Live 9 Performance Test

[jmlevo]

My precious 10 year old DAW with Ableton tests...

49% (stable)

HP Media Center Desktop PC (m7635)
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ (@ 3360 MHz)
- AMD Radeon HD 6570
- 4 GB Transcend DDR2 4-4-4-12-16-2T (@ 420 MHz)

System Disk - 60 GB SSD, Kingston SV300S37A60G
- Seq. read 127,4 / write 51,11 MB/s, Acc.time read 0,293 / write 0,352 ms
Data Disk - 1 TB SSHD Seagate Hybrid, ST1000DX001, MLC/8GB 64MB Cache
- Seq. read 81,41 / write 132,71 MB/s, Acc.time read 14.007 / write 18,637 ms

Alesis MultiMix 16 Firewire (3.5.3.8671)

Ableton Live 9 Standard (9.1.7) 64-bit
- 8 tracks

[Stromkraft]

we really need to start over here as people forget the last test that was suggested later, i e maximum amount of tracks before crackling or glitches occur.

[nuxnamon]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter at 8 tracks - 11%
2) iMac Retina 5K
3) OSX Yosemite
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.6
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel Core i7 4.0 Ghz (4790K)
6) Amount of Ram? 24 GB
7) Soundcard? RME FF800
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed? 512 SSD
9) Max playback tracks? 8
10) 64 or 32bit live? 64bit
11) Maximum tracks before glitch: ~112 w/ cpu jumping around 89%

For those who are contemplating purchasing a iMac5k for DAW use, hopefully this will shed some light on your decision. I came from a 2008 dual quad Mac Pro and it is a improvement. My main reason for upgrading was cpu overloads, wanting to use Spire without glitches, and I believe my OS drive became corrupted. I slacked off a bit with my backups and before I knew it, it would take Ableton 3-5 minutes before opening at times and shutting down the the Mac Pro would sometimes take 5 minutes.. So I was thinking of reformatting the whole drive and just do a clean install and give that to my gf as she has taken to ableton pretty well. I originally wanted to purchase the hexcore Mac Pro but was a bit hesitant because Ableton never did do a good job with how it distributed its workload with xenon processors. I saw that firsthand with my Mac Pro as I could get so many more tracks with Studio One.. But I know, it's the nature of Ableton and how it can be used as in a live setting is part of the reason.. Atleast that's what I assume.. Plus I know i didn't really need the dual gpu as I don't don't any video work and I kept reading that Ableton would perform better using i7 chips vs Xenon.. What finally swayed my decision was a friend who worked at apple.. Basically he did me a favor and got me this fully maxed out iMac (max cpu, max gpu, and 512 ssd) for not much more than a price of a 21 inch iMac..


the good
obviously, the cpu (4.0ghz with turbo boost up to 4.4) is a beast so far and that hasn't really an issue. about the retina screen.. do I really need it.. no.. does it make a difference.. yes and more so that i expected. everything is really crisp and it took me a couple of days to get used to it visually.. now, when i look at my gf's setup (i gave her the Mac Pro and the dual monitors), it's definitely noticeable.. and with the resolution, I can put both session and arrangement views simultaneously which was how i worked with the dual monitors on the old setup.. some plugins haven't updated their guis yet so some plugins will appear not as sharp..

the bad
the fan noise.. this thing is weird at times and I can't predict when it goes on/off.. running this ableton test, no fan noise at all.. but sometimes it can be random stuff like opening a Reason song with no more than a few tracks, the fan kicks in.. which i don't understand cuz the cpu was below 10%.. or sometimes transferring files from HD to HD, i've noticed it kick in.. when it does, it does get significantly loud. louder than my mac pro.. It could be also that with my mac pro, it was seated underneath my desk, a bit towards the back so I did not hear it as much.. with the iMac, obviously it's right in front of you so you are closer to the source.. Not really a deal breaker as when I do track guitars or vocals, the mic is way on the other side of the room so it does not pick it up.. and I really can't notice it that much when I am mixing as the music drowns out the noise when it does kick in.. but if your using this for doing podcasts and you have your mic right in front of you, it's gonna pick up the noise..

in summary, still a great machine but i can see the fan noise being an issue to some users. hopefully it's just a firmware fix of some sort... if anyone has questions, just pm me..

