When looking in Windows task manager . . .

I understand when the "setihome_4.03_windows_intelx86.exe" processes take most of the CPU (average 90%). I know they are perfuming the actual SETI number crunching.

I do not understand why the "boinc_gui.exe" process takes in average 10% of the available CPU! It appears the BOINC GUI is continuously crunching something. What is it doing?

I don't remember being this bad in BOINC 4.05 and before. I believe the GUI has not been optimized and is currently wasting a lot of CPU cycles. Maybe this can be fixed in the next release?

Hydnum Repandum </br>
Open SETI Initiative

Hm, I don't have that Problem on my Win2000 machine.

I run the BOINC GUI minimized (Tray Icon) and before minimizing, I selected the "Messages" Tab.

As far as I can tell from other User reports, permanently having it display Disk Usage can hog down Resources quite a bit, but the other Tabs don't seem to take any notable CPU time.
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<p>Scientific Network : 36200 MHz «» 8204 MB «» 815.0 GB </p>

> I do not understand why boinc_gui.exe take in average 10% of the total CPU!
> It apperas the BOINC GUI is continuaslly crunching something. What is it
> doing?

You probably have the work or the disk tab selected in BOINC. The program updates these tabs even if minimized.

select project or messages tab instead and you should me down to virtally no cycles for BOINC (core client).

The developers know of this and it's somewhere far down on the bugs-to-fix list.

i have also no Problems, running two instances of the Client

Picture 73 KB

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli S@h Berkeley's Staff Friends Club m7 ©

I don't have the "Disk" tab selected.
This is running windows XP Professional SP2 (SP1 is the same).

Hydnum Repandum </br>
Open SETI Initiative

cl 4.09
1 cpu amd 2400, XP server. 512 MB 333

Gui opened, message tab

No problem with gui.

this is normal. while DL/UL 2-4 %

> I don't have the "Disk" tab selected. It does not matter which tab I select
> or if the GUI is minimized!

Actually, with BOINC it does ... with a new GUI in the wings it is not likely to be something that we will see changed ... not worth the trouble.

If you change the tabs and watch the utilization you will see that with the project or messages tab open that utilization is non-existant. Also, you have to close the GUI, not minimize it to the taskbar to get the best results ...
<p>
For BOINC Documentaion: Click Me!

THe only time time I have any CPU useage by the GUI is checking the disk tab, jumps to 11%, and message tab uses 1 to 2% if a message comes in......


My name is Pascal and this message has no meaning, but still has my approval...

It is 10 oclock, do you know what your WUWUs are doing tonight...

I had been screaming about the same problem, only sometimes the GUI was up to 14% and I was not the least happy about the waste of resources. I never use the screensaver or even look at it now. I could not put my finger on the reason why sometimes it soaked up cycles and at other times was quiet as a mouse!

Thankyou HOAP!!!

You are, as far as I can tell from a quick test, correct. If you open task manager and boinc, just trying the different tabs shows the GUI go both up and down.

Safest is to leave it on projects I think. Nothing to change or update there.

Ah, full cycles again! Crunch away!

> I had been screaming about the same problem, only sometimes the GUI was up to
> 14% and I was not the least happy about the waste of resources. I never use
> the screensaver or even look at it now. I could not put my finger on the
> reason why sometimes it soaked up cycles and at other times was quiet as a
> mouse!
>
> Thankyou HOAP!!!
>
> You are, as far as I can tell from a quick test, correct. If you open task
> manager and boinc, just trying the different tabs shows the GUI go both up and
> down.
>
> Safest is to leave it on projects I think. Nothing to change or update
> there.
>
> Ah, full cycles again! Crunch away!
>
Complaining about 15%? On my slowest machine on the wrong tab it was 60%! The amount of CPU time soaked up by the GUI is dependent upon the speed of the CPU, not the OS.

I've been running mine were I can watch the yellow bars on the work tab. I sort of freaked out when I read how much cycle time BOINC is using. I started running it closed to check my work unit times. They still seem the same. Go figure.

> Complaining about 15%? On my slowest machine on the wrong tab it was 60%!
> The amount of CPU time soaked up by the GUI is dependent upon the speed of the
> CPU, not the OS.

Why don't folks just run boinc_cli? It dumbfounds me that boinc_gui is used even by folks like 7!

You can run boincview, with an update rate of 120 seconds, and get about the same control, without the CPU impact!

You might as well put it on messages, as soon as you get one it is going to switch there... of course, putting it to projects will let it run fastest (we ope) until that time ...
<p>
For BOINC Documentaion: Click Me!

@azwoody. As far as I am aware, the command line is not available to those of us using Windows.

Kinda blows away that idea.

> @azwoody. As far as I am aware, the command line is not available to those of
> us using Windows.
>

The command line works great on windows. In fact, you can install it as a service just fine as well and use BOINCview to control it remotely. Look in your BOINC directory for boinc_cli.exe.



<a>

Putting it on the Disk tab zzaps 30% up to 87% of my CPU. But even my Messages tab takes CPU (2 - 30%), as the GUI has been running for 3 minutes 21 seconds again. I don't minimize to the taskbar but to the system tray icon. Maybe that it resets to Messages unknown to me when I do that and a message is shown?

I do know that when I minimize it at Projects but open it up when the blue exclamation mark sits over the icon, that I automatically open up in the Messages tab. Go figure. ;)

Windows 2000 SP4 here.
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Jordâ„¢

> Putting it on the Disk tab zzaps 30% up to 87% of my CPU. But even my Messages
> tab takes CPU (2 - 30%), as the GUI has been running for 3 minutes 21 seconds
> again. I don't minimize to the taskbar but to the system tray icon. Maybe that
> it resets to Messages unknown to me when I do that and a message is shown?
>
> I do know that when I minimize it at Projects but open it up when the blue
> exclamation mark sits over the icon, that I automatically open up in the
> Messages tab. Go figure. ;)

Yes, the GUI is updating the windows even when closed to the "notification" area (lower right corner) and that is why you are seeing some usage.

It is worse on slower systems and worse when using the graphics and the like ...
<p>
For BOINC Documentaion: Click Me!

I'll agree that the disk tab generates non-trivial CPU load, but I certainly don't see this behaviour in BOINC 4.09 when it comes to any of the other tabs. Even my lowly P-II 366 system only has 1% load on the GUI client when on the Work tab.

trane