Real-time performance vs CPU performance

[colejustesen]

I thought this video was extremely informative for those who are struggling with DAW performance. It is on the long side, but extremely informative. Hopefully you all can benefit from this

[video]https://youtu.be/GUsLLEkswzE[/video]

Cole

[Tortuga]

marked for later

[Schweezly]

Interested to watch later. Not sure if this will help me...but I need a new computer for record of sooner or later

[fretless]

never hurts to review , he didn't spend enough time on latency though and that directly affects the whole kit and kaboodle but everything he said on buffer settings and what improves it will help you . He is also slightly behind the curve with current tech OS and whatnot but it's still a good refresh and his main point of CPU power is a good one and proves older tech can still kick ass with music recording .

[ajaxlepinski]

Post to watch after work

[ajaxlepinski]

Thanks for posting Cole!

OK... CPU specs can't be used to determine how well your DAW will run.

Suppose, I want to buy a new computer to use with my DAW.
Are there any specs that indicate how well the CPU will do with real-time processing?

ProTools provides a list of recommended computers/operating systems... I guess, the best advice, for choosing a new computer, comes from DAW manufacturer recommendations?
I mean, without some kind of "real-time CPU rating system" or a "Component to Real-Time System Ratio", we have no choice, but to rely on DAW manufacturer recommendations?

In the analog world, you could rely on signal-to-noise ratio numbers to decide, whether or not, a new rack component would add noise to your system.
Too bad computer components (plug ins, monitors, A/D converters, drivers, etc) don't have a "Component to Real-Time System Ratio" rating.

[colejustesen]

That is a tough thing to call as real time performance is different than benchmark data. I suppose being engaged in forums that discuss recording in depth coukd be helpful too. All I know is that the PC I put together does pretty good, I have found that drivers play a huge part in this. Especially with my interface. I ran LatencyMon to see what processes were hindering my system. I deactivated the HD sound on my mother board as it was causing some big spikes in latency. That seemed to really help my system out in the DAW. I use Harrison Mixbus 32c and it tells me how much processing is being used; after deactivating that, my processing went down significantly for the same project.

I think it is important to identify possible processing problems my individually evaluating running processes.

Cole

[ajaxlepinski]

My Mac, with fusion drive, has been doing well with ProTools 10 but, I haven't run more than 10 tracks with five or six plug ins.
I think I'll look for a latency monitor just to see how it's really doing.

It's mind boggling when you think about all the knowledge you need to make a good recording... figuring it all out keeps me out of trouble, IRL!