DVDs, for now I just want it to be a gaming frontend. If you break your interface up with sort of plugin system, then the gaming front-end won't suffer from "bloat" because you've added lots other major features that not everyone wants. It also would allow you to offer more experimental pieces and perhaps have other developers working on modules without having to release source code.

[Tom Speirs]

To Nobody specificly:

On the case of Bloat. It really is not bloated. You have to remember that when windows is showing mem usage for an app it includes caching, and other things to do with the way the .net framework optimizes. Also I have written GameEx so if you turn off the features you dont want they wont be initialised and use up memory and resources.

Heres an example of the so called bloat which is actually a strong misconception.

Go ahead an enable everything. Go ahead and then use everything when GameEx is running. Restore the window then minimize. Wait a few seconds then restore.

Ah, wheres the bloat gone. 40MB now! I have an IE process right now showing a normal web page, and thats saying 45MB.

Please dont consider GameEx bloated, just because task manager says its using a lot of RAM when its running perfectly fine at full refresh rate. It really isnt bloated code. I am personally also able to run GameEx on a pentium 2 400Mhz OK, and on an 800Mhz with a crappy on board intel video card and it looks pretty damn decent.

I am no expert of low level windows memory management. However Talk to me about bloat when GameEx is running crappy not when its working on your machine for weeks on end without a reboot. Or if you really understand the internals of how windows and the .net framework uses memory.

The modular approach would allow custom plugins, but HTML plugins are already supported, and its just too much work just for now. Who wants 'My Recipes' anyway?