Maximising CPU Efficiency with Pro Tools?

[jrollins]

Hello,


Does Pro Tools perform better when using external playback engine aka a decent audio interface vs Mac's only playback engine?


Does Pro Tools offload CPU resources to the audio interface and can allocate more resources to plugins etc?


Secondly, how big of a difference does CPU perform when using different sample rates ?



Does anyone know a rough idea of how big a difference CPU 44.1k vs 48kh vs 88 vs 96k on cpu?


For example can you have double the size session on a 44.1k (tracks/plugins) vs a 96k session before maxing out?


I am trying to keep my source audio from recording sessions at 96khz but sessions keep maxing out.


Is there any other tip to freeing up CPU in Pro Tools sessions? How does Pro Tools allocate each core to mix/submix/audio/sends . is there a smart way to stop sessions from getting over burdened?

[nednednerb]

I learned the answer to these questions by spending 5 years studying YouTube and then 1 full year at an audio production school in 2010.

The answers are actually a bunch of opinion. They also depend on other questions you're not asking.

Also, these questions are more general to any DAW, maybe the thread belongs in Off Topic, but it's not really a Pro Tools Software usage topic.

I recommend learning for free on YouTube and countless websites. Just type in "getting started with Pro Tools" and "learn music production online" and similar things. There is ENDLESS free information better suited to beginners than asking a bunch of very open ended questions in a big list.

In vast generality though, the faster and snazzier your computer, the more you'll run before maxing out. Most users know their system's max point, and play within it. That's about it. New faster computer shifts the bottleneck, but seemingly there are always limits. Cannot calculate fast enough sometimes. If you need a more specific answer to your questions: "42."

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by jrollins

Hello,
Does Pro Tools perform better when using external playback engine aka a decent audio interface vs Mac's only playback engine?

No.

Does Pro Tools offload CPU resources to the audio interface and can allocate more resources to plugins engine?

No. CPUs live in your computer, not the interface. The quality of the interface driver however can make a large difference to the overall stability of the system.

Secondly, how big of a difference does CPU perform when using different sample rates ?

Does anyone know a rough idea of how big a difference CPU 44.1k vs 48kh vs 88 vs 96k on cpu?

Huh? You are wandering off the deep end and not asking a question that even really makes sense. The *big difference* will be some sessions will run OK on your computer and at some point doing something more demanding will cause AAE errors. There is not anywhere near a nice linear scale that lets you predict this. And while quality interfaces (mostly for their quality device drivers, and Built-In Output is already high quality… it’s effectively a reference standard) are important, anything CPU related often is dominated by 1. plugins and 2. proper setup and optimization of the system.

I am trying to keep my source audio from recording sessions at 96khz but sessions keep maxing out.

Is there any other tip to freeing up CPU in Pro Tools sessions? How does Pro Tools allocate each core to mix/submix/audio/sends . is there a smart way to stop sessions from getting over burdened?

Here is a crazy idea, instead of the theoretical CPU questions you could maybe tell us what exact error message you are getting with what exact computer setup running exactly what version of Pro Tools, and key things like HW Buffer size, disk cache size, sample rate, and some idea what the sessions look like, and exactly what troubleshooting you have tried.

I suspect you are a Pro Tools CPU meter watcher, that is typically a total waste of time. It does not help you predict systems limits.

Start by making sure your system is fully optimized, do every last thing no matter how inconvenient now, and try doing some standard troubleshooting and report exactly what you have tried and those results here if still having problems. You should always try trashing prefs (frequently if keep having problems). If you are having CPU errors you should already have tried moving *all* .aaxplugin files out of the plugin folder and trashing prefs and if that is stable move some plugins back to look for a culprit bad plugin, including plugins you are not even using in the session. All that should have been well tried before even posting here. See under “Help Us Help You” up the top of every DUC web page.