Playback and Processing Overload - I've to buy a new mac?

[magnas]

Hello everybody.

I read a lot of topics on the forum about this problem. In the las months I'm working on heavy EDM projects, with several audio, virtual instruments and plugins.

I tried a lot of tricks, but without solving my overload then drop problems.

My project is:
- 44.100, 16 bit
- buffer size 1024
- 25 MIDI traks
- 12 Virtual Instruments tracks (Kontakt, Trillian, Omisphere, Battery etc.)
- 26 mono tracks (with some CLA vocals, H-Delay, De-Esser etc.)
- 10 stereo bus (with CLA, One knobs, L2 etc)
- No Freezed instruments

- thunderbolt -> firewire Motu 828 Mk3
- osx 10.10
- DP9.52
- MacBook Retina, late 2013, 16 gb Ram, 2,3 ghz Intel Core i7. Obviously SSD hard disk with enough free space.

This is my effect performance:



Images from my OS X Activity Monitor (sorry... in italian):

Processes:



Memory:



At this point it's not possible work... too much drop, and sometimes also crash the system. I know that freezing I can solve the problem, but I don't like freeze instruments.

I was thinking to buy a new mac book pro, but looking the cpu and memory usage, I don't think that the problem is my laptop. For example, DP is using only 6,6 GB, and also the CPU charge is not too much (well 63% inactive CPU, but 272 %...)

Some advices?

[bayswater]

The numbers look about what I would expect.

Do you use multiple instances of the VIs to handle multiple MIDI tracks? As per advice from Magic Dave, you may get better use of the CPU if you do that, rather than having one instance of a VI like Kontakt, and having several MIDI tracks pointing to it. Probably not relevant if your processor only has 2 cores, although it looks like it has 4.

Have you tried making the buffer even larger?

And of course you can get around some of this by freezing or rendering tracks.

[HCMarkus]

I don't like freeze instruments.

Sometimes work requires that we do things we don't like.
The alternative is to spend money... New computer or VE Pro and multiple networked machines.
Your choice.

[mikehalloran]

How many instances of Kontakt do you run? If multiple instruments, you should call up multiple instances to balance the load. DP will assign each instance to a core so that's your limit on the number you have for balancing the instruments.

[DAWdler]

How many instances of Kontakt do you run? If multiple instruments, you should call up multiple instances to balance the load. DP will assign each instance to a core so that's your limit on the number you have for balancing the instruments.

In the past I used mostly outboard gear. Mach 5, MX4 and MOTU plugs were the only software I had loaded. I would load 5,6 banks into one instance of Mach 5, a couple instances of MX4. Then a number of guitar, bass, synths tracks recorded one at a time. Not much of a problem for my 2010 MacPro 6 core. This last year I’ve been getting more VI and plugins. I really got sucked in by Black Friday this year!!

My questions are, when running 6 or so instruments in Kontakt is it better to run 6 instances rather than load all instruments in one instance? If I then have Falcon/Mach 5 instruments as well is it the the same theory?

I did pick up VEP6 when it was on sale, though I haven’t played with it too much. Would it be better to load Kontakt and Mach5/Falcon instruments in that even if it’s on the same machine?

Lastly, if I were to put VIs on a separate machine running VEP6, how do you all handle iLok? Are you moving iLoks around depending on what machine you’re using?

[mikehalloran]

I’ll let others answer VEP since I don’t use it.

As for Kontakt, one instance uses one core for those six instruments. The same instruments in six instances use all the cores of your MP. Some instruments are more CPU intensive so it is a balancing act.

[Yiannis]

I am in a similar situation........
Would someone please explain why if there are these readings...

System 4,20%
User. 26,98%
Idle. 68,81%

.....DP can't continue playback??
Is there a workout (except freezing or buying a new Mac)??

[bayswater]

I am in a similar situation........
Would someone please explain why if there are these readings...

System 4,20%
User. 26,98%
Idle. 68,81%

.....DP can't continue playback??
Is there a workout (except freezing or buying a new Mac)??

When this happens here, it's usually disk overload. In my case, the amount of RAM allocated to pre-loading samples was too small.

[Yiannis]

I have 32G ram and the project is on a SSD.....could it be something else??

[mikehalloran]

I have 32G ram and the project is on a SSD.....could it be something else??

How often do you reboot? If not daily, try doing so before running the project and see if there are any changes.

Are any plugin windows open? If so, try closing them and see if it makes a difference.

I’ve had both issues.

What’s your buffer size on layback?

[Yiannis]

I restart at least once a day..
No plugin windows are open.
Buffer is at 1024 but at 2048 there isn't much of a difference.
I have played also with the work priority with not much success.
What concerns me is why I don't see all cores handling the load of the plugs.

[mikehalloran]

What concerns me is why I don't see all cores handling the load of the plugs.

No reason to assume they will. Heavy plugin usage calls for more RAM.

VIs are how you balance cores. Each instance of a VI will use one core. 6 VIs in 1 instance of Kontakt = 1 core. 6 VIs in 6 instances of Kontakt = 6 cores. On a 4 core machine, 2 will have 2 VIs while the other 2 have 1 VI each. DP, the VI Player and the OS determine the assignment—you have no control over the process except to assign VIs to instances..

[Yiannis]

[No reason to assume they will. Heavy plugin usage calls for more RAM.

In the picture below I am using 18 stereo tracks with AA Ultramarine4 (quite cpu hungry plugin) and 18 Aux tracks with the same plugin to check realtime and pregen.
With all these I still got 18,9 gig ram free

My guess is how plugins load is spread across the cores.....Is it the DAW or the plugs?

The only workout I've found on this is to use audio tracks and aux tracks in conjunction to spread the load for the same Track.
I mean if you use 6 plugins in one track its better to use aux tracks to share the plugins for that track. That way you could spread the load to all cores

Audio track. 6 plugins

or

Audio track. 2 plugins
Aux 1 2 plugins
Aux 2 2 plugins
There is another problem with this configuration...you must find the balance between realtime and pregen
I am thinking that the problem is not only on the Mac side but on the DAWs also(all of them)

[hangyear]

Yiannis!
Have you solve this problem yet?
I have a similar problem with my imac pro 10 core 128g ram.
I had no problem before but suddenly my Cpu (especially both Pregen) meter spikes like hell..
I have reinstalled os and did everything i could...
I have checked interfaces (using internal speaker), checked harddisks.. but still no clue..
Any idea?
Thanks!

DP 10.01, Mojave, VEP 6, imac pro 10 core, 128G ram

[mikehalloran]

Take a look here:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=66416&p=564558&hili ... le#p564558