Odroid C2 performance

1st Official Post

    Hello,

    I just installed the latest libreelec on my Odroid C2. Unfortunately it is not performing as I would expect. Before the C2 I was using the same kodi version on a overclocked RPi 2 and the UI (Eminence) seemed to be a bit smoother.

    Scrolling movies is also not any faster.
    I did not overclock the C2 but considering the hardware (compared to the RPi 2) I did not expect to have to. On both system I'm using the same sd card (Samsung EVO 16GB).
    I also reduced the fanartres/imageres (720/540) size in the advanced settings but it did not change anything.
    Any suggestion?

    Thanks!

    And perhaps look into the "scaling_governor" issues with the C2 - laggy UI may be a sign you are running only two cores instead of all 4 (AFAIR the UI does not make use of the video hardware acceleration, I might be wrong, though). To cut straight to the chase, I have a cron task set every 6 hours to re-enable maximum performance CPU scaling governor. This makes the C2 quite hot, though (~66* C in 26 deg environment).

    TheWojtek I just overclocked the GPU and so far it seems to be a little better. CPU is set to default 1536 but what you mentioned make sense. Actually I noticed that performances get worse after a day or two the board has been started. Then when I reboot it it gets better. I checked the logs and I did not spot anything wrong.

    I wonder if emmc could make UI a bit faster.

    chewitt thanks. I was planning to order a 16GB module. Not sure if Kodi UI is GPU accelerated on the C2, but it seems that overclocking the GPU skin transitions/animations are a bit smoother. I was probably expecting too much from the board (or maybe the overclocked RPi 2 was not so bad after all).

    Klojum sorry I did not spot any error or cryptic message in the log so I didn't want to waste your time with it. As I said before I was probably expecting too much.

    Anyway so far the 8.2.5 looks very stable. Nice work!

    Quote from kimbaz

    Actually I noticed that performances get worse after a day or two the board has been started. Then when I reboot it it gets better. I checked the logs and I did not spot anything wrong.

    You definitely are a victim of cores shutting down. Same symptoms on my side. Take a look into system info after a couple of days of the C2 running and when the UI gets laggy. You will see only two cores listed instead of 4. A reboot or re-setting the governor and restarting kodi.service cures this issue (until the cores get shut down again).

    I pretty much Max out the C2 Performance - with my v8.2.4.2 releases:

    - GPU @ 792MHz (Kodi Settings > System > AMLogic > ...)

    - CPU at 1.752 GHz (boot.ini file)

    - r7p0 GPU drivers

    Sits stable on about 60 degrees C.

    I'm not even using a proper power supply, only USB power from my TV.

    [8.2.4.1] LibreELEC Kodi Krypton - S905 & S912 devices

    If the GUI is slowing down it's usually a symptom of a slow or dying microSDHC card.

    eMMC storage is much better.

    And LibreELEC is even better again with a Wireless WiFi USB dongle remote.

    Or the Xiaomi aftermarket BT remote is a ripper too, used on the C2. :thumbup:

    TheWojtek Interesting. I wonder what it might be causing it. It seems quite common. I'll keep an eye on the system info panel. Thanks!

    wrxtasy I actually overclocked the GPU to 792 and so far it looks stable (I also did not notice any temp increase), but I cannot get any overclock out of the CPU. Every time I try one of the available settings (even the smallest amount) the board is able to boot but the tv screen keeps flashing (every 5/10 secs) and CEC does not work anymore.

    I'm using a 2A microusb power adapter (same I was using for the RPi 2).

    About the microsd it's a quite good Samsung EVO 16GB but I'll soon replace it with an emmc module.

    I'll try your builds anyway. Any chance your fixes/improvements will be merged with the official release? Thanks for your help!

