Live 6 doesn't make full use of both processors in os 10.5

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sat May 10, 2008 10:45 am

I'm running a brand new macbook pro with live 6.0.10 on it, and it seems like live is not capable of fully using all the juice that the two processors provide. As live's cpu meter goes to 90+%, both the processor cores go to a max of ca. 40%. I have multiprocessor support turned on, so shouldn't be a problem... Anybody have a fix?

8O · Post by 8O » Sat May 10, 2008 11:32 am

Do you have the same problem with Apple Airport switched off?

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sat May 10, 2008 1:16 pm

Tried turning off the airport, but didn't make much of a difference. Live still peaks at 100% while the two processors go to a max of 50% each...

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Sat May 10, 2008 1:50 pm

A little more info would help.

Which plugins are you running? Are they universal binary plugins?

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:18 pm

I did a test where I set up a return track with something like 10 reverbs (the Live ones), so there should be no compatibiilty issues... It's all ableton stuff, all native to the program.

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:51 pm

fiddling around with the audio buffer seems to help a bit, have set it all the way to the maximum now, which has enabled me to run 20 reverbs in the default preset and in high quality on one midi track, which (by the standards Iøm used to) is still quite staggering, but the meters for the two processors have now started peaking alternately with the same cpu load as live tells me it's using... for example: when the live meter goes to 85% so does one of the processors as well, whereas the other one hops to a measly 10%. next peak the other processor goes to 85% while the first one drops to 10%... Is this simply the way of the world, or are there ways to let both processors max out at the same time?

Obineg · Post by **Obineg** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:54 pm

Try distributing your reverbs over more than 1 track , like two or four tracks , see if that makes a difference . . .

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:59 pm

Thats not how dual processing works in Live.
You'll be able to run more reverbs on multiple tracks then on just one.

Though its not really mentioned in the manual. So you couldn't know.

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sat May 10, 2008 10:49 pm

hmmmm... I tried now moving half the reverbs over to another track and routing the audio output from the original track through the new track. Didn't really make any difference at all to the cpu-meter in Live. It did, however, seem to distribute the workload more evenly between the two processors, but still with the same result: I am basically not able to use half of my processing power....

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Sun May 11, 2008 9:33 am

kflak wrote:hmmmm... I tried now moving half the reverbs over to another track and routing the audio output from the original track through the new track. Didn't really make any difference at all to the cpu-meter in Live. It did, however, seem to distribute the workload more evenly between the two processors, but still with the same result: I am basically not able to use half of my processing power....

Thats because you're still working in one chain. Sending audio to another track will link it to the same CPU.

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sun May 11, 2008 9:44 am

tried separating the chains now, still the same result...

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Sun May 11, 2008 10:08 am

Yeah... I give up..

Seem like you're trying to test the limit by trying unrealistic situations. Whens the last time you made 2 track song with 20 reverbs at high quality?

Try some synths. Put like 6 different synths on different tracks and play them all at once. Now do the same with 6 synths in a single instrument rack.
If that doesn't make a difference, contact support and ask them to explain this whole dual cpu thing again. Maybe add it to the manual this time.
I'm no programmer so there's not much sense in trying to explain how Live works in theory and practice.

kflak · Post by **kflak** » Sun May 11, 2008 10:21 am

Thanks a lot anyway