Mac Mini running sluggish with Roon maximized

[Chris_Stewart]

Just stumbled on this thread. Have been noticing my Mac Mini (2018 model, Core i5, 32gb RAM, Intel GPU only) running sluggishly when Roon is open. The core is located on a QNAP NAS. Windows resizing animations etc are very clunky, mouse movement is not smooth. As soon as I close Roon all is super smooth again.

I’ve recently reloaded the system fresh with MacOS Catalina. Not sure if this could be causing problems? or perhaps the Intel iGPU struggling?

It will struggle with just Roon running and all other applications closed. I just checked activity monitor and Roon CPU% sits around 10% and spikes up to 200%. GPU usage never drops below 50%. As I type now there is a slight (but easily noticeable) lag between key-presses and when the next appears on the screen.

EDIT: minimizing Roon results in GPU usage dropping to 0% and smooth system operation. It’s a right pain when using the app to browse albums etc. I understand it uses OpenGL but should it stress a system so much you need an external GPU just so the interface runs smoothly? Just checked on my MacBook Pro and its the same.

[Chris_Stewart]

I’ve also taken some screenshots. Mac Mini 2018, Core i5, 32gb RAM using the Intel GPU. MacOS Catalina 10.15.2

Roon Fullscreen

Roon Minimised (Graph shows drop-off in GPU usage once Roon is minimised)

[noris]

Hi @Chris_Stewart,

Thanks for sharing those screenshots. Can you please confirm if the same behavior occurs when you are running in Discrete Only mode?

[Chris_Stewart]

My system is a Mac Mini - it only has the integrated Intel GPU - so discrete mode is not possible.

[noris]

Hi @Chris_Stewart,

Thanks for the additional info. We are investigating this behavior and there have been a few reports that pausing playback allows the GPU to return to normal usage, can you confirm if this is the case for you here as well? Thanks!

[Chris_Stewart]

Hi @noris,

Just did some experimenting and can confirm it only occurs during playback with the Roon application open (windowed or fullscreen).

Roon open + music paused = normal GPU usage
Roon open + music playing = high GPU usage
Roon minimised + music playing = normal GPU usage

[noris]

Hi @Chris_Stewart,

Thanks for confirming. One more aspect we’re considering here - does this behavior occur only when you are on the album details page or does it seem to occur when you’re playing music and browsing any page (Overview, TIDAL, DSP, ect.)?

[Chris_Stewart]

@noris

Sorry for the slow reply. It only seems to occur when on the album details page for the album that is currently playing. For example, during music playback the GPU usage is OK when:

• on the overview screen
• browsing all artists
• browsing albums within an artist
• viewing album details for an album other than the one that is currently playing
• on the DSP settings screen

I don’t have Tidal (all my playback is from local content) so cannot confirm that aspect.

Hope this helps
Chris

[noris]

Hi @Chris_Stewart,

Thank you again for your report. We have been investigating this behavior internally and wish to inquire about two more aspects here, can you please perform the following tests to help clarify further?

Test 1:

1. Go to Tracks Browser
2. Play any track
3. See if the issue reproduces

Test 2:

1. Go to any playlist details page
2. Play any track
3. See if the issue reproduces

Thanks!