    I think your C2 is underpowered by your power supply (you should find and use a 3A or more)

    I have been so happy with my C2 for a while now

    No lag, no slow down etc even with full 4k (displayed as 4k or downscaled)

    No interface skin changed that either

    The eMMc module will mostly change you boot up time, not so much your perfs after boot

    I am using cheap chinese SD cards and won't change for anything else

    Jeff isn't the power adapter from hardkernel also 2A? What skin are you using?
    I wonder if emmc would also speed up the movies/episode scrolling since fanart load should be faster.

    btw please don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the C2 as well but looking at the specs I was expecting a bigger step from the RPi 2.
    Anyway so far it is very stable and quick (probably because I don't have to push it like I did for the RPi) so I can't complain. :)

    eMMC will pull up Video Thumbnails, Artwork etc quicker vs a microSDHC card.

    Scraping and storing such metadata will also be quicker.

    I do not use any power hungry 2.5" HDD's with my setup. It's all networked storage.

    kimbaz It seems the power adapter from hardkernel is 2A but I have been using a 3A for margin (and of course a 3A supply delivers a more stable 2A and with less consumption)

    I have tried more or less all the official skins from the Kodi repository and none slow anything down, even some with loads of images on screen (these are a tiny bit slower because of the loading of those images, there eMMC might help (I trust wrxtasy ) a bit but personally for the price difference I won't switch to eMMC just for that)

    Also I did not overclock my C2, I find it more than powerful enough not to stress it more than planned for, even though I have a fan on it (due to the Rpi 3 box I salvage for it)

    I recently acquired a second C2 (since I'm so happy with it), it sits in a RPi plexy box (no fan) and satisfies me just the same as the 1st one

    For me it's a huge step up fron RPi 2 and 3, even on a 1080p display

    And the RPi 3 fails to render the 4K properly even downscaled to 1080p

    I have had RPi 1 (second version, with more RAM and all) for some time, the moved on to RPi 2 and 3

    I was always happy but disappointed to have to optimize everything for a more or less smooth experience

    When I acquired my 4K display I had to upgrade my device and I followed the legendary page from wrxtasy : Pick the Right Kodi Box

    I did not care for looks, remotes or other than display (4k), sound (max possible), efficiency and the original Kodi experience (no fork)

    So for me that's (almost) the only choice

    And I'm like wrxtasy I do not use attached disks, only a NAS

    TheWojtek you were right. Today looking at the system info I found that I had only 3 cores running (after only a couple of hours uptime). Actually I found that, when it was (GPU) overclocked, it was running for almost two days with all the 4 cores running (not sure it can be related).
    Jeff what PSU are you using. Mine is a 2A micro usb and with the wifi dongle connected seems to be struggling a bit.

    wrxtasy I think I'll go for the emmc. It should be more reliable and faster. On the Odroid website it does not look to be too expensive but I'm not sure about the shipping costs.

    Well two cores stopped after I was updating some of the movies fanart. I thought it was related to the temp but it looks like the board is always below 70C. I'll see if switching to a DC barrel jack and removing the J1 jumper helps in keeping the cores active.

    kimbaz I'm using This One

    You should definitely try with a better power supply before changing other stuff (I never had cores stopping, never noticed any slow down that would suggest it either)

    Especially if you have USB devices (power hungry stuff in general) plugged in (personally I do not, just a keyboard)

    I have done massive library refreshes with several thousands of media of all kind and it was always fast and smooth

    Personally again no way to spend that much en eMMC where my 5$ (shipping included) 16GB microSD performs perfectly

    Same storage in eMMC is 25$ without shipping

    Quote from Jeff

    When I acquired my 4K display I had to upgrade my device and I followed the legendary page from wrxtasy : Pick the Right Kodi Box

    I did not care for looks, remotes or other than display (4k), sound (max possible), efficiency and the original Kodi experience (no fork)

    So for me that's (almost) the only choice

    Hello Jeff, sorry for the offtopic, can you tell me what kind of sound do you get from the C2?

    do you have something like this on it? I am seriously considering buying a couple for home for when my cheapo android boxes die.

    ODROID | Hardkernel

    In my case I absolutely need the optical output.

    Regards