• Registered: 2019-09-23
  • Posts: 5

Topic: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Hello RME forum!


I have an issue with TMfx, probably since the latest update but maybe before that.

I mainly use my machine for multicam editing and multitrack audio mixing.
So when editing, I need my Arc USB to control my mains' volume (with TotalMix running in the background) and that's all,
in order to keep my GPU dedicated to video streams playback. But:

The software is using about 50% of my GPU when the window is zoomed at 135%.
It can drop to +- 40% when zoomed 100%. If I zoom the window at 70% and put it in the dock, the GPU usage finally drops to +- 10%, and I can work with 90%.

Is there a way to manage TotalMix graphics? For instance, can it only use the integrated graphic unit of the CPU?
I get GPU overloads if I forget to unzoom the mixer's window, that's annoying.


Thanks for reading and sorry for my poor english


-------
• TotalMix Version 1.63 MAC OS X (1)

Fireface 802 (23795849)
DSP-SW Version: 9
Error Number: 0
Diagnostic Results: 18, 0.0, 0

• macOS Mojave
10.14.6 (18G95)

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)
4 GHz Intel Core i7
24 Go 1600 MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4 Go

• Fireface Settings
V 3.36
Kernel driver v3.36

  • ramses
  • DAW Mastermind
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  • From: UTC+1
  • Registered: 2012-10-14
  • Posts: 13,206

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Under Windows 7 I had issues years ago, if I remember right, to let TotalMix FX run via a dedicated nVidia GPU on my Lenovo Laptop. Currently I have no Laptop with dedicated GPU besides Intel Graphics.
But as you work on MacOS .. maybe a MacOS user can test.
Or maybe ask RME support by e-mail to cross check on another machine.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
  • Registered: 2019-09-23
  • Posts: 5

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Thank you Ramses
The support looks like a good idea, I'll contact them.
My computer is now shutting down quite often when TM is running, I will try a return to previous version.

  • Registered: 2019-09-23
  • Posts: 5

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

I just downloaded "Fireface USB Driver v2.22", installed it, an the problem is gone.
The Fireface Settings app is still V3.36, but TotalMix is now version 1.60.

My GPU is available again, until the next macOS update

5 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,599

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Please try driver 3.18_2 or TotalMix FX 1.64 (included in 3.18_2). We added fixes for the graphics problems that you described.

www.rme-audio.de/download/Totalmix_164_mac.zip

www.rme-audio.de/download/driver_usb_mac_3182.zip

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2019-09-23
  • Posts: 5

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Hi Matthias,

Thank you for those links.
I installed the driver 3.18_2 (and thus TM 1.64), here's what I see now:
when TotalMix window is minimised in the dock, the GPU usage is now acceptable, no matter its "zoom setting".

But when it's in the foreground, I still have to unzoom (50%) to keep good performances.
Zooming at 135% makes the GPU very busy again.

For the moment, unless there's a graphic option to reduce GPU stress, I'll probably stick with USB Driver v2.22.

7 Reply by hselters (edited by hselters 2019-10-08 00:00:11)

  • Registered: 2018-12-21
  • Posts: 322

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Hi, I am also noticing relatively high GPU loads (~40%) when running Total Mix (100% scaling) on my MacBook Pro with a GeForce GT750M, also after updating to 1.64, I hope there is still some more room for further optimising the GPU resources.

8 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,599

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

A version with lower GPU load is here:

https://archiv.rme-audio.de/download/to … 164_lb.zip

It has been compiled with a former Xcode version, so it lacks support for Dark mode dialogs. Else it works even under 10.15 (that was a bit unexpected), and comes with an installer to make installation easy for everyone. Please try it.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2019-09-23
  • Posts: 5

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Thank you very much MC,

This "1.64LB" looks like a good one.
The gpu is now 100% free when TotalMix window is docked (even if zoomed 135%).
I'll continue with this version for the moment, and try Catalina with it.

10 Reply by hselters (edited by hselters 2019-10-14 10:48:58)

  • Registered: 2018-12-21
  • Posts: 322

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

With the Total Mix Window docked or on Matrix mode there's no significant load on the GPU.

With its Mixer window open it still consumes 30-45% of my gpu, it gets less when I make the window smaller, displaying less channels.

  • Registered: 2018-07-10
  • Posts: 16

Re: TotalMix 1.63 uses GPU even with closed window

Hi!

Currently running the TotalMix 1.64LB version of TotalMix attached in this thread, having TotalMix minimized and hidden away from view, and I'm still seeing massive numbers of racked up GPU time.

macOS Version is 10.5.3, running on a Mac Mini 2012, the Quad Core i7 version with the integrated Intel HD Graphic 4000 GPU.

Since install of the 1.64LB yesterday evening I've so far not been able to observe any actual % GPU numbers in the activity monitor, and only a few milliseconds of GPU time ticked up while the computer is in actual use.

However, I believe it does something during sleep/idle that severely affects the activity monitor numbers, as after install of the LB version yesterday, at which point all processes were killed and the counters in activity monitor restarted at 0, I used the computer for less than one hour, left it in sleep, and just started using it half an hour ago; During this period, of total <2h of active use and ~22h of idle/sleep, it has according to the activity monitor spent 2:03:42,24 in GPU time, for a UI that is not even visible.

The only process with more GPU time logged by activity monitor is the WindowServer, which I'm assuming is doing window compositing which inherently would be a GPU intensive task. That process is up at 4 hours of total GPU time, on a system with a uptime of 2 weeks. That the TotalMix UI in 24 hours has racked up half that time does not seem reasonable.

Prior to the install of the LB version yesterday I had been running the "normal" TotalMix version 1.64 since system power on, and at that point it was by far the greatest GPU time consumer, at somewhere between 7 and 8 hours of GPU time, during 12-13 days of system uptime.

Am I missing something when assuming that GPU usage should be close to 0 when the UI is hidden? Is there any GPGPU functionality through OpenCL or similar used by TotalMix FX? And are there any GPU related activity that should be ticking away active GPU time while the system is in sleep, as that seems even more weird in my mind?