Reducing the CPU usage in Puppy

What features/apps/bugfixes needed in a future Puppy
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mistfire
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Reducing the CPU usage in Puppy

#1 Post by mistfire »

I mostly noticed in Puppy that upon the execution of application programs, the CPU usage rush immediately up to 100% instead of below 90%. This caused the lagging of other apps which is running alongside with it, Bottlenecks, Or even raising the CPU temperature which released much heat. Is any way to improving the computing effiency in Puppy making below 90% CPU usage upon execution? Or do we need some improvements?

disciple
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

#2 Post by disciple »

Why would you want Puppy to use less than 100% of CPU to start a program? Surely that would just mean you need to wait longer for the program to start...
Or are you saying that the CPU usage stays at 100% after the program is launched?

Where are you reading the CPU usage from?
I think you are probably mistaken. Read xload is NOT a CPU usage meter
Do you know a good gtkdialog program? Please post a link here

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Sylvander
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#3 Post by Sylvander »

Boxpup-431 has a small [green on black] graphical display window down at bottom right.
Is it xload or what?

Most of the time it displays exactly the same peaks and troughs as the Pwidget CPU graphical display->[it displays the numerical values too]...
Except now and then under certain circumstances...
When starting Firefox perhaps....
It happened right now when I was copying a 1GB pupsave for quirky-120 from the Flash Drive to a folder on a partition on an internal HDD.
The green display peaks to the top of the window...
Yet the Pwidget display doesn't.

STRANGE! :?

mistfire
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Joined: Wed 05 Nov 2008, 00:35
Location: PH

#4 Post by mistfire »

No, not upon the program is launched, but on start-up the program it immediately rush to 100% and afterwards, it back to normal. I think it is a bottleneck. I transfer a 300Mb file, it raise up to 100% too. It doesn't go down until the transfer is complete. By the way I used NOP 4.13

disciple
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

#5 Post by disciple »

Sylvander wrote:Boxpup-431 has a small [green on black] graphical display window down at bottom right.
Is it xload or what?
No. I presume Boxpup uses openbox - is that right?
I think Openbox does have a built-in CPU meter.
Most Puppies use the JWM window manager, and usually have xload, which is a separate program that we swallow into the JWM tray. I think openbox isn't even capable of swallowing programs...
By the way I used NOP 4.13
Oh, OK. I believe NOP uses the XFCE "desktop environment" instead of JWM and rox and a bunch of other standard puppy programs.
I think XFCE does have a CPU meter... so you are reading it correctly.
but on start-up the program it immediately rush to 100% and afterwards, it back to normal.
Like I said, I would have thought that was good - it means that the program is starting as quickly as possible so I think this tells us that there isn't a bottleneck reading the program from the disk. Or do you think your hard drive is so slow and your CPU so fast that your computer shouldn't be able to read the program from disk fast enough to keep up with the CPU?
Also be aware that:
1. depending on how you are running Puppy, the main .sfs file with all the built-in programs may be loaded into ram, so when you start a program it is being read from ram, not from the hard disk (which is slower) like in most operating systems.
2. if you have just noticed that it looks different to another CPU meter when you start programs in another operating system, I think this may simply be because it is displaying the CPU usage averaged over a shorter time duration, in which case it will appear to change much more quickly.
I think it is a bottleneck.
Maybe you need to explain what you mean in more detail...
I transfer a 300Mb file, it raise up to 100% too.
Yes, that doesn't sound great. How fast is your CPU? And roughly how long does it take to transfer 300MB? I have a feeling that the CPU needs to do more work with modern on-board network cards, but I wouldn't have expected 100% CPU usage.
Do you know a good gtkdialog program? Please post a link here

Classic Puppy quotes

ROOT FOREVER
GTK2 FOREVER

disciple
Posts: 6984
Joined: Sun 21 May 2006, 01:46
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

#6 Post by disciple »

The xfce cpu meter might have a setting so you can tell it what duration to average the cpu usage over.
Do you know a good gtkdialog program? Please post a link here

Classic Puppy quotes

ROOT FOREVER
GTK2 FOREVER

Sylvander
Posts: 4416
Joined: Mon 15 Dec 2008, 11:06
Location: West Lothian, Scotland, UK

#7 Post by Sylvander »

@disciple
"No. I presume Boxpup uses openbox - is that right?"
Sounds right.
I've seen mention of openbox when within Boxpup.
But all of this is strange and generally unknown to me.

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