Author Topic: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?  (Read 4234 times)

PPPanimal

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Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« on: February 15, 2007, 02:05:03 AM »
Does anyone have tips for how to make a slow laptop run TD better?

One problem i am having atm is with the token shown below.
i have it set to max 4, and when its showing less than 4 my system runs at 100% and can't keep up.
the time updates once a minute sometimes.
but once the frame is full, (hits it max of 4), then my system uses about 85% cpu power and
the time keeps up ok.
Is there maybe a way to have the frames max be 1 when 1 person is busted out, then 2 when the second
is out and so on till the max size Ii want it at is 4?
Why does it take 100% cpu power to run it when its showing nothing, but only 85% when its full?

also, why does this not show all the things it says it should?  i only see rank, name, hits and hitman.
and i don't really want it to showstillin unless i could get it to sort so those knocked out are at the top but in order of rank.

<span style="height: 150px; width: 100%; overflow: false"><rankings showTimeOut="False" showRoundOut="False" showStillIn="False" showHitman="Ture" showHits="True" showWinnings="True" showPoints="True" showColumnTitles="True" max="4"></span>
« Last Edit: February 15, 2007, 02:32:17 AM by PPPanimal »

Corey Cooper

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2007, 09:59:22 AM »
I'm a little confused by your post.  I tried the cell text you posted, and what I see is:

1) It shows columns Rank, Player, Hits, Hitman, Winnings, and Points
2) It only shows busted out players.  When there is only 1 player busted out, it shows only that 1 player; when 2 are busted out, it shows both of them; it shows a maximum of 4 players no matter how many are busted out

I have no idea why this particular cell might cause your machine to run more slowly.  The token itself is only processed and the screen updated when something major happens, like a player busting out (it isn't updated every second, like the main clock).  I think you might be getting a false-positive on this token, meaning it's likely something else that is causing the CPU to work harder.

Also, as far as not seeing the Winnings and Points columns, is it possible it's simply too wide for your screen?  Seems obvious, I know, but you might try reducing the font size of the cell it is in and seeing if maybe those columns are bleeding off the side of the screen.

PPPanimal

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2007, 12:13:22 AM »
Hey Corey.  I did some more testing on this today and could not get it to repeat.  That cell seams to have not effect on the CPU now no matter how many players it is showing.  ODD.

As for it not showing all the columns, that problem is still there.  I loaded a different layout and added that same cell and still it does not show all the columns.  I then edited my AFTER GAME screen which also uses this cell, by removing the clock which is beside it.  Now this cell has the whole screen width to use and i have it centered in it and it still does not show all the data.  There is lots of room on both sides for it to expand into if needed.  As another test i changed the false on the other data to true and they started showing.  But still no points or winnings will show.  I will try to add a attachment of this tourny so you can have a look.  Maybe someone can figure out what i am doing wrong here.  I thought at one point, maybe the variables that its referring to do not exist in my layout or tourny.  Is (showwinnings or showpoints) referring to a variable that i could of deleted?


Corey Cooper

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2007, 10:09:21 AM »
Doh!  Ok, not the first time I've done this...

The reason you don't see the Points or Winnings is because that feature isn't available yet.  I suspect you got that token description from here: http://thetournamentdirector.net/forums/index.php?topic=578.0

The showPoints and showWinnings attributes do not exist in the current version (2.2.2), but I have added them for the next version.  I'm always working on the latest stuff, and I tend to sometimes forget when I added certain features.

Sorry about that...

PPPanimal

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2007, 11:34:39 AM »
lol.  Ya, that was my next guess.  Ok, so if i download the beta version here i can use this code then?  Does assign and switch just work in the beta too?  Hmmm.....better yet, where do i find this beta?  I have version 2.2.2 and it looks like the beta is older.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2007, 01:22:08 PM by PPPanimal »

PPPanimal

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2007, 10:00:46 PM »
Well i have been playing with TD for awhile now and my slow laptop has hated most every minute of it. 

