DP7.22 ACTS WEIRD ON A NEW 12 CORE MAC

[yiagoulas]

Hi guys,
I have a 12 core mac pro 2.66mghz, 15gig ram, 10.6.6 and I tried to do a piece today and I have few "little" issues. 8 tracks in KONTAKT 4.1, 5 in omnisphere 3 audio tracks and 1 in ETHNO.
Not much huh? Well I hear glitches all the time and also when I playback and I want to "arm/record enable" during that time (with arrow key moving the red arrow up or down), the computer kind pauses the playback of some tracks or all of them, beach-ball and then changes it...WEIRD...I didn't have these issue with my powermac G5 2.5....THis is crazy...is it possible that my audio card is defected and causes issues? I have disabled the spotlight and my buffer it's at the defaults...ANYWAY i don't have that many tracks ...any suggestions? Do i have to optimize something in my computer generally?

thanks a lot

[Frodo]

Get Kontakt 4.2.x and try running different instruments from different hard drives if you have not done so already.

Also, run VIs in real time. Do not pre-render.

Open a Vi window, check out the upper right hand corner of that window for a sub-menu. Look for "Default To Real Time" and check it.

In DP world, Real Time is the "opposite" of Pre-Render as VI handling modes go.

[yiagoulas]

Thank you Frodo I just did that before I see the post and it worked great...my other question is I see in aCTIVITY MONITOR that DP uses 158-170-220% CPU...Why would that happen? Is it normal?...
Meanwhile RAM 10.85GB free

Any ideas...bad memory maybe? from OWC ...they are pretty reliable...
Anyways thanks in advance!!!!

[Shooshie]

Thank you Frodo I just did that before I see the post and it worked great...my other question is I see in aCTIVITY MONITOR that DP uses 158-170-220% CPU...Why would that happen? Is it normal?...
Meanwhile RAM 10.85GB free

Any ideas...bad memory maybe? from OWC ...they are pretty reliable...
Anyways thanks in advance!!!!

My theory has always been that they ADD the percentages of each processor to come up with the figure, but I really don't know the answer. Seems like there would be a more technical explanation than that, since computers have been doing long division for some time now, and I think they could be trained to average the load, given a little time and programming effort.

As for the 12 core problem, I have read that 6 cores actually beats 12 cores in Photoshop operations. I think I may have read that on the DigLloyd site. Yes… I found it here. Based on the article, it would appear that Photoshop was optimized for 2 to 4 cores, and is simply "algorithmically inappropriate" for 12 cores. Perhaps the same holds true for Digital Performer. Maybe also a 64 bit version would be the first completely 100% Cocoa version of DP, and maybe Cocoa would take care of some of the process of divvying up threads for 12 cores. Whatever the case, it appears for the immediate future that 12 cores is not going to give you much advantage in DP or Photoshop. But there are a LOT of changes coming. Thunderbolt connectivity is here, 64 bit is breathing down our collars, and new hyperspeed drives are becoming more ubiquitous. Solid State drives (read more about them on DigLloyd's site for the best info out there) are getting more efficient and cheaper; they just aren't very big yet. The existence of 12 core machines is going to put pressure on MOTU to make DP perform on them, and we're all salivating at the thought of no more slow-disk lights, what with Thunderbolt RAID drives already here. This speed stuff is pushing right past science fiction. Nobody could have predicted the computing power available to individuals within our lifetimes. Our desktops put to shame the Cray Supercomputers of my youth, and those things had rooms of processors and refrigeration to keep them cool.

If MOTU and Adobe and others are caught a little behind the curve on the 12 CPU routing thing, it's because the curve is looking more like a rocket trail, and it's moving so fast nobody can predict where it will be when the products in development are released. This isn't a word processor or emailer. A DAW more resembles a small industrial city with many complicated, high-speed, synchronized functions taking place simultaneously. It's not like you can just open up the code editor and change the max number of CPU's from 6 to 12.

We'll see it catch up, but I wouldn't be looking for it to do so within the year.

