iPad app maxes CPU to the point of overheating

**William-S** · June 17th, 2012, 08:41 AM

I've just bought a new iPad, and installed the Boxee application on it. The problem is that it's maxing out the i7 CPU on my PC when streaming, causing the PC to shutdown due to overheating.

I've done several tests, and there's absolutely no doubt that the Boxee app is causing this problem.

Has anyone seen the same, and could help with a solution?

**darcilicious** · June 17th, 2012, 09:10 AM

Boxee Media Manager is transcoding your video files on your computer in order for them to be displayed on your iPad. Depending on the video encoding, that can take some horsepower; however, it shouldn't cause overheating/shutdowns.

What kind of files are you streaming to your iPad? How long does the video stream before the PC shuts down?

**William-S** · June 18th, 2012, 05:40 AM

Thanks for responding.

I've tried .avi and .mkv files and it happens with both. The PC has an i7 processor and 16GB of RAM, so it should be able to transcode any video file without thinking too much about it - looking at processor usage when playing an mkv file with VLC proves this point. The video stream plays on the iPad for a few minutes before I get the warning about processor temperature. As soon as the iPad app starts transcoding\streaming all processor cores jump to 100% utilisation. Once it's stopped, utilisation returns to normal immediately.

**darcilicious** · June 18th, 2012, 08:18 AM

Strange. I have an older quad AMD processor and have never had this happen.

Are these 1080p mkv files? What bit rates? (download and run "media info lite" on one of your mkv files and post the output here).

I wonder if there's some kind of BIOS or similar that's causing this to happen? I'm assuming this on Windows 7?

I'll see if I can replicate this on my husband's i7 box tonight.

**haveringcottage** · June 18th, 2012, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by darcilicious

maxing out the i7 CPU on my PC when streaming, causing the PC to shutdown due to overheating.

what you should be more concerned about is that your PC cooling solution is inadequate.

Your PC should be able to run 24/7 at 100% without it overheating.

I would suggest replacing your cooler.

But yes, the bmm software is rather resource intensive

**Catherine22** · June 18th, 2012, 11:14 AM

As far i know Boxee has no sign of excessive heating issue on PC. So, I also think that you should do replace the your cooler. It is necessary to provide your PC proper cooling effect.

**Techgeek32** · June 18th, 2012, 05:44 PM

Yes I think your cooler is the problem.

**William-S** · June 20th, 2012, 04:43 PM

Thanks for responding everyone.

Cooling is not the issue- the CPU has a dedicated fan, and I also use this PC for gaming, which is more intensive than streaming a movie. I leave the same PC powered up 24x7.

I use the "ALL CPU Meter" gadget for Windows 7, and as soon as I start using the Boxee app I see all cores max out at 100%.

Darci - I've tried .mkv 1080P movies, and also .avi TV shows in standard definition, and the CPU usage maxes regardless.

Sounds like I'm a one off here. Maybe I'll uninstall and reinstall the app to see if it makes any difference. I'll also look for video card driver updates.