But just recently i used the option to stop showing seconds on the main clock.
I had done this with the other clocks already and didn't notice much differance.
But now, wow, TD runs GREAT!!  No delay any where at any time.
Bust outs are fast and easy with no pausing of the clock needed.
So if your computer is slow, just use this code to stop showing the seconds on
your clock cells.  Be sure all visable clocks (time left)  (time till break) etc use this too.

showSeconds=false

How much faster is it? 

Well, Task Manager used to show TD as using 90-100% of my CPU power on the main screen.  Mostly 100%
Now TD uses 50-60% cpu power.  Mostly 50%  An Amazing differance.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2007, 10:21:36 AM by PPPanimal »

Corey Cooper

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2007, 10:04:11 AM »
This is a good tip, and it makes sense.  Because every element on the screen is laid out based on its size, if something on the screen changes, the size and placement of every element on the screen must be recomputed.  At best.  At worst, the entire screen is recomputed and re-rendered.  Honestly, that's IE's job, so I'm not sure which of those it is doing.  Either way, it's fairly intensive.

As an example, use a more proportional font (rather than a fixed-width font) for the clock.  A font where a "1" takes up less horizontal space than a "0".  As the clock ticks down, you'll see that the entire clock is redrawn every second, because sometimes it takes up more horizontal space than at other times, and because it is centered, it must be shifted left and right to keep it centered.  Furthermore, when the clock is smaller (say after it counts below 10 minutes, when it goes from 10:00 to 9:00), the elements around it are given more space and thus are redrawn.

You, in effect, prevented IE from having to redraw (or at least recompute) the screen every second.  I imagine that's pretty huge.

tandemrx

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2007, 10:51:15 AM »
Where do you put "showseconds=false" option?  I tried putting it in <clock showseconds=false> and it didn't seem to work.

I love this idea since I also have a very slow computer.

I do wonder though if this will stop certain functions that rely on seconds such as sounds that occur " with 5 seconds left in round" and such.

Corey Cooper

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2007, 01:04:56 PM »
showSeconds=false

Tokens and their attributes are case-sensitive, so it must be showSeconds, not showseconds.

This will have no effect at all on anything else.  You don't even have to show the clock if you don't want to, but sound events, round changes, etc will all still occur.

Silver Owl

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2007, 03:06:42 PM »
I've tried both of these and neither seems to work.

<showSeconds="false">
and
<clock showSeconds="false">

Is this the right format?

Corey Cooper

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2007, 04:06:08 PM »
You're right, sorry for the confusion.

There are many tokens that display time values, such as <currenttime>, <elapsedtime>, <nextbreak>, etc (probably a dozen or so).  Each of these share many of the same attributes, such as "format" and "showSeconds".  For example, you could have <currenttime showSeconds="false">.

The <clock> token is different, mostly for historical reasons.  The <clock> token has attributes "format" and "alwaysShowHours".  It does not have the "showSeconds" attribute.

However, there are also tokens <hours>, <minutes>, and <seconds>.  These show the respective parts of the main clock.  So, to display the main clock without seconds, use this HTML:

Code: [Select]
<hours>:<minutes>

Phaze

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Re: Tips for making slow systems run TD better?
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2007, 06:41:08 PM »
Does anyone have tips for how to make a slow laptop run TD better?



I have a general answer for this, something that I do, and I think helps out my computer to run at optimal levels. I bought a program from pcpitstop.com that basically cleans up my computer to speed it up more. But you can go to the website and get them to test it for free. After the test it will tell you what you can do to speed up your computer, from stuff you can do with your existing computer, or what hardware you might want to buy to make it run faster. If you already keep a tight computer then you won't want to buy the program, but if you see how you can speed up your computer then you have two choices, do what they recommend by yourself (mostly cleaning up registry, cache and all that fun stuff) or buy the program and let the program optimize it for you. I consider myself a slightly better than average computer user, but no genius and I find that pcpitstop helps.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2007, 06:43:53 PM by Phaze »