Shooshie

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Thanks Shoosh, you may have just save me a couple of grand. I'll fly out to Dallas and buy the burgers and beer (next BMI distribution, that is). Maybe I'll take the Hobbit along if he can behave himself on the flight. We're taking those giant eagles that carried him off Mt. Doom and they can get real picky when hobbitses are fidgeting about.

So Frodo, how about that 12 core? You still in? Or is the 6 core enough and maybe even better?

[Killahurts]

I don't know guys.. my new 12 core is pretty cool. I'm getting extremely good performance with 7.2.1. It was between the 6 core and 12 core for me, so I talked to a MOTU tech on the phone before I got it. I asked him whether DP would even utilize all of those 12 cores and he told me it does..

He could be wrong of course, but I thought MOTU prided themselves on that aspect, at least they used to.

I'm actually running into some limitations with DP (until it becomes 64 bit) and not the computer. I've been running VE Pro on the slave machine, but I'm thinking I should run it also on the main machine. DP can be maxed out with RAM usage, but I look at activity monitor while it's playing and the computer processing is 92% idle.

Guess that means I could Compose in DP, work on Photoshop, process video with Compressor, check email and surf the web all at the same time.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Guess that means I could Compose in DP, work on Photoshop, process video with Compressor, check email and surf the web all at the same time.

Dude!

[Shooshie]

Guess that means I could Compose in DP, work on Photoshop, process video with Compressor, check email and surf the web all at the same time.

You just need to clone yourself! (and use 12 monitors!)

[HCMarkus]

ANY of the new machines rock. Due to the parallel nature of the processes used in DAW and VI work, we should see efficient utilization of all cores. You may have seen the interesting Logic results at Digilloyd. In the test he used, the difference between the 6 core and 12 core Mac, which is a factor of 2 at 192kHz, narrows at lower sample rates: http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews- ... tudio.html

[Shooshie]

I think given the choice, with money no object, I'd go for the 12 core. Whatever issues there are today will be eradicated in future updates of the OS and/or Digital Performer. I'm sure they're already fast, but one day they'll be blindingly fast. On the other hand, I may have to get what I can afford, and that will probably be the six core machine. I hope it isn't obsoleted like so many other Apple mid-line machines.

Shooshie

[ccrane]

I don't know guys.. my new 12 core is pretty cool. I'm getting extremely good performance with 7.2.1. It was between the 6 core and 12 core for me, so I talked to a MOTU tech on the phone before I got it. I asked him whether DP would even utilize all of those 12 cores and he told me it does..:

Have you looked at the floating CPU window in Activity Monitor while DP has been running on your 12 core? That may give you some insight as to how many cores are being used.

[ccrane]

There is this of course from MOTU-
"Digital Performer provides industry-leading support for Mac OS X Core Audio and Core MIDI services. Built from the ground up for Mac users, Digital Performer takes full advantage of the latest advances in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard's multi-threading and multi-processor operation, sample-accurate MIDI Time Stamping, Core MIDI patch list support, Audio Units plug-ins and virtual instruments, support for multiple Core Audio interface drivers and more."

I'm curious as to how 3rd party VI's utilize the cores as well.

[Killahurts]

I don't know guys.. my new 12 core is pretty cool. I'm getting extremely good performance with 7.2.1. It was between the 6 core and 12 core for me, so I talked to a MOTU tech on the phone before I got it. I asked him whether DP would even utilize all of those 12 cores and he told me it does..:

Have you looked at the floating CPU window in Activity Monitor while DP has been running on your 12 core? That may give you some insight as to how many cores are being used.

Hey check out what our friend Gabe showed us:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 5&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All 12 cores working!

[ccrane]

I don't know guys.. my new 12 core is pretty cool. I'm getting extremely good performance with 7.2.1. It was between the 6 core and 12 core for me, so I talked to a MOTU tech on the phone before I got it. I asked him whether DP would even utilize all of those 12 cores and he told me it does..:

Have you looked at the floating CPU window in Activity Monitor while DP has been running on your 12 core? That may give you some insight as to how many cores are being used.

Hey check out what our friend Gabe showed us:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 5&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All 12 cores working!

Wow that is awesome. Thanks Killahurts. Leave it to Gabe to be absolutely definitive.