LIVE 8 PERFORMANCE TEST - Results Here

[Khazul]

Just out of interest - can you post your overclocked result as well?

BTW - on 64 tracks - thats a litle bit better than my 2.3Ghz MBP 17 on 64 tracks (Think it was 75%).
My old 4Ghz i7 is about the same as well on 64 tracks.

[ilya.soloviev]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 18%
2) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Intel (Custom Built)
3) Operating System? Win 7 64
4) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel i7-2600K, 3.4Ghz
6) Amount of Ram? 8GB (1866Mhz)
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? PreSonus Audiobox USB
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200 rpm, SATA
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

Hmm thats quite high cpu load

i have 14% on Core i5-2400

[commuter]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) 34%
2) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Laptop/Apple/ Macbook Pro 13" 2011
3) Operating System? Mac OS X v10.6.7 Snow Leopard
4) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 3MB shared L3 cache
6) Amount of Ram? 4GB 1333MHz DDR3
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Built-in CoreAudio
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400 rpm SATA
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

i also get 34% with the internal soundcard, it drops to 27% as soon as my NI audio 2 DJ is plugged.

[vibes17]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 49%
2) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Intel Macbook pro 17" Unibody
3) Operating System? Win OSX 10.5.8
4) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? 2.93ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
6) Amount of Ram? 8GB 1033
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Core Audio
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5200 rpm, SATA
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

Ive been struggling with playback on projects with ableton 8. when i get above 55% it starts to crap out on me. Ive checked the apple activity monitor and ableton is only using 1.5gb of the ram, why doesnt it use more ram and relieve the cpu strain? there is plenty available.

[Khazul]

Ive posted this machine before, however for those interested in a direct OSX vs Windows 7/64 comparison on same hardware, test done on both operating systems. OSX appears marginally faster, but probably easily within the margin for error for such a test. Windows 7/64 was a suprise being able to handle higher audio load which goes against what Ive generally seen before on earlier hardware.

Windows 7/64:
1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 16%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Feb 2011 Macbook pro 17"
3 ) Operating System? Windows 7/64 SP1 via Bootcamp (latest bootcamp drivers and windows updates installed)
4 ) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? intel 2820QM (Sandybridge quad core i7 @ 2.3GHz)
6 ) Amount of Ram? 8GB/1333MHz
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ (ASIO - Latest driver)
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200RPM (750GB WD Scorpio Black)
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

Extra tests:
10) Max tracks before dropouts (duplicate the 8 tracks 8 at a time) 72
11) CPU use at above Max tracks before dropouts 85%

OSX 10.6:
1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 15%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Feb 2011 Macbook pro 17"
3 ) Operating System? OSX 10.6.7 (Latest Apple updates installed)
4 ) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? intel 2820QM (Sandybridge quad core i7 @ 2.3GHz)
6 ) Amount of Ram? 8GB/1333MHz
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ (Core Audio - Latest driver)
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200RPM (750GB WD Scorpio Black)
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

Extra tests:
10) Max tracks before dropouts (duplicate the 8 tracks 8 at a time) 64
11) CPU use at above Max tracks before dropouts 75%

Other notes, this audio interface seems marginally slower on OSX than the other NI interfaces and my RME UFX (Live on OSX previously report 14% CPU use with Audio 8 DJ and RME UFX).

For both Windows 7 and OSX, NO devices or drivers have been disabled, all bootcamp drivers and features enabled, WiFi and Bluetooth are in active use (keyboard+trackpad+mouse), and there are no audio issues on either OSX or Windows 7. Windows 7 install is ultimate 64 bit with no tweaking (not even the basic priority to background tasks) except to disable user account control. Anti-virus software on both systems is ESET. Also there are NO utilities installed on either OS for fiddling with power/system tuning/cooling etc and windows 7 power management is at its default 'Balanced' setting. DPC Latency checker is reporting 70-80us which is the best Ive ever seen on any windows 7 installation - laptop or desktop.

(I'm just listing this as a reference for anyone struggling with audio on a bootcamped windows 7/64 install - ie it can work and can work very well at least on this 2011 MBP without any tweaking).

[ill0gical0ne]

1. Ableton Live CPU Meter: 20%
2. Laptop/Desktop & Make/Model: Apple Mac Pro (early 2009 model)
3. Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6.7
4. Ableton Live version: Ableton Suite 8.2.2
5. CPU Make, Model, and Speed: 2x2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeons
6. Amount of RAM: 10 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM
7. Soundcard: Intel High Definition Audio
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed: 10000 RPM
9. Number of playback tracks: Tracks 1-8, Reverb A-D, Master

[FrederikB]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 40%
2) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - Macbook Pro Mid 2010
3) Operating System? - OSX 10.6.7
4) Ableton Live version? - 8.2.2
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - Intel i5 2,53 GHZ
6) Amount of Ram? - 4GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Tascam US-122L
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400 rpm
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

seems a bit high to me

[Kaapu]

1. Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 14%
2. Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - MacBook Pro, Early 2011
3. Operating System? - OSX 10.6.7
4. Ableton Live version? - 8.2.2
5. CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - i7, 2,2ghz
6. Amount of Ram? - 4GB
7. Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? - Edirol FA-66
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? - 5400rpm
9. Number of playback tracks? - 8

[granath]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter 144%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Laptop Macbook
3 ) Operating System? Mac OSX 10.5.8
4 ) Ableton Live version? 8.0.1
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz
6 ) Amount of Ram? 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Behringer FCA202 via firewire > 400 Mbit/sec
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5,400rpm
9 ) Number of playback tracks? All, and at 2 tracks around 80% CPU Meter

Multicore/Multiprocessor support enabled

What is wrong here?

