Monitoring Compton Resource Usage in CentOS
To effectively manage Compton’s impact on system performance, you need to monitor its CPU and memory consumption. Common tools for this purpose include:
ps aux | grep compton to get real-time details (CPU%, memory usage) of the Compton process. For a more user-friendly interface, use htop (install via yum/dnf install htop if needed) to sort processes by memory (F6 → %MEM) and identify Compton’s resource usage.systemctl status compton to view its current resource utilization, including CPU and memory usage.ps aux --sort -%mem | head to list processes by memory usage—this helps quickly determine if Compton is a top consumer.Optimizing Compton Configuration for Better Performance
Compton’s resource usage is heavily influenced by its configuration. To reduce overhead:
shadow = false) and window transparency (opacity = false) in the configuration file (typically ~/.config/compton.conf). These effects are visually appealing but demand significant GPU/CPU resources.backend = glx (or wayland if supported) in the config file. This leverages your GPU for rendering, drastically improving performance compared to the default xrender backend. Ensure your graphics drivers (e.g., NVIDIA/AMD) are up-to-date.vsync = true to synchronize Compton’s frame rate with your monitor’s refresh rate, reducing screen tearing and CPU load. Alternatively, set it to false if you experience lag.cpulimit to cap Compton’s CPU usage (e.g., cpulimit -l 50 -p $(pgrep compton) limits it to 50%). For long-term control, create a systemd service file with CPUQuota=50% to enforce limits at the service level.Additional Tips for Stable Performance
yum/dnf upgrade compton) to benefit from performance bug fixes and optimizations.glances or vmstat to track overall CPU, memory, and disk usage. This helps identify if Compton is the primary bottleneck or if other processes are contributing to slowdowns.
