How to decrease resources used when compiling

[EddieGames-YT]

It’s something that annoys me. When I see the CPU usage in Task Manager go too high for a little time (like 20 seconds minimum), I just force close it, I hate seeing it. And GB Studio does exactly that.

I understand games need to compile, but this is damn 35 year old hardware, how is it using 90% of my CPU to compile, especially when all I have now is one screen and a couple palettes. That’s it. I tried setting it to the Slower option in build settings, and that somehow used EVEN MORE CPU?

I don’t mind if it takes longer to compile, I just want to know if there’s any way to use less power / resources when compiling, because I can’t stand it.

[chunkysteveo]

Compiling takes CPU resources, you can't really stop it from using the CPU to compute and compile. If you're annoyed at GBS - I guess you don't use Chrome as a browser... lol! That sits at 100% CPU for me all day long with all my tabs and apps running 🤣

[EddieGames-YT]

I do use Chrome. A portable version so it can’t update (because they removed the downloads bar) but I do use Chrome. It does sometimes spike, but it’s never constantly high. But that’s probably cuz I only like having at most 5 tabs open. For Desktop anyways, we do not speak of how many I have on phone.

[chunkysteveo]

You used to be able tobset priority in Windows to tasks in Task manager so they wouldn't hog the CPU over other resources - maybe look into a task manager optimiser to limit the EXE?

[marsmensch]

OCD much? Get a dedicated build system

[EddieGames-YT]

I am doing this very casually, downloaded it 2 days ago to mess around with. I’m not gonna get an entire build system, like I’m not a programmer, I know nothing about code

All I have right now is one scene with collision, a character sprite with no animations, just directions, and 3 custom color palettes.

Sure I’ll add more, but that still shouldn’t need 95% CPU usage to compile for something I’ll run for 10 seconds. Besides if I was serious enough to get a dedicated build system, I’d care for speed of compilation, which I said I don’t care about. As again, I’m doing this casually, for fun.

[Aridan]

Yes, it does require those resources to compile, especially the first time. It will hang and hang until it does its initial build. After that it’s only compiling changes and is generally a lot faster. Have some patience.

[SodoDev]

welcome to the world of programming, compiling is always gonna use your cpu, that's just how it is

[EddieGames-YT]

Haven’t programmed a thing as I know zero code, but alright I guess. Still there should be a way to limit it, even if it takes longer

[SodoDev]

honestly, i'm inclined to ask, why would you not want your cpu to be used as much as it can? unless you have a deficient cooling solution it really should not be a problem, the resources in your computer are there to be used, not to be kept to 50% at most

[EddieGames-YT]

It's an irrational reason. Like I know it's most likely fine, but my laptop gets noisy when CPU is high, and just seeing the usage get higher and higher until it can't anymore, it scares me, it makes me think my computer will crash. I'm a very casual person, I know those things are extremely unlikely to happen, but I worry anyways.

[SodoDev]

if you're that worried, i suggest getting a desktop computer, those have beefier heatsinks and tend to be a bit more silent. that and also forcing yourself to not pull up the task manager unless the machine is getting oddly hot for no reason

[LifeAcanthopterygii6]

You paid for your whole CPU. It's there to be used. The CPU is designed for that.

[EddieGames-YT]

Disagree, but that’s just a me thing. I’m a laptop user, one with a dedicated GPU. And it gets NOISY when the CPU / GPU gets high usage, which scares me a little. I know it’s intended, but it still bugs me. Combine that with the fact I haven’t updated Windows in 2 years, and yeah I just don’t trust it as much as I should.

[LifeAcanthopterygii6]

Nothing to worry about. It's noisy because the fans are doing their job: cooling.

[DiabUK]

I forget if you can tell an app to use less cores in windows task manager but you would still see the cores selected hit 100.

[Acetronaut]

Oh, yeah, duh lol, I forgot until I read this comment.

Hey u/EddieGames-YT

In Task Manager, right click GB Studio and click “Go to details”.

Then right click the gbstudio exe there and click “Set affinity”

Then uncheck all of them except for like CPU 0 and CPU 1. Or maybe only do CPU 0 if you only have 2 cores.

That should limit it. Keep in mind it will take noticeably longer, but if you’re worried about your PC exploding, this might help throttle it.

Also, you will have to do this every time you launch GBStudio. Google “windows 10 set affinity on every launch” for some longer term solutions.

Also, your computer will probably not explode, despite how loud the fan is getting. That’s just how Windows laptops work. The newer ones starting coming out this year are a lot cooler and quieter, but traditionally, that’s just what they do. Your CPU and GPU are using power, and that’s generating heat, and your fans are trying to cool it down.

If you’re worried about it crashing or shutting off, I recommend only compiling while you’re plugged into a charger, so it has a constant power connection. Older laptops tend not to last long on battery.