LIVE 4 and powercore...

ohmpow · Post by **ohmpow** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 8:23 pm

Looking for people using LIVE and TC Powercore... I'm having trouble getting proper performance, basically not seeing any improvment of CPU usage when using powercore reverbs etc.....Any advice?

ashley_k · Post by **ashley_k** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 10:05 pm

Having used TC Powercore PCI with Live on my G4 Mac you tend to get a
cpu hit with the first couple of plug-ins that you use, then as you add
more the cpu meter does not rise significantly.

I decided to do some tests, the results for MegaReverb:
1 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 22% initial cpu hit
2 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 37% another cpu hit - then smaller cpu hits
3 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 37%
4 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 40%
5 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 40%
6 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 41%
7 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 42%
8 MegaReverb running cpu meter at 44%

Also tested ClassicVerb, which I have always thought,
was more efficient than MegaReverb it actually turns out to be less efficient:
1 ClassicVerb running cpu meter at 27% initial cpu hit
2 ClassicVerb running cpu meter at 30% another cpu hit
3 ClassicVerb running cpu meter at 47% another cpu hit - then smaller cpu hits
4 ClassicVerb running cpu meter at 47%
5 ClassicVerb running cpu meter at 48%
6 ClassicVerb running cpu meter at 49%

What the hell I tested the TC Native Reverb Plus from TC Native Bundle 3.1
as well, which gets no help from the TC PoweCore at all:
1 Native Reverb Plus running cpu meter at 11% low initial cpu hit but just keeps rising as you add more
2 Native Reverb Plus running cpu meter at 21%
3 Native Reverb Plus running cpu meter at 32%
4 Native Reverb Plus running cpu meter at 45%
5 Native Reverb Plus running cpu meter at 60%
6 Native Reverb Plus running cpu meter at 75%

Only a rough test so not 100% accurate but you get the general idea.

Found this on the TC support pages:

Using PowerCore with Ableton Live

Question:
I am getting a large CPU load when I use PowerCore Plug-Ins in Ableton Live in Windows.
Is there a solution for this?

Answer:
To use PowerCore Plug-ins in Ableton Live in Windows,
we recommend that you use an I/O buffer size of 128 samples to reduce your CPU load.

128 samples sounds very low! But that’s what they say.

This is beginning to make political threads look interesting! Just kidding.

Hope this helps ohmpow

Ashley_K

spiderprod · Post by **spiderprod** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 11:11 pm

does anyone know how it behaves withe the firewire version?

dfusion · Post by **dfusion** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:00 am

spiderprod wrote:does anyone know how it behaves withe the firewire version?

Probably the same because the TC site just says PowerCore, and not PowerCore Element or Powercore Firewire. As far as I know the only difference between the two is the amount of DSP power provided. I would think too much load on your Firewire bus would choke your CPU after a bit. I've heard people with UAD-1 who use PCI audio cards can get the most out of it compared to those using UAD-1 with Firewire audio interfaces, the audio tends to drop out when the UAD-1 is around 75%.

ohmpow · Post by **ohmpow** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:32 am

much thanks ashley, i was able to sort it out....LIVE and Powercore = nice!

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:41 am

thanks for the cpu scores Ashley but i have a question...

i'm not really one to use 8 of the same kind of reverb, or 6 of another kind.
i wonder how the Powercore would react with a more varied effects configuration... such as...
1 24/7-C
1 Chorus-Delay
1 EQSat
1 MegaReverb
1 Tubifex
1 Filtroid
1 MasterX3
1 Dynamic EQ

i wonder if Powercore would exhibit the same kind of effeciency with multiple effects of different kinds as it does with multiple effects of the same kind.

MarkH · Post by **MarkH** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 6:03 am

ohmpow wrote:much thanks ashley, i was able to sort it out....LIVE and Powercore = nice!

Are you routing all non-Powercore tracks to a seperate track to accomodate delay compensation? Or are you adding the delay compensation plugin as an insert into each non-Powercore track? Does the delay comp plugin cause the CPU to go up?

ashley_k · Post by **ashley_k** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 2:16 pm

Some thoughts about TC Powercore and some more tests

Having used PCI Powercore with Live for while with my dual G4 desktop,
they work well together but it’s not the answer if you’re running out of CPU power,
it certainly can give you a boost though.

You do get some top quality effects for your money, unfortunately if you want to buy additional
plug-ins you seem too pay a premium price for them. I have in mind the Virus and Sony plug-ins,
the virus seems very expensive for the full-unrestricted version when compared to other soft synths.
It’s not even as if they are suffering from piracy, with the Powercore acting as a dongle
you’d have thought they could be more modestly priced.

If I owned a laptop I would definitely be looking at the new Powercore Compact version.
I think a version of TC Powercore Compact with a built in audio/midi interface - would take some beating!

Dear AdamJay the use of reverbs was just for CPU testing and for the benefit of ohmpow, not a suggestion of real world use.
Unfortunately I cannot test the Filtroid or Dynamic EQ, but I tested out a more realistic set up for you:

PCI Powercore test
1 24/7-C
1 Chorus-Delay
1 EQSat
1 MegaReverb
1 Tubifex (is a bit CPU intensive)
1 MasterX3
1 PowerCoreCL
1 VoiceStrip

with all 8 effects at default settings the meter was at 59%
and with out the Tubifex 52%

with a random selection of settings the meter was at 65%
and with out the Tubifex back to 52%!

Bonus Extra Test: with just 3 Tubifex running I hit 70% (not that I’d ever use 3)

NOTES ON TESTING: As with the reverb test I had separate audio tracks for each effect.
Also when testing the order in which the effects are loaded into the Powercore and
settings of the Powercore can make a difference to the results you get from the test.

AdamJay this performance/testing is a bit addictive!

As for delay compensation, to be honest with you MarkH I’ve never felt the need to use the
delay compensation/TC Compensator plug-in, I probably just have not noticed the need to use it,
spending too much time trying keeping the CPU meter down!

Yours Ashley_K

PLEASE ALSO NOTE:
The above test was not performed under the most rigorous scientific test conditions,
also I did not don a white laboratory coat during the testing,
as a result of this test data should only be used as a rough guide.

MarkH · Post by **MarkH** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 3:07 pm

Ashley - Do you get similar CPU results when using Powercore under another DAW program?

ashley_k · Post by **ashley_k** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:52 pm

Sorry MarkH – I have no other DAWs to test Powercore under apart from Live

Ashley_K

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:13 pm

thanks for the tests Ashley... if live doesn't add dual cpu support by next year, i think i'll get a powercore for the desktop PC i will be building, but if they do - its Dual Opterons and TC Native!

ashley_k · Post by **ashley_k** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:25 pm

Sorry AdamJay – I’m think TC Native Bundle has been discontinued, so it’s Powercore or nothing, but I might be wrong.

Dual cpu support by next year - yes please...

Ashley_K

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:51 pm

oh yea, i already own TC Native 3.1
and i love it. i use the parametric EQ, Filtrator, and Compressor/De-Esser on a very regular basis. the quality and interfaces of those effects is what got me interested in the Powercore line.

LIVE 4 and powercore...

LIVE 4 and powercore...

Live 4 and powercore test