In the file "http://nickstutorials.com/LivePerformanceTest.zip" there only "Live 6-7 performance test project.als. Is this what i´m doing wrong?

Still having problems over here, CPU meter goes over the roof!

----------------------
MacBook 2.1
Intel Core2 DUO 2.0 GHz
L2-cache 4MB
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz
Intel GMA 950
New HDD 7200 rpm (not SSD)

Mac OS X 10.6 (Darwin 10.0.0)

Audiocard: Infrasonic Deux (firewire)

Ableton Live 8.2.1 (original)

Multicore/Multiprocessor support enabled

----------------------

Battery is dead/wont charge(a little misplaced due to a hit) (computer is working)

Can this be the problem? Or is it something els?

Please help me!

[blakjesus]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 40%
2) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - Macbook Pro Mid 2010
3) Operating System? - OSX 10.6.7
4) Ableton Live version? - 8.2.2
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - Intel i5 2,53 GHZ
6) Amount of Ram? - 4GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Tascam US-122L
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400 rpm
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

seems a bit high to me

Not really...

1. Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak)
34% (doesn't bounce around)
2. Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model?
Macbook Pro (2010)
3. Operating System?
OSX 10.6.4
4. Ableton Live version?
8.2.1
5. CPU Make, Model, and Speed?
Core i7-620m (4M Cache 2.66Ghz)
6. Amount of Ram?
4GB 1066Mhz
7. Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)?
Internal
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)?
5400rpm
9. Number of playback tracks?
8

[ARDJ]

Tarekith can we update the original post w/ laptop & desktop leaders? would be interesting to look at specs

[Khazul]

Feel free to trawl through and extract them

[Tarekith]

Tarekith can we update the original post w/ laptop & desktop leaders? would be interesting to look at specs

At this point, given the number of replies, I don't think it matters Maybe for the Live 9 test.

[SWAN808]

Ive posted this machine before, however for those interested in a direct OSX vs Windows 7/64 comparison on same hardware, test done on both operating systems. OSX appears marginally faster, but probably easily within the margin for error for such a test. Windows 7/64 was a suprise being able to handle higher audio load which goes against what Ive generally seen before on earlier hardware.

Windows 7/64:
1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 16%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Feb 2011 Macbook pro 17"
3 ) Operating System? Windows 7/64 SP1 via Bootcamp (latest bootcamp drivers and windows updates installed)
4 ) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? intel 2820QM (Sandybridge quad core i7 @ 2.3GHz)
6 ) Amount of Ram? 8GB/1333MHz
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ (ASIO - Latest driver)
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200RPM (750GB WD Scorpio Black)
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

Extra tests:
10) Max tracks before dropouts (duplicate the 8 tracks 8 at a time) 72
11) CPU use at above Max tracks before dropouts 85%

OSX 10.6:
1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 15%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Feb 2011 Macbook pro 17"
3 ) Operating System? OSX 10.6.7 (Latest Apple updates installed)
4 ) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? intel 2820QM (Sandybridge quad core i7 @ 2.3GHz)
6 ) Amount of Ram? 8GB/1333MHz
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ (Core Audio - Latest driver)
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200RPM (750GB WD Scorpio Black)
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

Extra tests:
10) Max tracks before dropouts (duplicate the 8 tracks 8 at a time) 64
11) CPU use at above Max tracks before dropouts 75%

Other notes, this audio interface seems marginally slower on OSX than the other NI interfaces and my RME UFX (Live on OSX previously report 14% CPU use with Audio 8 DJ and RME UFX).

For both Windows 7 and OSX, NO devices or drivers have been disabled, all bootcamp drivers and features enabled, WiFi and Bluetooth are in active use (keyboard+trackpad+mouse), and there are no audio issues on either OSX or Windows 7. Windows 7 install is ultimate 64 bit with no tweaking (not even the basic priority to background tasks) except to disable user account control. Anti-virus software on both systems is ESET. Also there are NO utilities installed on either OS for fiddling with power/system tuning/cooling etc and windows 7 power management is at its default 'Balanced' setting. DPC Latency checker is reporting 70-80us which is the best Ive ever seen on any windows 7 installation - laptop or desktop.

(I'm just listing this as a reference for anyone struggling with audio on a bootcamped windows 7/64 install - ie it can work and can work very well at least on this 2011 MBP without any tweaking).

thanks this is useful. just wondering - did you do the latency loop back test in Windows and OSX? Im curious about the RME drivers W7 vs OSX performance. I hear there is a reasonable difference at least with the fireface...

[kirillov]

Windows 7/64:
1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % (if it bounces around, please list the peak) - 45%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? lenovo thinkpad X201
3 ) Operating System? Windows 7/64 SP1
4 ) Ableton Live version? 8.2.2
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? intel core i3-390M 2,66 Ghz
6 ) Amount of Ram? 4GB/1066 MHz
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? RME Fireface UC (driver: 0.966)
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400RPM (Hitachi)
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

shared grafic, by the way. would be very interesting to me if on board grafics still makes a difference for audio pcs?
cheers