Rockbox Development > Feature Ideas

Cache size setting for allowing ram-intensive plugings to run better?

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Jason Arthur Taylor:
I was having some issues with some plugins and read in a thread the solution was to decrease the cache size.  I think a recompile was needed.

I think the cache uses a lot of ram.  If you are listening to high bitrate mp3s on a physical hdd, sure, might be useful to have a big cache.  For me, however, I'd like a small cache, especially when certain plugins crash.  

Present options are only:

o Directory Cache: Y/N
o Browser limits
o Max playlist size, and 
o Gylphs to cache

But I suspect the biggest thing one can alter to change ram is mp3 pre-read cache.

I propose adding it, so one does not need to do a recompile to test an intermittant crash of a plug in.  And just because more ram is better.  

There are some hardware limits, like IRAM per chip.  But still, this seems to be a good option to me.  I am half expecting I am wrong, based purely on the acceptance rate of ideas here, so I look forward to reading posts by the experts explaining why this is actually a dumb idea.  On the other chance, perhaps I will get lucky and someone will code it.  Thanks in advance either way.

Jason

saratoga:

--- Quote from: Jason Taylor on February 06, 2012, 10:20:21 PM ---I was having some issues with some plugins and read in a thread the solution was to decrease the cache size.  I think a recompile was needed.

I think the cache uses a lot of ram.  If you are listening to high bitrate mp3s on a physical hdd, sure, might be useful to have a big cache.  For me, however, I'd like a small cache, especially when certain plugins crash.  
--- End quote ---

Plugins can already use as much of the compressed audio buffer as they want.  No setting is required, they automatically take it. 

torne:
To be more specific: plugins get a fixed amount of memory by default, which you cannot change by changing any settings. If they need more than that (because you've loaded a large file) then they stop audio playback and take over the audio buffer, which is the majority of RAM. If that's still not enough memory then you can get just a *little* more by disabling the dircache and reducing some of the limits, but the difference is very small.

There's not really anything else that can be done; at that point the only large thing left in memory will be Rockbox's actual code :)

dreamlayers:
Can a plugin also use the codec buffer?

JdGordon:
yes they can. I'm curious, what plgin was crashing? I very much doubt disabling dircache would solve the problem.

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