Electron CPU usage

[Kugelfang]

ok, thanks a lot, this was quite helpfull!

[CGabo]

Hi
This is with an clean install from scratch:

Version: raspbian stretch and current updates
Linux mmbs 4.9.61-v7+ #1049 SMP Fri Nov 10 15:32:51 GMT 2017 armv7l GNU/Linux

MagicMirror/node_modules/electron/dist/version
v1.7.9

and MM default config.js
-> Issue stille here

Increased default GPU Memory 64mb to 128mb
-> Issue stille here

No cpu problem with
Linux mmbs 4.9.57-v7+ #1045 SMP Fri Oct 20 11:44:49 BST 2017 armv7l GNU/Linux
and electron v1.6.2

[astrakid]

i am running magicmirror only as client (via webbrowser) on a raspberry pi zero. have only a few modules installed (newsfeed, calendar, currentwheather, 2 wheather forecasts, bergfex, mmm-syslog), and don’t have any performance issues while displaying (resolution 1080x1920).
can’t tell you the main difference in cpu load between electron and midori (which i am using), but i guess there must be something else causing this trouble.

[Mykle1]

It’s all pretty much discussed in this topic

[CGabo]

Yes, I know. Just wanted to clarify that the topic is still current with:
stretch img. with update to 4.9.61-v7+ #1049 and electron v1.7.9

and no issue with:
jessie img. with update to 4.9.57-v7+ #1045 and electron v1.6.2

-> There are some combination of OS / MM / electron which cause a high CPU load.

[austin]

I have been doing a lot of testing on this. I started using the latest Pixel and MM and had temperature and lockup issues. I then noticed that CPU usage was very high. I started doing lots of tests. I finally found that the best CPU usage and temperature was when using Electron 1.6.15. You can see the results in the screenshots.

If you need/want to use Pixel do not use Electron greater than 1.6.15. I tried many combinations along with matching the version of node the electron recommends. Nothing 1.7.x worked that well. As you can see in CGabo’s image on Pixel Electron 1.7.9 uses 100% cpu at time. In my screenshot on Jessie it used 70-80% only. Not sure why this is.

My recommendation would be to have Magic Mirror pin the Electron version to 1.6.15 at this time.

[Mykle1]

@austin said in Electron CPU usage:

My recommendation would be to have Magic Mirror pin the Electron version to 1.6.15 at this time.

Perhaps, but without a doubt, and confirmed months ago by numerous users (including myself) the combination that works best, and with the least amount of CPU load on a Pi, is Raspian Jessie, MM v2.1.0 and Electron v1.4.15. All the results are in the topic above which started 3 months ago. It was a hell of a ride! :-)

[schlachtkreuzer6]

FYI:
with the latest system update (yesterday) and upgrade (yesterday) and latest update of MM its better than before ^^ but still running way to high. My pi is not showing up the overheating symbol (: animations still are crap,…

[Mykle1]

@schlachtkreuzer6

I’m not using the Pi anymore. The one Pi mirror I have will stay using Jessie, MM v2.1.0 and electron v1.4.15. It doesn’t make any sense to change it. It runs flawlessly.

My other boards can handle the newest MM and electron so I use those there.

[schlachtkreuzer6]

@Mykle1 okay, which alternatives do you use? (:

[Mykle1]

@schlachtkreuzer6 said in Electron CPU usage:

okay, which alternatives do you use? (:

Me, personally? I’ve taken to old laptop boards. Basically, a 10-12 year old laptop will outperform any Pi, in all categories. ubuntu installed turns a POS laptop into a killer MM macine and the laptops that old are as inexpensive as a new Pi, or free in some cases.

Here are some things that others are using
https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/4513/stronger-raspberry-pi-3-alternatives.

Laptop mirror
https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/4930/vanity-mirror-thy-name-is-woman-using-laptop

[cowboysdude]

Just my two cents but as people want more from the mirror then “You look Good” compliments and here’s the weather the pi is going to fall further behind.

Some of these modules are intensive and need the power to run…

SO many are looking into small computer boards, like myself, mini-itx with a real processor and memory. Mine also uses an SSD… so power and speed are good :)

[rovarma]

After performing a clean install of the MagicMirror on Raspbian Stretch I was also running into this issue: high CPU usage, stuttering in the UI when animations are playing, etc. I didn’t really expect the MagicMirror to perform well in the first place (since it’s browser-based) but this was worse than I expected, so I did some investigation. The problem is twofold:

• The version of Electron (1.6.2) does not work on Stretch. Many users (including me) work around this by manually installing Electron 1.7.9, which does support Stretch. After this, the MagicMirror can be installed as normal (aside from some bugs in the install script, which I fixed locally) and will appear to work.
• However: Electron 1.7.9 does not have support for hardware acceleration on the Raspberry Pi (1.6.2) does. So normal rendering will appear to work fine, but anything to do with animation (and alpha blending in particular) will slow to a crawl.

The solution is to use Raspbian Jessie for now and ignore Stretch until this is fixed in Electron.

[Mykle1]

@rovarma said in Electron CPU usage:

The solution is to use Raspbian Jessie for now and ignore Stretch until this is fixed in Electron.

This has already been determined in the contents of this topic. The combination of Pi, OS and Electron versions for best performance is clearly stated above and has solved the CPU issue for many users since this topic started 3 months ago. :-)

[TheBogueRat]

I gave up on MM2 last year because of how bad the transitions looked. Recently I had need of something like MM and decided to try again and had the same CPU load and terrible transitions until I found this thread.

With the latest Raspbian Stretch, MM2, and a downgrade of electron to 1.4.15 it works far better. Barely a spike on the CPU meter.

This thread is far too long. Considering the impact of this solution, it really should be in the FAQ on github. The only reason I even noticed this thread is due to the weekly Email summary.

[Mykle1]

@TheBogueRat said in Electron CPU usage:

This thread is far too long.

If it were shorter then the results may never have come to light and many other users like yourself may have given up due to the CPU issue

Considering the impact of this solution, it really should be in the FAQ on github.

Perhaps, but I have nothing to do with such things. I’m just an old dude that wanted to know what was causing the issue and with the help of some fine people I think we did just that. However, I do appreciate the recognition and thank you on behalf of everyone that participated in the testing.

[MichMich]

For anyone running into this issue, run the following command from your MagicMirror folder:

 npm install electron@1.4.15

[bhepler]

One more data point: The Pi behind my office mirror was doing okay, until I enabled the MMM-Snow module. Short version is that I had to downgrade Electron to 1.4.15 but now it’s running pretty well with 50 snowflakes.

[schlachtkreuzer6]

@MichMich

> electron@1.4.15 postinstall /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/electron
> node install.js

magicmirror@2.1.3 /home/pi/MagicMirror
├── electron@1.4.15  invalid
└── UNMET PEER DEPENDENCY stylelint@7.13.0 invalid

npm WARN grunt-stylelint@0.9.0 requires a peer of stylelint@^8.0.0 but none was installed.
npm WARN stylelint-config-recommended@1.0.0 requires a peer of stylelint@^8.0.0 but none was installed.
npm WARN stylelint-config-standard@17.0.0 requires a peer of stylelint@^8.0.0 but none was installed.

[bhepler]

@schlachtkreuzer6 I had the same error when I downgraded. However, it did install and I am able to run the Magic Mirror process. I am getting a temperature warning. I’ll experiment a bit to see if I can narrow that down.