[l008com]

When I first heard about OS X's Preemptive Multitasking, I didn't like it. In Classic, as long as the programs are written well, all programs get as much CPU as they need and no more. I thought that with OS X, everyone gets an equal piece of the pie, weather they need more (Virtual PC Test Drive) or not (TextEdit). Well that's not exactly how it works, but I have come to find out that there are some programs that take way too much CPU when they shouldn't. The Distributed.net client is specifically made to use ONLY idle processor cycles when run on it's lowest priority. I was running windows and I looked at the process viewer because ti felt like it was just too slow. It only had %60 CPU and Dnet, which should bend over backwards for a program like VPC, also was using around %60 or so. It happens with other programs too. I can encode audio CD's into 192Kbps MP3's at about 5X with Dnet running, but if I quit Dnet, it gets closer to 9X.

[Scott_H]

There's many threads here on CMT vs PMT and even SMP and any other three letter combination you want. I'd say use the search to find them but I know the search is not working right

[ 09-01-2001: Message edited by: Scott_H ]

[Spheric Harlot]

Was there a point to your post?

Pre-emptive multitasking doesn't mean that everybody gets an equal share. It means that everybody gets as much as they need, with equal priority - unless a higher priority is specified.

A process that is supposed to use *only* idle cycles should get the very lowest priority setting. That it still slowed down your computer is a sign that something in the system is broken.

On OS X 10.0.4, this is known, as prioritizing (the *NIX "nice" command) is listed as not yet implemented. It is fixed in 10.1.

On Windows, this is not surprising, as Windows is broken.

-chris.

[Ghoser777]

Also, there's no reason for VPC to be taking up all the cycles at once; especially if it's idle or doing something simple. You'll see why PMT is a god-send when you try to do two things at once (unstuff something big and write a paper). If VPC could really use the cycles, and nothing else important is running, than VPC will get all the cycles, atleast in 10.1 because priorities are fixed.

F-bacher

[l008com]

So the prioritization in 10.0.4 is broken/not finished. OK that's good information I did not know.

[Drizzt]

Yeah.. well.. it doesn't look fixed in 10.1 right now..

I shure hope they will get rid of this "bug"!

[Some Guy []]

yes it is fixed, maybe you just don't know how it works. I was converting a divx file to mpeg and reniced the process to 20 so it would only take the available CPU time so i could browse websites in IE without any slowdown.

this is also why Toast/Roxio isn't releasing a final version of their burning software for OSX because they can't guarantee you won't get fails. They will when 10.1 is avail.

[l008com]

Hey, what program were you using, I didn't know there was any encoding software for X other than the QuickTime player. Do you have anything good?

[Some Guy []]

the program i was using is called 'ffmpeg' which is an application you un in the terminal. read the thread "looking for Linux/C devs" i think.

[l008com]

what catagory is it in? (the thread i mean)

[robotmarkVIII]

Actually, there was a write up on the Ambrosia software site that mentioned that priotization was _not_ broken in Darwin, but the tools for the user to change them via the command shell were.

I wonder where moki is, maybe he can straighten this out...

[l008com]

well i program like Dnet that runs at the lowest priortiy should not be using 60% CPU (out of 200%) when other things like VPC is running or iTunes is encoding. its either broken, or that's jsut what it does, gives apps that don't need the cpu, cpu anyway. Maybe because even though dnet has a low priority, it always has SOMETHING to do, and so it is treated as if it had a high priority

[AirSluf]

Current 10.0.4 CPU prioritization isn't working as noted above as well so until 10.1 is out the whole discussion is really moot because well--broken is broken.

As for VPC, it will eat every available cycle unless you are running Win2K or XP. Windows itself is broken (OK not broken, just poorly designed) and NEVER tells anyone it isn't busy. So an emulator is always being told Windows needs as much CPU as it can get. This isn't nearly as bad in Win2K or XP, although nowhere as well implemented as Unix or even the broken scheduler in 10.0.4.

[BuonRotto]

…well--broken is broken.

Neophyte question: is "well--broken" a command, the same as "nice/renice" or a feature inherent to *nix? (I'm not sure if that question made any sense or not.) Thanks.

[Ghoser777]

"broken is broken" is a figure of speech. You know, when you try to explain something, but you end up just defining a word with itself. Generally, unix apps are just words or jumbles of letters, although they could have a double hyphen.

F-bacher