Confused: dual core and Dverb test

[WideO]

I'm doing some DVerb tests on my Toshiba Satellite A100 373 (Core Duo 1.66 Ghz) laptop with 7.3 and MBox Pro, and I'm a bit confused.

Whilst setting the DAE to 2 processors (CPU limit 90%), I can record 32 tracks with 70 DVerbs. CPU constantly hovers around 88 - 89 %, even when not recording. Records for 5 minutes, no problem.

When I close the session, change to 1 processor (CPU limit 99%) and reload the test, I only see about 15 % CPU usage, but hitting record immediately gives me a buffer error.

Restarting Protools, changing CPU affinity (as I had to do with 7.1.2), then load the session does not change anything.

OK, it's obvious I'm better off with using the 2 CPU's, and it's not really a problem, but I wonder why there is such a difference in (alledged) CPU usage ?

[bigbubbaj]

How does it perform in an actual mix session?

[WideO]

I don't have any serious data on real world application yet I'm afraid. It's OK for the small projects/demos/songwriting I've done so far, and it certainly seems possible to get a good sound out of the setup.

I don't think the Toshiba is recommended, it took me quite a bit of tweaking to get it this far, and 70 DVerbs isn't really a lot compared to what others are getting. OTOH, there seem to be no serious incompatibility issues with Protools.