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iTunes CPU usage ridiculously high!

post #1 of 22
9/21/02 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 
why on Earth is it that iTunes uses between 10% and 40% CPU on my iBook @ 700 Mhz, varying wildly between those two extremes, when WinAmp on my "measly" PII @ 266 Mhz uses a steady 5-10% CPU?? Isn't my iBook supposed to be the equivalent of a PIII 1 Ghz, at least? Pentium smoking my a**!

An MP3 player using up to 40% CPU is kinda ridiculous frankly.. how can one get any work done at the same time? <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />

sorry for the expletives but this kind of blatant abuse of CPU time pisses me off.

ps: both machines have 256 MB RAM. Win2k on the PC, Jaguar (10.2.1) on the Mac.

[Edit: forgot to mention that I disabled all the "effects" in an effort to decrease CPU usage: crossfade playback, sound enhancer, sound check).]

[ 09-21-2002: Message edited by: cygsid ]</p>
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post #2 of 22
9/21/02 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
Just in case anybody is tempted to dismiss my previous post as a troll, I actually *like* iTunes, especially the following:
+ very nice GUI, like most iApps
+ I love the dynamic and instantaneous Search feature: very nifty
+ love the multithreading, that lets you import and continue browsing/sampling at the same time, for example
+ auto-updates the iTunes Folder as I retag files and fix them up. Pretty cool.
+ excellent and pervasive auto-complete function which presents with the next most appropriate item when updating a song based on your library content
+ multiple song editing is very powerful
+ can create MP3 with very high bitrates wihout any optional add-ons unlike Real or WMP

with a few negatives (as usual when it comes to OS X, related to performance.. hint, hint, Apple):
- text editing is very very very slow
- scrolling is very slow
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post #3 of 22
9/21/02 at 12:59pm
*** Cpu usage kinda stinks. It's from all *** decoding and endcoding that goes on during play time. I guess a high quality program = CPU drains.
Ah yes, now I can breath!

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Ah yes, now I can breath!

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post #4 of 22
9/21/02 at 3:10pm
on the mac, the processor has to decode the music. =&gt; CPU usage: high

on the pc, there's a soundcard just for that purpose. =&gt; CPU usage: almost none
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post #5 of 22
9/21/02 at 6:05pm
I guess this calls for Core Audio Extreme?
"Hearing a corrupt CEO like Cheney denigrate Edwards for being a trial lawyer is like hearing a child molester complain how Larry Flint is a pervert." -johnq
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"Hearing a corrupt CEO like Cheney denigrate Edwards for being a trial lawyer is like hearing a child molester complain how Larry Flint is a pervert." -johnq
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post #6 of 22
9/21/02 at 6:42pm
[quote]Originally posted by bunge:
<strong>I guess this calls for Core Audio Extreme?</strong><hr></blockquote>

<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

iTunes' massive CPU usage is not exactly news...
Whatever it is, it ain't rocket science
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Whatever it is, it ain't rocket science
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post #7 of 22
9/21/02 at 7:20pm
Thread Starter 
[quote]Originally posted by Overhope:
<strong>

<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

iTunes' massive CPU usage is not exactly news...</strong><hr></blockquote>

well it was news to me that an MP3 player would be so CPU-intensive, being a recent switcher..

anyway I downloaded Audion and it has a much more reasonable CPU usage (10-20% depending on bitrate). Good to see some MP3 players on the Mac can actually go easy on the CPU. I was also able to make use my iTunes-managed music collection, through the "Linked Playlist" feature which maintains the playlist in sync with the contents of a given music file folder. So I'll keep using iTunes for music management (and iPod syncing) and use Audion for playback.
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post #8 of 22
9/22/02 at 4:57am
Actually, Winamp on my Athlon 500 isn't much less CPU intensive - both Winamp 2 and Winamp 3.
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post #9 of 22
9/22/02 at 5:45am
  • Anders
  • Feared and Biased Moderator
[quote]Originally posted by bunge:
<strong>I guess this calls for Core Audio Extreme?</strong><hr></blockquote>

<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

I dare Apple to find a way to export iTunes decodng to the GPU :eek:
"I reject your reality and substitute it with my own" - President Bush
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"I reject your reality and substitute it with my own" - President Bush
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post #10 of 22
9/22/02 at 9:21am
Well, you just hide the audio stream in the edges of the frame buffers, and off you go!

Actually, just did some experimenting, and both top and Process Viewer show iTunes running between 9% and 18% CPU usage until you turn the visuals on, in which case it will eat 85% no problem.

I guess it depends rather on what else you're doing, but it does rather look like it grabs as much time as it can.

That said, Process Viewer has proven a tad unreliable in the past...

cygsid, I have to say that comparing WinAmp to iTunes across different platforms isn't a hugely informative exercise.

