LIVE 8 PERFORMANCE TEST - Results Here

[pete23com]

Can someone try this test with a mid 2012 MBP and post their results?

FWIW, I rarely EVER see my CPU meter above 25-30% even when doing very heavy production work. As stated before, I get about 9% CPU use running the test as the OP intended.

Thanks.

Retina MBP 2.6GHz (specs in original post above) manages 48 tracks. CPU at about 65%; going to 52 tracks is stable when left alone but pops when you touch the interface. 48 is fine. CPU meter between 60-65%.

And I'm quite getting into the track.

[DoobieBrother69]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter: %18
2) Desktop: *self-assembled motherboardMake/Model: Asus P5E-Deluxe
3) Windows Vista w/Service Pack 3 (32-bit)
4) Ableton Live version: 8.3.3
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed: Intel Quadcore Duo Q9450 @ 3.4gHz
6) Amount of Ram: 4-GB
7) Soundcard: m-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496 (latest driver)
8) Hard Disk Drive Speed: 7200rpm
9) Number of playback tracks: all 8 tracks

(*running with 48 tracks ramps the CPU meter up to 81%)
(**running it with 64 tracks ramps the CPU meter up to 105%)

Not bad for a measely 32-bits ;-)
When the 64-bit Ableton gets out of beta, I think it will be finally time for me to upgrade Windows to the 64-bit version and max out my motherboards RAM to 8-GB.

[Hermanus]

impressive

With win7 64bits you will be amazed with your results man.
I couldn't believe it but it's like I was on another planet [a good one].

I'll publish my results, I've just received a new quad core with win7 64. cant wait to install live and test the new machine

[DoobieBrother69]

Good to hear about the noticeable improvements when running it 64bit.
Congrats on the new hardware, and I look forward to reading your results!

[ramonpichot]

I have to say that the cpu meter isn't that alarming in my test. 20-24 is a nice result, maybe worse than 2011 quads MBP, but better than my previous 2011 13 MBP. The real problem is slowness (can wait till 10 seconds with pizza logo when i duplicate the 8 tracks test). And, there are dropouts or crackles before reaching 80%. Even with my songs, there are spikes with 20 tracks and a few effects... I thought it would be better. Maybe my Lion configuration is bad... switching between Finder windows isn't as fluent as it was with my one year 13' I5 2,4Ghz MBP. I reinstall everything and let you know if it is better.

I have an early 2011 MBP (2.2GHz quad i7) and got similar results CPU-wise in Lion. If your issue is around general speed, I would suggest you consider installing a SSD as your OS/apps drive. I have one and for me it is a relatively low cost upgrade that makes a massive difference in terms of how "snappy" your machine is. Apps open way quicker and are much faster at executing tasks, way less beach-balling, boot times are much quicker...I could go on. Won't make much of a difference in this test, but you will really notice the difference in the time it takes for your laptop to do pretty much anything.

I installed 16 MB ram and now everything is ok. The computer is stable and fast> The results of Ableton Live Performance 8 test is the same as before, and it is not a surprise since everybody has the same kind of result with sandy or ivy quad core Macbook Pro with Lion. That result (19-24) isn't affected by other programs running... I tried with reason playing 5 songs (not in rewire mode) sibelius, itunes, chrome, mail and other programs opened in the same time... and nothing changes. I'm not sure I could do that with my previous computers.

[Breaks Dude]

Based on the metric you advise in your post above, and using the test file provided at the beginning of this thread, I can run 94 tracks before it pegs my CPU meter. Ableton Live 8.3/32 bit. At 94 tracks it pegs the meter and then settles down to 93%. I didn't push it any further because I was getting some cracks and pops initially at 95 tracks.

Can someone try this test with a mid 2012 MBP and post their results?

I just tried in mine: 59 tracks without cracks (just under 80% cpu load)
And I tried a fresh Lion install, on a usb 2 drive, just the demo because my licenses are already in use in the internal partitions: 49 tracks, and for the 8 tracks, cpu is about 29%. Maybe the clue is a good drive. That could explain the 1% difference or more between my MBP and the Retina.

OK I'm back.

Since I posted last time...

I went out and bought a mid 2012 2.3GHZ 15" Macbook. I took out the stock HD and replaced with an Intel 520 series SSD and added 16GB of RAM.

My results with core audio is 21%. I will hook it up to my sound card and try that next.

Nice computer, though...real pleasure to use. Not as fast as my PC tower that runs the test at 94 tracks (and 9% on the original test) but this could have something to do with using the onboard audio.

[ramonpichot]

OK I'm back.

