CPU Maxing out Random

[lampmusic]

System Specs: 2019 / 16 MPB 2.3 / I-9 with 32GB RAM.


Latest version of PT running os 10.15.4 interface: Focusrite clarett TB2 with adapter.



The past 3-4 months I would suddenly get what appeared to be random CPU spikes in the System Usage gauge. This wouldn't happen every time but when it did PT would not play at all.


Interesting observation: Even with a session closed sometimes the CPU spikes would still show in the system usage.


After doing some searching I still couldn't seem to come across any troubleshooting info about this issue.


I looked into 3rd party plugs that might be causing this.


Then I was able to clear it up almost instantly by raising the fan speed in the macs fan control app or putting the fans back to automatic.



I have been using the fan control app for a year or so because the fans are so loud when I'm using PT that it's disturbing.


Anyway so far it appears that there may have been been some 'heat throttling' that was causing PT to go ape.


Has anyone else experienced this? If so am I on the right track to resolve it? Any other workaround?


Thanks

[JFreak]

Never try to control fans yourself. If you set the fan(s) off or too low, the CPU will overheat and once it does, CPU itself will slow itself down, which causes CPU spiking.

The new laptops apparently are not so good in thermal performance, you just need to accept the fan noise.

[lampmusic]

The fans on my MBP 16 are hardly noticeable until I boot up Pro Tools then it sounds like they jump to max.


When looking at the internal temps nothing seems too high.

[audiobob]

Originally Posted by lampmusic

The fans on my MBP 16 are hardly noticeable until I boot up Pro Tools then it sounds like they jump to max.

That happens because Pro Tools uses the AMD Radeon 5500 dedicated graphics card. That card is known to draw lots of power and drains the battery very quickly. That's why the fans kick in high gear when using PT.

I hear there is software that turns off that card...but haven't tried it.

[originalscottyg]

I've had good luck using Turbo Boost Switcher to turn off overclocking, which has managed to noticeably reduce the fan noise in my 2019 i9 MacBook Pro.

[huzzam]

Originally Posted by audiobob

That happens because Pro Tools uses the AMD Radeon 5500 dedicated graphics card. That card is known to draw lots of power and drains the battery very quickly. That's why the fans kick in high gear when using PT.

I hear there is software that turns off that card...but haven't tried it.

yep that's a good thing to try. i used to do this on my old 2011 mbp, because the integrated graphics were enough for pt and it ran much quieter. I used this utility, i'm not sure if it still works in the latest os's or latest macs: https://gfx.io

In any case, as mentioned, your problem is almost definitely thermal throttling. Let your fans run normally, please; otherwise you're gonna be bumping up against the thermal limits constantly, and get spikes, crashes, and finally system instability. you could add a cooling mat under the laptop if you want to try to help the cooling situation. Or connect an external monitor/keyboard/mouse and put the macbook in a closet with sound treatment, if the noise is really unbearable...

[daeron80]

Good info, guys. Appreciate it. In the past two days I've been getting this on my Mac Pro Trashcan, which has run PT flawlessly for six years, and has run 2020.5 flawlessly since June.

Yesterday morning, I was setting up for a voice over session. One track, three light plugins. PT locked up for several seconds when I put it in record with cores hitting 100%. Restarted, opened PT, everything fine. Talent got there, suddenly, the computer is freezing up for anywhere from a few ms to several seconds at a time, randomly and frequently. Thankfully, I had a Sound Devices 702 at hand, which I quickly patched in and recorded to. Since that session, I've been editing in an hour-long, six track session with video, and several heavy plugins on each track - so heavy that bounce down runs at only 5x. Not a hitch until a few minutes ago when PT suddenly started freezing up the computer again.

I take it I have an overheating issue of some kind going on. I mean, this beast is six yeas old, and I accidentally overheated it once on a remote job two years ago. Maybe it's just the CPU showing its age.