What does the CPU (Native) monitor tell me?

[Niilo Nuori]

Hi,

I have a Intel i7 rig running the latest version of Pro Tools native (more info can be provided if needed) and I have done all the optimizations that I can find from the net & Avid pages. 7 cores out of 8 are reserved for Pro Tools (max minus one). The CPU usage limit is 99%. I wonder what does the CPU (Native) indicator mean actually? For example, in one session it hovers around 40% but eventually the playback stops with an error (Your CPU load is too high, error # something). Am I supposed to get close to 100% or what is the meaning of that indicator? How high are you able to go before the system gives up?

All other meters (CPU (Clip) and Disk) barely show anything...

BR, Niilo

[Greg M]

It seems to vary from computer to computer, but I get my best performance by turning off hyperthreading, use all 4 cores, and set to 85%. You might want to experiment a bit with these settings.

In a nutshell, when the CPU meter approaches 100% PT stops. However, spikes can be hard to see but PT will stop if you hit 100%.

Hope this helps,
Greg

[Niilo Nuori]

Thanks Greg!

I guess I have to try to play around with those parameters to see what would provide the optimal result. Tried dropping the PT core number by one (to 6 or 3 actual i7 2600K cores) and it seemed to help - the CPU meter hovered 5-10% higher but the session played with no problem. I have to see if switching hyper-threading off is possible on Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3_v1.3.

Somebody (Avid?) should implement a tiny program that would basically give you the numbers for optimal settings...