Only 4 cores system usage on M1 Macs

[Emi]

Originally Posted by epmi

I'm assuming these beachballs are happening on 8 Gb versions?? I'm on a Mac mini 16 GB and am having no issues. Yes, it's only using 4 performance cores even though Logic can run on all 8, but it's less buggy than Logic for me. Running video off of Video Sync or Logic via IAC, btw. Not sure why PT can't do video.. again.

I did have a not-enough-RAM notification at one point, but I'm not able to reproduce.

I'm on a 16gb ram m1 Mac mini and getting beach balls.

[Pedro Garcia BR]

16gb version here. Beach balls every 40 seconds. even in a session without any plugin.

can it be the waves just installed?

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Pedro Garcia BR

16gb version here. Beach balls every 40 seconds. even in a session without any plugin.

can it be the waves just installed?

It may be or may not be. First realise is PT is not Apple Silicon native and neither is Waves. Any random things may happen.

[epmi]

That being said... Not to be all you-tubey about it and give examples that aren't quite real-world, 200+ tracks playing back without a hitch is pretty impressive. Granted, just a few midi tracks and few plug-ins, but still. 40% memory pressure. And Chrome was open.

[theguitarfreak]

My M1 Mac Mini system usage meter shows only 4 cores being utilised by PT 2021.6. While Avid has already mentioned this on their website, can the the other 4 cores be at all utilised by Pro Tools in the future? The reason i ask this is because currently my CPU usage is almost 80% while running full mix sessions, and unless PT can use the 8 cores of M1, this CPU is underpowered for me.

[JFreak]

The extra four cores are unpredictable. You cannot use them in a realtime software like Pro Tools

[theguitarfreak]

Originally Posted by JFreak

The extra four cores are unpredictable. You cannot use them in a realtime software like Pro Tools

Damn! The M1 doesn't seem to be as powerful then with just 4 usable cores. I wish i had stuck to my i7 10700.

[Teej]

Originally Posted by JFreak

The extra four cores are unpredictable. You cannot use them in a realtime software like Pro Tools

Considering the real-world performance difference between 2021.6 (4 cores) and 2021.3.1 (8 cores), either you are wrong, or they royally screwed something else up.

If nothing is screwed up and this is simply "safer", they should add an option to use all cores for those happy to take the "risk" (2021.3.1 on my M1 is the fastest PT system I've ever used.)

[Obsidian Dragon]

Originally Posted by Teej

Considering the real-world performance difference between 2021.6 (4 cores) and 2021.3.1 (8 cores), either you are wrong, or they royally screwed something else up.

If nothing is screwed up and this is simply "safer", they should add an option to use all cores for those happy to take the "risk" (2021.3.1 on my M1 is the fastest PT system I've ever used.)

My understanding (I don't work for Apple or Avid) is that the issue is not with using efficiency cores or not. It has to do with changing how the code is written to use the GPU built into the SOC (System on a Chip) design. While Protools 2021.3.1 runs well using the older code written to an integrated GPU or a discrete GPU, the M1's SOC design with the GPU on the same chip as the CPU can be optimized with new code. That code is not ready yet, hence the disclaimer that Protools 2021.6 does not support the video engine on M1 machines. Obviously the lack of such code (or more likely the incomplete iteration of code) is not working well on M1 systems and therefore performs worse than 2021.3.1 as we've discovered. Is it a screw up? That depends on how you look at it. I prefer to think of it as a hurdle that Avid needs to get through as advances in processor development marches forward. Apple changing from Intel processors to Apple silicon is a pretty drastic change for code. Protools is still using Rosetta 2 as an intermediate solution. I am hopeful that an M1 (M2, M1x,...) native version of Protools is in progress. In the meantime, stick with what works for you if that is 2021.3.1.

[Southsidemusic]

Whats the real issue here? The other 4 cores are ”virtual” as in NOT REAL CORES so who cares as long as the M1 macs are faster!?