Feedback computer config

adderoo · July 31, 2020, 7:37am

Very useful @Torsten

My results
Dell Inspiron 5559, Intel Core i7-6500U 2.5 Ghz runs at 50.0% average, 68% max

In general I am ok also for live performing, even with Keyscape and Omnipshere patches. But my setups are fairly simple, as I am in a 5-person band. But apparently I can improve my system almost a factor 2

I am planning to update my laptop system next year. Will get back to you and this forum for best specs to run Cantabile.

daveurope · July 31, 2020, 7:43am

Surprising my old pro 2 seems to be not that bad if I play normally…
Really put the same audio parameters:)

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 7:51am

Have you actually installed Tyrell in the correct plugins directory? The bindings should point to the five Tyrell plugins (first three to Tyrell 1, next 3 to Tyrell 2, and so on). If you have “mising target”, then something may be going wrong loading Tyrell into the song. Can you try if you can manually set the targets of the bindings to the five instances of Tyrell?

What these bindings do is simple send an E-major chord (e-g#-b) in the middle octave to all five Tyrell instances. So you could connect your MIDI input to all five instances and play (and hold) this chord - should give the same result.

Anyone else with these issues?

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 8:02am

This is what the bindings page should look like:

I use the 64 bit version of Tyrell - maybe that contributes to the issues?

All five instances use the preset “PV - JX Choir”

Audio settings are default from installation (except limiter switched off)
grafik

Cheers,

Torsten

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 8:08am

Yes, my studio PC is a full-size tower PC, the Live Cube is a small form factor (2 liters) ASRock Mini-PC running a desktop processor.

daveurope · July 31, 2020, 8:16am

Hey your live cube has better results?!

Is it something like that?

https://www.mifcom.de/gaming-cube-i5-9600k-gtx-1660-ti-ssd-id5558

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 8:47am

Here some more data:

my current live laptop (Core i7 9750H @ 2.6 GHz): average around 34.5% , max around 36%
my old live laptop (Core i7 4720HQ @ 2.6 GHz) average around 43.3%, Max ca. 50%

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 8:53am

it’s even smaller: the ASRock Deskmini 310:

https://www.asrock.com/nettop/Intel/DeskMini%20310%20Series/index.asp

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 9:07am

Now here’s an interesting discovery:

I start Cantabile, set audio engine to “Null Audio”
I load the song “Perftest” - Time load settles at around 32% average on my studio PC
now I stop the audio engine (on/off switch) - time load (obviously) goes down to zero
now I turn the audio engine back on - bindings fire again and start playback (since Song->onLoad also fires on turning the audio engine back on)
now the time load is only at around 14% average and 20% maximum
same on my old live laptop - average drops from 43% to about 19%
no such effect on my new live laptop - average stays around 34% after engine cycling
also no effect from engine cycling on my live cube

@brad: any idea what’s going on here? Maybe you can reproduce this?

Cheers,

Torsten

Pierre · July 31, 2020, 3:19pm

Hi,
Sorry for the late I was “on the road”

My studio PC is "core I7 - 7820X 3.6 GHz, memory access : 3600 Mhz

Time load : 53% - Average 38,6 %
But I wonder if it is not more relevante to observe the CPU load dedicated to Cantabile with the cantabile ‘profiler’
CPU Load (Cantabile) : 1.9 %

What do you think of that ? There is a huge difference between the "time load and the CPU load, what is the more important ?

My gig configuration will be largely under my studio configuration (certainly i5 6th generation) …

Next I will try on my professional laptop (just for the test) it has a Xeon
Pierre

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 4:20pm

I have now used this song on four different machines with Tyrell installed in different VST directories: C:\Vstplugins, C:\Program Files\VstPlugins, C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins

It loaded and started flawlessly on all four machines - just out of interest: where is the Tyrell dll installed on your machine? And: are you using the 32 bit or 64 bit version of Cantabile? I’m using 64 bit on all machines.

Cheers,

Torsten

Torsten · July 31, 2020, 4:23pm

Time load is the more relevant metric for using Cantabile live - it measures how much time it takes Cantabile to fill the audio buffer compared to the time to play the buffer. Once time load crosses above 100% you start getting drop-outs, irrespective of overall CPU load.

See @brad’s explanation here.

cpaolo · July 31, 2020, 5:52pm

I played manually the E-major. Here is the result:

43.2% average. 45.3 max (i7-4810MQ@2.8GHz) Null Audio/256
42.1% average. 44% max. same processor. Audio Board ASIO/256

I’m unable to reproduce your “19%” conundrum.

Paolo

daveurope · July 31, 2020, 6:14pm

Hey
I expreminented the same thing…
Strange.
Stop and reopen and you win some extra %… well I saw that too.

Dave_C · July 31, 2020, 8:35pm

I tried Torsten’s “perftest” song file, with null audio @ 44.1 / 256

Average time load - 68.0%
Maximum time load - 89.4%

I’m using a 10 year old 1st generation i5-750 @ 2.67GHz 4 core desktop.
Ya I know it’s antiquated, but has been reliable. And actually survived (barely) this test.

I did not experience the load % changing after stopping and starting the audio engine like Torsten experienced.

cpaolo · August 1, 2020, 10:03am

I got better performances in aggressive mode. Not so much as you. About 8%

daveurope · August 2, 2020, 9:53am

still better than nothing

daveurope · August 2, 2020, 11:54am

I RESUME
I made new test with the same parameters.

Surface pro 2 i5 70% 75%
Surface pro 3 i7 68 % 78%
Surface pro 7 i5 1035G4 48% 60
Dell inspiron i7 8565u 43% 50%
Pc (2014) i7 4770k 42% 45%

razberri · August 2, 2020, 4:05pm

This is not directly related to your search for an older system, but I thought I’d mention that early this year I went through an exercise of trying to find a powerful laptop to handle a live VST/etc. laptop. I tried a few “loaded” consumer laptops in sequential order because none of them worked for me and I had to return them as I tried them. Yoga, Thinkpad, Dell. I selected the most current/powerful/fast CPU, 32GB, dual SS drives, etc. The only thing I didn’t spend on was the graphics/monitor. All of the laptops I tried had audio cracks & pops to some unsatisfactory degree. Even if I got a small glitch every 5 minutes, I considered it a failure. I performed all sorts of tuning, cleaning up, … nothing helped. I read, and was told, that the laptop power management (due to having to manage battery power) got in the way of clean-performance, … and that I should try a Clevo chassis (or any other “gaming laptop” type chassis). I ordered one (which did cost 30% more than the consumer laptops). I have not had any glitches at all on my current laptop and am extremely happy with it.
What I run “live” on the laptop:

2 instances of standalone NI Kontakt (keyboard VSTs for 2 keyboardists)
Cantabile, which runs 3 instances of NI Guitar Rig in stereo. This results in 3 vocalists having 6 channels of plugin-effected vocals. Also an occasional Waves Tune Real-time “auto-tune” plugin.
ShowBuddy Lighting software
*** Both Kontakt and Guitar Rig interface to a QSC TouchMix-30 digital mixer

brad · August 3, 2020, 2:44am

Hi @Torsten

I’ve had reports of this from some users before but never been able to reproduce it myself. Also never heard of it with the Null Audio driver, but I guess that’s rarely used. Leave it with me I’ll do some tests in the next day or two.

In the meantime it’s probably worth running a CPU reporting tool to see if any of the cores are being throttled or parked before vs after.

Brad