Apart from which, what else are you doing at the same time as listening to music that is so cycle-hungry that it won't work if iTunes is grabbing 40%? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
Whatever it is, it ain't rocket science
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Whatever it is, it ain't rocket science
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post #11 of 22
9/22/02 at 9:32am
  • Spart
  • Beloved Local Storyteller
Actually I want to know why iTunes/other MP3 apps didn't slow down my system in OS 9 and in X they almost kill it...

My first post in DH, 0.1% of total (personal) post count.
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post #12 of 22
9/22/02 at 4:45pm
That doesn't happen on my machine: it's still perfectly useable when I've got iTunes running... <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Whatever it is, it ain't rocket science
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Whatever it is, it ain't rocket science
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post #13 of 22
9/22/02 at 6:41pm
I can be rendering in C4D (which *always* maxes out both processors) and be playing music in iTunes and keep surfing around the internet in Chimera without a single hiccup. The computer is completely responsive the whole time.

iTunes has never made my computer sluggish or unresponsive.
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post #14 of 22
9/22/02 at 6:45pm
QS 867 gigram- jaguar
iTunes uses with visuals-large 65-80%
w/o visuals 12-20%.
Doesn't seem to slow down anything i'm doing.
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post #15 of 22
9/22/02 at 11:14pm
iTunes 3 processor usage is fine with me. My machine is an iBook 466. I was quite unhappy with over utilization of iTunes 2, which kept me on 1.1.1 until the release of 3. If you wish to take utilization down, shrink the player window (using the green widget), then use the size widget to make the window as small as possible. Finally, minimize the player to the dock. Your utilization should be much lower using this method; you can switch songs by using the iTunes dock menu. I used to do that, but I haven't been nearly as concerned with the subject as of late.
PPC4EVER
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PPC4EVER
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post #16 of 22
9/22/02 at 11:46pm
I agree with you completely.

I'm not sure what it is doing, but when run under OS 9, it never hesitated at all. I realise iTunes 3 is OS X only, but it performed the same in iTunes 2. I think iTunes 3 is a bit better utilizing system resources, but it still hogs the CPU a lot.

A multi-threaded, memory-protected modern OS cannot run it as well?? Something is wrong here...

Regardless of your system, it worked fine before OS X. However, I have a PowerBook G3 (firewire) with 640 MB RAM. Everythig else runs just dandy, but iTunes will hesitate occationally. It does run up 10%-40% of the CPU during usage. Geez....

Edit-&gt; I am running Jaguar with iTunes 3.0.1. iTunes averages around 18-21%, spanning 16%-45% on my PowerBook.

[ 09-23-2002: Message edited by: Donny ]</p>
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post #17 of 22
9/23/02 at 11:52am
[quote]Originally posted by Defiant:
<strong>on the mac, the processor has to decode the music. =&gt; CPU usage: high

on the pc, there's a soundcard just for that purpose. =&gt; CPU usage: almost none</strong><hr></blockquote>

Sure, if you have a sound card add-in, otherwise, decoding of MP3 on PC is also done by CPU. Are you saying that if you add a soundcard to a Mac, the decoding of MP3 is still done by the CPU???
One iMac G5, one iPod, many PCs.
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One iMac G5, one iPod, many PCs.
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post #18 of 22
9/23/02 at 12:21pm
Once i have tried weird thing on OS X : i have played together i movie with i tune : and it work perfectly mixing the sound in live without any lapses. I have tried also to use both music player and i tune to let them read two differents songs in the same CD : of course there where lapses due to the CD reader trying to read desesperatly two songs in differents aera of the CD, but the system do not crash.

If some of your friend think that OS X is not really multitask made this demo in front of them : i tune and i moovie simultaneously.
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post #19 of 22
9/23/02 at 1:12pm
iTunes takes anywhere between 15-40% on my iBook. Sometimes there's a noticable slowdown. IN OS 9 there never was.
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post #20 of 22
9/23/02 at 1:40pm
iTunes has always used massive amounts of the CPU - even when it was still known as "SoundJam MP" (which will always be my favorite Mac MP3/Music Player and encoder)
PEACE--->Rhoq

iMac 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM
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PEACE--->Rhoq

iMac 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM
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post #21 of 22
9/23/02 at 11:06pm
[quote]Originally posted by klinux:
<strong>

Sure, if you have a sound card add-in, otherwise, decoding of MP3 on PC is also done by CPU. Are you saying that if you add a soundcard to a Mac, the decoding of MP3 is still done by the CPU???</strong><hr></blockquote>

I think so. on the pc you have to have a soundcard otherwise you'll get no sound. on the mac it's different. we have the sound chip onboard.

so, I really don't know.
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post #22 of 22
9/24/02 at 6:19pm
Not true. I do not know of any modern PC that does not have sound (DSP chip?) built-in to the motherboard. Newew ones even have 5.1 capabilities built-in to the MB. Very few people I know (mostly gamers and audiophiles) buy a dedicated sound card.
One iMac G5, one iPod, many PCs.
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One iMac G5, one iPod, many PCs.
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