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05-04-09, 05:28 PM   #1
Flinger
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nUI memory usage

I've installed the nUI 5.3.01+ and have been having severe performance issues while raiding. My fps's have always been low, but it was getting impossible to play. I decided to install FU_performance and was shocked with what i saw: nUI was using a ton of memory, but the worst was the increase rate, measured In Megabytes.

I atached a few prints with and without nUI.

first pick, during combat.
Second pic out off combat with nUI
Third pic out of combat without nUI.

After i disabled nUI the performance improved a lot. For what i was able to see, with nUI on, the game was invoking the garbadge dump every few seconds, while without nUI it wasn't needed.

The prints may not be the best. When i have time i'll do a fresh install and try it again.
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05-05-09, 01:19 PM   #2
spiel2001
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Flinger -- the memory usage issue is not really an issue except for the fact that the garbage collector does clearly have non-trivial problems since WoW 3.0

That said... my top priority now, aside from finishing the detachment of the configuration data from the layout engine, is cleaning up nUI's memory usage to reduce the load on the borked garbage collector.

However... it is *very* important that you understand the problem is *not* nUI. This post is a perfect illustration of the issue... http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...03572404&sid=1 -- raiders everywhere have been having endless FPS issues even in otherwise "lightweight" configurations.

Do know I am working on improving nUI's footprint.
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05-05-09, 01:22 PM   #3
Carz
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its does that all the time there no need to worried its goes from 10mb to about 25mb if I'm not raiding about 25mb to 35mb when i am but it drops back down because it is the garbage that nUI is throwing when it working just like any other addon just have to remember that its a standalone coded UI
 
05-05-09, 05:49 PM   #4
Flinger
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Originally Posted by spiel2001 View Post
Flinger -- the memory usage issue is not really an issue except for the fact that the garbage collector does clearly have non-trivial problems since WoW 3.0
Yes, i am aware of that.
Originally Posted by Flinger
For what i was able to see, with nUI on, the game was invoking the garbadge dump every few seconds, while without nUI it wasn't needed.
I noticed that the problem was in the garbage collector, and i supose, correct me if i'm wrong, that it is triggered by the amount of memory being used. I also know that isn't under your control, execept for trying to reduce the amount of memory/garbage used/generated by nUI.

I'm glad you are aware of the problem, and working on minimizing it.

Originally Posted by carz
For what i was able to see, with nUI on, the game was invoking the garbadge dump every few seconds, while without nUI it wasn't needed.
I'm also aware of that, and i must agree it was a litle unfair from me to just comparing both performances, with and without nUI. I should compare nUI with other addons doing the same work. I believe the Unit frames alone must use a lot of memory.

I will be making a non nUI raiding interface, and will post any relevant data i may come across. Though i love nUI, the diference, as slight as it may seem, is huge on such a low performance system as mine. Hope you can improve it soon, so i can get back using it.
 
05-08-09, 08:30 AM   #5
todd0168
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Yeah, I have been having the same issue whenever I raid or run instances. I pretty much have no problems when just solo questing but once I get into an instance/raid the whole thing borks out on me. One thing that I have done to help alleviate the situation is to set a macro for a garbage dump on a hot key so whenever my fps tanks I can just hit the garbage dump macro and poof I'm back in business sooner than just waiting it out.
 
05-08-09, 08:37 AM   #6
spiel2001
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Well... the problem here is that I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place... the issue is that there's a problem that is not unique to nUI. It is impacting a LOT of mods out there ever since 3.0 and appears to be even worse in 3.1 -- I'm working to alleviate the problem as much as I can by reducing how much garbage nUI generates, but I don't know that I can truly fix it. Even very lightweight UIs are having FPS issues.

Given Bliz's new addon development policy, if I were a conspiracy theorist I would suggest it wasn't by accident. However, I do believe it to be just coincidence. The problem, however, is fixing it.

/sigh

This thread is a good example of the FPS issue in play for people who are using mods other than nUI... http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...03572404&sid=1
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05-08-09, 09:34 AM   #7
Petrah
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Could there be a memory leak in some of those instances? They had a pretty severe one in that one cave where you do the daily quest, Slaves to Saronite (I remember the huge posts on that in the bug reports forum). Blizz fixed that one though. The FPS drops in that cave were pretty bad and would cripple even the best gaming systems.
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05-08-09, 10:03 AM   #8
spiel2001
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Yeah -- I think it's pretty clear Bliz has a couple of serious bugs in the UI engine as of 3.0 and 3.1 -- no telling how long it will take to fix.
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05-08-09, 10:07 AM   #9
Petrah
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Originally Posted by spiel2001 View Post
Yeah -- I think it's pretty clear Bliz has a couple of serious bugs in the UI engine as of 3.0 and 3.1 -- no telling how long it will take to fix.
The problem is though that people go into raids and they have to have their addons. This makes it impossible to submit a bug report to the Blizz devs unless they're playing with a default clean setup. So it's a catch 22
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05-08-09, 10:14 AM   #10
spiel2001
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Very true.
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What people don't get is that I am, ultimately, an artist at heart.
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Official nUI Web Site: http://www.nUIaddon.com
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05-08-09, 12:35 PM   #11
Flinger
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Well, it is true i can't do much testing in Raids, otherwise my raid leader will kicking my butt big time, but i supose some testing can be done in battlegrounds. AV is perhaps the perfect place for it.

