Does AAX less CPU usage than RTAS?

[Rockman413]

Hi I just wonder if we load the same plug in efx, will AAX use less CPU , or have a better CPU cores managment than RTAS?

Thanks!

[Quickdraw]

In theory the AAX plugins should use resources more efficiently because they are 64Bit

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by Quickdraw

In theory the AAX plugins should use resources more efficiently because they are 64Bit

The initial version of AAX was 32bit for use in PT10, the "bridging" version of PT. Only with 11 did PT require the 64 bit variant.

It's been a while but I do think there was a small bump in efficiency, but it wasn't huge.

Keep in mind that devs could "clean up" the code during the process of porting, so in some instances, it's possible that the plugin format had nothing to do with any subtle increase.

[deanrichard]

Since AAX and RTAS are simply an interface into the plugin, I doubt there is much difference in performance. The difference is not obvious to me, but many have said AAX is more flexible and efficient. There may be some differences under the covers for side chains, grouping, etc., but I haven't been using those features so I can't say for sure.

According to what I have gleaned from developer comments, Avid placed a high priority on security/copy protection, and also the ability to link AAX plugins to its store.

Originally Posted by Rockman413

Hi I just wonder if we load the same plug in efx, will AAX use less CPU , or have a better CPU cores managment than RTAS?

Thanks!

[Bob Olhsson]

Every plug-in is a tiny application which is a lot more than just a GUI. AAX is potentially more efficient but lacks the stability that a decade and a half of bug fixes gives RTAS. 64 bit AAX gave my seven year old computer a new life.

[Quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Drew Mazurek

The initial version of AAX was 32bit for use in PT10, the "bridging" version of PT. Only with 11 did PT require the 64 bit variant.

It's been a while but I do think there was a small bump in efficiency, but it wasn't huge.

Keep in mind that devs could "clean up" the code during the process of porting, so in some instances, it's possible that the plugin format had nothing to do with any subtle increase.

You are right, should have added that (I never ran 10 so I forget it even had AAX). 64Bit format allows better use of RAM and things like hyper threading, not sure if it really matters to Pro Tools or not but it should give a small performance bump.

[wwittman]

I"ve found it to be a big bump in performance.

I have yet to hit the performance limit with plug ins in PT12

[soybalm]

I think the more important feature Avid was aiming at was the transparent migration between a project done on AAX Native or AAX DSP. Unfortunately, not many companies bought into the DSP thing yet.

[jonathan jetter]

64-bit AAX in PT 11 + 12 is a noticeable improvement.

32-bit AAX on PT 10 is in many ways a step back from RTAS. Memory-intensive VIs in 32-bit AAX have a habit of freezing the whole computer as soon as PT's memory usage is >2gb. often leading to the system becoming completely unresponsive and necessitating a reset. sometimes this happens even when the plugins are not being used in the session.