1146 views so I think I should post the final update regardless whether others dare to touch this or not
Bootcamp is allowing more watts to go to the CPU and it is maintaining it's rated clock speeds.
So, in OSX, for the new mac pros, it has been confirmed that there IS a power limit issue. My imac pro is the same.
It stayed at all core turbo in windows 10 at all times and will NOT in Mojave or Catalina.
All this sparked some testing.. and it has been discovered that even my quad core 2014 haswell macbook pro, gets more of a ceertan type of VI than the new mac pro 16 core.
This is because the speeds are constantly fluctuating and the single core performance suffers.
For example. DIVA, standardised 4 note chord progression copied between DAWs, 8 poly max, Great quality diva settings:
Imac pro 10 core Mojave - 6 instances max
Imac pro 8 core Mojave- 6 instances max
Imac pro 8 core Windows 10 bootcamp - 12 instances
Macbook pro 16", 8 core, Catalina - 15 instances.
Mac pro 16 core, Catalina - 5 instances.
Macbook pro 2014, Quad core 2.8ghz, Mojave - 11 instances.
Same exact project, people other than me that own the new mac pro testing.
See? The new 16" macbook pro is not scaling that well from 4 to 8 cores for really cpu hungry VI's. I believe this is because Apple are agressively speed stepping even when thermals are just fine. I did not get a chance to test this one in bootcamp.. but my old haswell macbook pro is the SAME in bootcamp..The speeds are much more consistent and are only thermally limited in this case.
New mac pro with massive X - same thing, 6 instances.
Of course, apple will never see this as a problem, as the video guys who just want core crunching are their real market.
And stuff like alchemy and other sample based synths are performing really well on the new mac pro.. the 16 core is doing 80 omnispheres playing chords.
The problem is on algorithmic VA stuff..
All the cpu hungry ones are affected cause they can't properly fit a full instance on each core and have headroom left over, therefore they can't scale across all cores.
I could not think of a *worse* computer right now for someone who wants to be totally in the box with VI synths than my own imac pro or the new mac pro.
The reason bootcamp gets 12 instances on my imac pro 8 core, is because it is able to keep all cores at the max 3.93ghz all core turbo at all times.. temps never went above 60.4 which is peanuts for under load. It was quiet. So there is no reason for the speed to be fluctuating so much in OSX.
Still, the xeon, even at the full all core turbo, could not quite place one on every logical core. The macbook pro 16" *could*.
yet.. how the hell is the quad core with 8 logical cores getting 11 instances? And it is only boosting to 3.35ghz under all core load (thermal constraints) where as the 16" would hit 4.1, 4.2 ghz?
Because even when temps are low, i have seen the speed in my now returned 16" go from 4.3hz to 2.8ghz in an instant. That's why. Nevertheless, the macbook pro's single core performance is powerful enough to place one diva per logical core, or "thread".
Considering I want to sell some of my hardware synths and use VI's, i can not get out of the apple ecosystem fast enough after 12 faithful years.
The new mac pro is an absolute, yes I am going to just say it, an absolute JOKE in single core performance and sustained clock speeds for the price you pay. Why did apple bother with such an amazing cooling system if OSX can't fully run the cpu at it's own rated speeds?
In Bootcamp it will be much better, but other than the 8 core, no one has tested them in Windows on the DAW side.. the 8 core is getting 20 more whole watts to the cpu and maintaining it's all core turbo without dipping.
WOW.
I suspect all the other models will be the same.
If you are a heavy sampler user, by all means, great machine.
If you are a heavy VA user, be prepared for just as much freezing as the 2013 model.
If you use tons of audio tracks with effects, and they are therefore at the PT playback buffer which is 1024 samples, you will be impressed. If you want to arm 64 tracks going through PT's mixer in HD native with effects at 32 buffer.. be prepared for some disappointment. Especially if you are using good quality native reverbs for monitoring.
I know some people really hate me for starting all this at Gearslutz, but I can't change facts.
If someone else can tell me how a 2014 quad core 2.8ghz computer, can outperform a 16 core, 3.2ghz 2019 computer in *certain* VI synth scenarios, then I am all ears.
EDIT: I have now compiled a list of 100 algorithmic synths I will be testing over the next month. 5 a day, half an hour a day maximum devoted to it. So far, it is certainly NOT just Diva that is affected, although apple fanboys seem to be wishing it was so they can blame U-HE. There'll be a full chart made when the tests are concluded.