Since I posted last time...

I went out and bought a mid 2012 2.3GHZ 15" Macbook. I took out the stock HD and replaced with an Intel 520 series SSD and added 16GB of RAM.

My results with core audio is 21%. I will hook it up to my sound card and try that next.

Nice computer, though...real pleasure to use. Not as fast as my PC tower that runs the test at 94 tracks (and 9% on the original test) but this could have something to do with using the onboard audio.

21? stable? Good... I don't have same results every time I use the computer... Today, between 24 and 29, in exactly the same conditions.
do you use Lion or Mountain Lion?

[nms]

SO...

Is it maybe time for a revised test file yet? Anyone feel they can alter it to be more effective?

It's certainly seeming like it would be a good time to split the results up into separate threads for desktop vs laptop. It gets tiring sifting through laptop results when you're only interested in desktops.

Also as a few have mentioned it's absolutely essential to list the max number of playback tracks you can get without drop outs.

[Breaks Dude]

OK I'm back.

Since I posted last time...

I went out and bought a mid 2012 2.3GHZ 15" Macbook. I took out the stock HD and replaced with an Intel 520 series SSD and added 16GB of RAM.

My results with core audio is 21%. I will hook it up to my sound card and try that next.

Nice computer, though...real pleasure to use. Not as fast as my PC tower that runs the test at 94 tracks (and 9% on the original test) but this could have something to do with using the onboard audio.

21? stable? Good... I don't have same results every time I use the computer... Today, between 24 and 29, in exactly the same conditions.
do you use Lion or Mountain Lion?

It came with Snow Panda

It came with Lion. Is it worth upgrading? I have a free ML upgrade.

[handsofire]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % - 50-54
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - Desktop Custom
3 ) Operating System? - Win7 Pro 64bit
4 ) Ableton Live version? Live 8.3.4
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4Ghz
6 ) Amount of Ram? - 4GB 667Mhz
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? - Edirol UA-5
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400 RPM SATA
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

I am getting a lot of popping at 50% with this test. Is anyone else? I was thinking this was a result of several VSTs during my projects, but I am noticing it with this test as well.

[handsofire]

Wow, new laptop made a big difference. HP Dv6 i7 2670QM and 8gb ram for under $575. Was looking at the OCZ Vertex 4 SSD, but maybe I can hold off till Black Friday! Would want to replace the optical drive as well.

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % - 21-22
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - Laptop HP PAVILION DV6-6C53CL
3 ) Operating System? - Win7 Home 64bit
4 ) Ableton Live version? Live 8.3.4
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - 2.20 GHz i7-2670QM, 3.10 GHz with Turbo Boost
6 ) Amount of Ram? - 8GB DDR3 - 800mhz x 2
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? - Edirol UA-5
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400 RPM SATA
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

[digid]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % - 29-31%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - MacBook Pro 13" 2.9GHz 2012 model
3 ) Operating System? - Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.2)
4 ) Ableton Live version? Live 8.3.4
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - 2.9 GHz i7 with Turbo Boost
6 ) Amount of Ram? - 8GB DDR3
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? - Internal audio
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400 RPM SATA
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

[Casual Beats]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % - 9% - steady at this utilization and dropped as the track count dropped
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - Custom Desktop using brand name components
3 ) Operating System? - Windows 7 Pro 64bit
4 ) Ableton Live version? Live 8.4b8
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - Intel core i7 3930x
6 ) Amount of Ram? - 16GB DDR3
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? - RME Fireface
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200 RPM SATA
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8

[Casual Beats]

yeah, it definitely exceeded my expectations.
This new computer + the new 64bit beta is definitely changing the way I work. Whereas before I would find myself having to quickly start freezing things to save on mem and cpu, now I can continually keep loading things without even thinking about it.

Just had a set open with two instances of Omnisphere, 1 instance of Stylus RMX, an instance of trillain with a 2GB+ upright bass module selected, an instance of Synthogy's Ivory with a 4GB upright piano selected and 10 audio channels, each with their own effects chain. Cpu barely peaked over 10%

[digid]

Notice my post earlier with 5400 HD speeds - SSDs certainly make a difference:

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % - 23-24%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? - MacBook Pro 13" 2.9GHz non-retina 2012 model
3 ) Operating System? - Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.2)
4 ) Ableton Live version? Live 8.3.4
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? - 2.9 GHz i7 with Turbo Boost
6 ) Amount of Ram? - 8GB DDR3
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? - RME Babyface driver v1.76
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? Crucial M4 512GB SSD
9 ) Number of playback tracks? 8