Originally Posted by Carz
its goes from 10mb to about 25mb if I'm not raiding about 25mb to 35mb
Were you refering to nUI alone, or to all the addons together? Because nUI alone, in my test, was using over 40 MB.


I am currently trying to improve my system's performance, resorting to all kind of tricks i can remember. Possibly i'll have to increase the memory, from the current 2GB to 4GB, though it will require a big investment as my computer only works on ECC registered RAM.
 
05-08-09, 01:01 PM   #12
Petrah
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Originally Posted by Flinger View Post


I am currently trying to improve my system's performance, resorting to all kind of tricks i can remember. Possibly i'll have to increase the memory, from the current 2GB to 4GB, though it will require a big investment as my computer only works on ECC registered RAM.

Did you check out the System Performance Guide, 3.1 edition sticky over on the Tech Support forum? There might be something that can help you there.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...71909544&sid=1
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05-09-09, 01:50 AM   #13
Bluspacecow
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Originally Posted by spiel2001 View Post
Given Bliz's new addon development policy, if I were a conspiracy theorist I would suggest it wasn't by accident. However, I do believe it to be just coincidence. The problem, however, is fixing it.
Can you replicate the same problems these people have been having Mr a Bagel and Coffee every day man ?

>_>
<_<

I wonder if there's anything in badaddons.wcf in the affected users Wow folders -_-
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05-09-09, 07:10 AM   #14
spiel2001
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That's the hard part... replicating it... it seems to be on a system by system basis... some players are running 30-40fps in raids, others are at 7 and both running the same version of nUI and in testing in some cases nUI is the only enabled addon. But what's the variable that causes one person to have no FPS issues and someone else to be slam dunked?

That's the part where I have no clue. Maybe I need another bagel.
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05-09-09, 08:10 AM   #15
Aezay
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A huge memory increase, usually means tables are created in an OnUpdate or OnEvent handler.

There was an addon once which hooked all frames in the UI, and measured the time and memory increase before and after those events fired. I just cannot remember where to get it anymore.
 
05-09-09, 08:24 AM   #16
spiel2001
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The problem isn't the memory -- I know what memory is created when and where, the problem is why to do some people have a huge FPS hit and others don't -- that's the one I'm working on... though in part by trying to eliminate the creation of garbage memory... which isn't an issue of not knowing which garbage memory I need to get rid of so much as figuring out another way to accomplish the same task without creating it in the first place.
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What people don't get is that I am, ultimately, an artist at heart.
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05-09-09, 10:08 AM   #17
wreck
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Scott, Have you verified that everyone has the same settings in nUI? In otherwords, do some have /nui anim on and others have it off? Some difference in the way they are using nUI perhaps?

I mean, verifying that they have other Mods disabled is cool, but what about the differences in nUI itself.
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05-09-09, 01:31 PM   #18
MidgetMage55
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Also out of random curiosity how much will a users computer be a factor in this? If they are maxing out their processor and ram to run things would that make a difference? I ask out of mere curiosity as i try to be the tech guy for my guildies and im a bit of a geek so it helps =P
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05-09-09, 01:49 PM   #19
spiel2001
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Originally Posted by wreck View Post
Scott, Have you verified that everyone has the same settings in nUI? In otherwords, do some have /nui anim on and others have it off? Some difference in the way they are using nUI perhaps?

I mean, verifying that they have other Mods disabled is cool, but what about the differences in nUI itself.
Options could certainly be a contributing factor. However the sheer number of possible permutations makes tracking that down and nearly impossible task. I'll have to give some thought to which options could have an impact on performance as most or on/off and location type things.
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05-09-09, 01:51 PM   #20
spiel2001
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Originally Posted by MidgetMage55 View Post
Also out of random curiosity how much will a users computer be a factor in this? If they are maxing out their processor and ram to run things would that make a difference? I ask out of mere curiosity as i try to be the tech guy for my guildies and im a bit of a geek so it helps =P
System capacity could always be an issue. That said, and interestingly enough, it seems that the people who have the most problems are typically those with the most up-to-date computers. So I'm not certain that is a factor, though perhaps O/S or other system architecture could be an issue -- which would all be outside the realm of things I could do anything about.

It bears repeating here that people who are not using nUI have these issues as well.
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WoWInterface » Featured Projects » nUI, MozzFullWorldMap and PartySpotter » Support » nUI: Technical Support » nUI memory usage

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