CPU Allocation Issues???

[bd614]

I've been searching for an answer, hopefully you guys can help me solve my problem. I have PT10 on a custom built rig: Intel i7 3970x (6 cores), 16GB 1066Mhz RAM, Win7 SP1, Scarlet 2i2 interface. However, I'm getting the "Increase CPU Allocation" with only 3 VIs. Ive switched out numerous plugins to test: Kontakt, Xpand2, Boom, etc. and the issue arises regardless of what VIs I use. I opened taskmanager to monitor while running PT and my CPU usage never tops 5% and my ram never tops 12% even with the VIs loaded.

I had PT10 installed on my last rig, i7-920 (4 cores), same RAM and a Mbox2 mini interface and i didnt have this issue.

Could my issue be PT not being able to use 6 cores (doubtful), my interface, or something else?

Any troubleshooting ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Numi]

This may be a silly question, but are you setting your cores to 1 less than the max available under preferences? I have found, along with many others that if you do this and set cpu limit to 99%..you will have better success with performance.

Some have said hyper threading can be an issue also, but I haven't had any issues with that. I have 4 cores available with a dual-core i5, and I set it to 3 cores...with 99% limit. I can max out available tracks all with audio and plugins, along with some VI's.. set at a buffer of 128 without any hiccups.

You may already know this, but I thought I would throw this out there.

[bd614]

Lol. Actually, someone else told me the same thing. I have it set to use all 6 cores. I will set it to 5 and see if that fixes it.

On my last system, I had it set to use all 4 cores and I didn't have any issues, so i never thought that could be the case. I will give it a try when i get back home.

Hopefully the fix is that easy lol

[Numi]

Well, the theory is..that assigning 1 core less..allows it to assist with background tasks that are associated with the OS, plugins or VI's that might need to utilize background processing. The remaining cores then can focus all their attention on PT's needs.

If this doesn't help, you may want to trash prefs and settings and do some other misc optimizations.. and or a possible reinstall of the program along with a clean install of the OS.

Check out http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=336556

[bd614]

that makes sense. I will be able to test it out in a couple hours. I reinstalled windows and PT yesterday (most recent versions of each), same results. I have no other software on the system except for PT, Kontakt, and Avid VIs. It hasnt been connected to the internet either so the system is isolated just for music.

I will do the optimizations in addition your suggestion. I will let you know how it turns out.

[bd614]

Ok. I set it to use 5 cores instead of 6 and did all of the recommended optimizations and i still receive the error do you have any other suggestions? I think i might try a different interface to see if that has an affect.

[tmitchell]

This is the problem with custom jobs, they rarely work as well as a commercially obtained unit. I would be testing this computer's performance before anything else

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by bd614

Ok. I set it to use 5 cores instead of 6 and did all of the recommended optimizations and i still receive the error

Can you check or have you checked to see if your cores are parked?

It's something like TaskManager / system resources / CPU / and then you can actually see in the right-hand side column each individual core and sometimes those cores show Parked (think core in standby)

There is an app that I downloaded it's freeware - it actually runs a script that goes in an un-parks those cores

[Numi]

Make sure you have the latest drivers for all your hardware...maybe some of the Windows guys can chime in here, that is about all I have to offer..other than you posting a system specs report with Sandra.

I haven't had a windows rig since XP's early years...good luck to you though.

[bd614]

@Yyr123, thanks, that helped alot. I unparked all of my cores and i was able to load 2 more plugins. I monitored the CPUs and they all were normal but then spiked during playback and then i received the error message. It had smoother performance up until that point though.

@numi, i updated the drivers manually after reinstalling windows and PT. Have you had a better experience with Mac?