Pro Tools 12.8 CPU Spike

[john1192]

Originally Posted by lucapane02

I have no antivirus.
All optimizations done: optimize energy saver, turn off wifi, disable file vault protection, disable automatic update.
Antelope orion 32 driver up to date
UAD up to date
Slate digital plugin up to date.
Vienna ensemble up to date.
I don't have installed any other plugin.
Some days ago i tried a big test session with 128 tracks with a lot of plugs in the project and 32 tracks in recording (44.100 24 bit 64 buffer size) and all is ok (cpu at 50/60% but stable).
After some days (nothing has changed) i have this problems in real session with at least 10 tracks in the project and only one in recording.
I notice that slate reverb is really a problem (the track i'm recording has this reverb on an aux track) but i think also other plugs have some problems. Next days i'll try:
- recording in the system sad drive.
- trying recording without 3rd party plugs.

But to be honest i came from pro tools hd2 that is really stable with any kind of plugs and i thought that with a good imac i could be able to record without latency and without any problems

HD and Vanilla .. different mind sets inmho .. tracking through PLugins like HD is just not the same .. or tracking in particular is better if you

1) do not try and listen through the program when recording audio
2) use a 3rd party audio interface mixer, ie: Lynx (in my case), Apogee, Apollo, Prism .. etc .. you get the picture .. let these be the Low Latency tracking mixer for your headphones mixes ..

my lynx runs at 32 samples (pro tools at 128) and i do not hear any latency .. but if i tried to use JUST pro tools, it is not the same .. i choose to use the Lynx Mixer when tracking .. just muting the track or unlinking Record / Playback Faders in Prefs and then pulling the Fader down all the way in Record - so i never hear the input through PT ..

curious to find out if it is one plugin, or one vendor of plugin that is causing this ..

my .02

[dankin]

Some AAX plugins do not run well at 64. You're most likely going to have to figure out which of your plugins cause the spikes at that buffer setting. A friend of mine, who's also a member here, has had the same issue with the slate verb. So, he uses Dverb if the vocalist wants some verb while tracking, then switches back to the slate verb for mixing. The spikes are not necessarily related to how much CPU the plugin uses, I get CPU spikes with Metric Halo Channelstrip for instance, and that one is very light on the CPU. Also, the Avid click plugin is known to cause spikes.

[audiobob]

Originally Posted by lucapane02

But to be honest i came from pro tools hd2 that is really stable with any kind of plugs and i thought that with a good imac i could be able to record without latency and without any problems

So did I. And I bought a 12 core Mac Pro and went to a Native card thinking I would be fine. I wasn't. I had CPU spikes even when on a 256 buffer setting that would stop recording. Had them even with a fresh install of the OS and Pro Tools with no other plugs or software installed. Did all the magic tricks including rubbing my belly and jumping up and down. Turned off hyper threading...blah blah. Nothing worked except finally going to HDX. Sorry I'm not offering any help but I could not solve the CPU spikes issue.

[john1192]

Originally Posted by audiobob

So did I. And I bought a 12 core Mac Pro and went to a Native card thinking I would be fine. I wasn't. I had CPU spikes even when on a 256 buffer setting that would stop recording. Had them even with a fresh install of the OS and Pro Tools with no other plugs or software installed. Did all the magic tricks including rubbing my belly and jumping up and down. Turned off hyper threading...blah blah. Nothing worked except finally going to HDX. Sorry I'm not offering any help but I could not solve the CPU spikes issue.

hi Bob, if i may ask ... Native Card .. PCIe ?? did this all happen recently ?? PT 12.8 ?? or ??

any info is useful in some way ... !!

cheers john

[audiobob]

Originally Posted by john1192

hi Bob, if i may ask ... Native Card .. PCIe ?? did this all happen recently ?? PT 12.8 ?? or ??

any info is useful in some way ... !!

cheers john

Yes PCIe. I went from HD2 to Native HD and the Mac Pro probably around PT 11 and happened with every iteration...up until 2 months ago when I was recording 1 TRACK with Avid plugs, CPU usage was 3 to 6% then spike and stop recording. No apps open, nothing else running. I had enough and went HDX...no problems since. My blood pressure is now back to normal.

[audiobob]

My opinion, and that's all it is, is that the Mac Pro processors may not be ideal for real time audio processing. The lower latency then the more pressure on the CPU to spit out audio as fast as it can and it just can't keep up. Again....my opinion.

[john1192]

Originally Posted by audiobob

My opinion, and that's all it is, is that the Mac Pro processors may not be ideal for real time processing. The lower latency then the more pressure on the CPU to spit out audio as fast as it can and it just can't keep up. Again....my opinion.

hi bob, thx for the info .. CheeseGrater Mac should be able to handle that - my 6-core works great but using a Lynx PCIe card not HDnative ... i wonder if you had a Faulty HD Native Card !!

in the past now, i understand .. and happy to hear your BP is back to normal ..

cheers john

[lucapane02]

Tracking with the antelope (or what else) mixer for my workflow is very hard. A lot of punch in.. you have to worry about muting the tracks in recording and so on...
I really listen a big improvement sonically speaking with this new system but i'm very scared for the stability.
I understand very well Bob... i hope there is a possibility of good recordings with pro tools vanilla.. i don't know.. anyone who experienced good results with vanilla?

Same story with only pro tools hd software?

thanks

Luca

[john1192]

Originally Posted by lucapane02

Tracking with the antelope (or what else) mixer for my workflow is very hard. A lot of punch in.. you have to worry about muting the tracks in recording and so on...
I really listen a big improvement sonically speaking with this new system but i'm very scared for the stability.
I understand very well Bob... i hope there is a possibility of good recordings with pro tools vanilla.. i don't know.. anyone who experienced good results with vanilla?

Same story with only pro tools hd software?

thanks

Luca

yeah, i hear ya ... the Unlink Record / PLayback Faders does that muting for me automatically .. but different workflows for different folks of course ..

and i am one of those that has been on PT software (nonHD) since i sold my HD2 PT8 system .. and no real show stopping issues ..

and i have been using PT since PT III with 882 interface on a 9500 Mac Tower .. and whatever the software was called before that (name escapes me now) .. i know everyones mileage has been different since they opened up to 3rd party hardware ..

john

[audiobob]

Originally Posted by john1192

hi bob, thx for the info .. CheeseGrater Mac should be able to handle that - my 6-core works great but using a Lynx PCIe card not HDnative ... i wonder if you had a Faulty HD Native Card !!

in the past now, i understand .. and happy to hear your BP is back to normal ..

cheers john

Yeah, seemed to me as well that's why I sprung for the 12 core. Now I have this monster machine that just runs the screen! It does that very well.