graphics optimization

[soundmind]

First, I would like to thank senso and the team for their monumental efforts. From a user perspective it is easy to overlook the sheer amount of work involved in creating and maintaining such a complex piece of software and for this I thank you wholeheartedly.

With that said, ever since the switch to "hollyhock" from usine v5, regardless of the complexity of the workspace, the heat generated from my laptop (MacBook Pro, i5 CPU, 4gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 330m, Windows7 64 bootcamped) has increased substantially which causes the fans to constantly run high. Apparently this is a graphics issue because the DSP meter is low when the fans kick in and in general the usine audio engine is efficient. Increasing the refresh rate helps a bit but this causes the graphics to become choppy which prevents accurate observation of interface components. The old usines that I have used (v4 and v5) did not cause this to happen.

Are there any plans to further optimize the graphics engine? Perhaps my graphics card is inefficient? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

[sephult]

I ran into graphics problems in the past using an older Nvidia GTX275.
There has already been many graphics optimizations that have improved performance, and during that time I upgraded to a GTX750Ti.

The problem is probably that your 330 does not support DirectX 11.
I ran into this problem with the GTX275, as I had found out that the zoom features and redraw depended heavily on DirectX 11.

If you check the LogUsine.log in the main directory, you should find an entry similar if you have DirectX11.

[12:47:01 PM] Canvas:TCanvasD2D

In the past I could not D2D, unless I disable hardware acceleration, then I suffered audio issues.
I assume with an updated graphics card you will find more pleasing results.

-S

[soundmind]

The log file does indeed contain this entry:

[12:26:14 PM] Canvas:TCanvasD2D

So it must be some other issue.

Thanks for the reply.

[senso]

The optimization is a constant obsession for me.
The graphic engine in heavy for many reasons. I could improve it but with some drawbacks:
- zoom scale,
- physical engine,
- aliasing,
- transparency,
etc..
Actually I'm working on this point but it will take time.

[soundmind]

I appreciate it. Thanks.

[CREDO]

The graphic engine in heavy for many reasons. I could improve it but with some drawbacks:
- zoom scale,
- physical engine,
- aliasing,
- transparency,
etc..

Would a setting to disable these features be a feasible option?

[ceasless]

Probably this is a more of a "natural" response from the Macbook as the laptop's GPU spins up. I think they are pushing the boundaries of sense in their chase for slimness.

Though I had heard that the NVidia cards were better for heat in the Macbooks recently..

[x.iso]

From what I see, HH3 doesn't utilize the GT750M in my laptop at all, which is weird. I've set it to use discrete GPU in Nvidia control panel, but it still doesn't show up as one of the apps that utilize GPU at the moment. Did I miss something or only intagrated graphics can be used at this point?

[x.iso]

I've tried out HH2 and I must say it's way faster and snapier, than HH3, but still doesn't use dGPU at all. I really wish HH3 could offload UI entirely to dGPU.

[MrBlack]

+1

I've tried out HH2 and I must say it's way faster and snapier, than HH3, but still doesn't use dGPU at all. I really wish HH3 could offload UI entirely to dGPU.

[senso]

in HH3.0.139 the use hardware acceleration option in the setup will be reintroduced to force manually the use of the graphic acceleration.
After some test it can give worse results.

In fact the graphic card is adapted when you have do draw few very complex objects like games rendering frames, shaders, etc.
At the oposite, Usine has to draw many many simple objects (square, text, circles).

So not adapted and don't expect miracles...

[sephult]

Awesome Senso, will definitely debug and report my systems here.

-s

[x.iso]

in HH3.0.139 the use hardware acceleration option in the setup will be reintroduced to force manually the use of the graphic acceleration.
After some test it can give worse results.

In fact the graphic card is adapted when you have do draw few very complex objects like games rendering frames, shaders, etc.
At the oposite, Usine has to draw many many simple objects (square, text, circles).

So not adapted and don't expect miracles...

I see, thanks for clarification. Well, maybe a different approach at rendering UI is needed for dGPU to be efficient. I worked in a company, that provided graphics overlay for sports and other live events and I designed those graphics. We used 3D engine, but more often than not, 2D graphics were needed, so we simply used plain rectangles and textures with alpha channels. We used many simple objects like that in single project and the only thing that would affect performance was hi-res textures, lots of them. So maybe similar approach would do better, instead of D2D?