[Kunzlinger2]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % : 6%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? : Custom PC (Asus x99-s / Cooler BeQuiet Dark Rock 3)
3 ) Operating System? : Windows 7 Enterprise 64Bit
4 ) Ableton Live version? v9.1.7
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed?: I7 - 5820K (Haswell)
6 ) Amount of Ram?: 16 GB
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it) : Focusrite Solo
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know): SSD / HDD 7.200 SATA
9 ) Number of playback tracks?: 8
10) 64 or 32bit live: 64Bit
11) Maximum tracks: ~200 = 83%

System was Overclocked at 4000 MHZ
(air-cooled Temperature between 45° - 50° on 30min Stresstest )

3600 MHZ = 9%

[poshook]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % : 12%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? : Hackintosh $795
3 ) Operating System? : Yosemite 10.10.2
4 ) Ableton Live version? v9.1.7
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed?: XEON E3-1321V3 @ 3.4GHz (Haswell)
6 ) Amount of Ram?: 16 GB
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it) : Apogee Duet FW
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know): SSD / HDD 7.200 SATA
9 ) Number of playback tracks?: 8
10) 64 or 32bit live: 64Bit

[UniversalFlyer]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % 15-17
2) Macbook Pro 2014 Mid
3) Yosemite 10.10.1
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.7
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4980HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
6) Amount of Ram? 16GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Integrated
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? SSD 256GB
9) Number of playback tracks? 8
10) 64 or 32bit live? 64

Not very impressive. This laptop is fastest one in the planet - https://www.cpubenchmark.net/laptop.html . I can see 90-95% on Activity Monitor. As I understood it can be up to 400% - multicore support?
I saw ~350% on another Macbook on heavy project. Maybe some can explain that? Is this test for all the cores?

[login]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % : 30%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? : Macbook air i5
3 ) Operating System? : OSX 10.9
4 ) Ableton Live version? v9.2b4
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed?: i5
6 ) Amount of Ram?: 4 GB
7 ) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it) : Internal
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know): SSD
9 ) Number of playback tracks?: 8
10) 64 or 32bit live: 64Bit
11) Maximum tracks: 32-37

Seems like half the power of a Macbook pro.

[M-bition]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % 15-17
2) Macbook Pro 2014 Mid
3) Yosemite 10.10.1
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.7
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4980HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
6) Amount of Ram? 16GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Integrated
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? SSD 256GB
9) Number of playback tracks? 8
10) 64 or 32bit live? 64

Not very impressive. This laptop is fastest one in the planet - https://www.cpubenchmark.net/laptop.html . I can see 90-95% on Activity Monitor. As I understood it can be up to 400% - multicore support?
I saw ~350% on another Macbook on heavy project. Maybe some can explain that? Is this test for all the cores?

15-17% is a good performance for a laptop CPU. I guess all cores are used. For this CPU I hoped the performance would be somewhere between 10 and 15%.
However; Running this test with 8 tracks might not use the turbo-boost at full throttle. That is why everybody should push this test to the max, use all CPU-power available and check how many tracks can be used without glitches. Remark it under 11.

[Stromkraft]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter? 35% (with the 8 tracks)
2) Computer? Macbook Pro 2009 Mid
3) OS version? Mavericks? 10.9.5
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.7
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel "Core 2 Duo" Penryn P8800, 2.66 GHz
6) Amount of Ram? 8GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? RME Babyface, driver v2.04
8) Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? About 260 MB/s read, 200 MB/s write, SSD 960GB
9) Number of playback tracks? 8 in basic test
10) 64 or 32bit live? 64bit
11) 26 tracks before crackles set in

[Kunzlinger2]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % 15-17
2) Macbook Pro 2014 Mid
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Integrated

Not very impressive....As I understood it can be up to 400% - multicore support?
I saw ~350% on another Macbook on heavy project. Maybe some can explain that? Is this test for all the cores?

So, maybe it's because of your Soundcard, or your system is not optimized for realtime Audioprozessing. In Windows World, i have to set the energie customizing for minimium Performance to 100%. Only than i have full power + Standard Overclocking of Asus/ Intel. Else i would have 27% than 6%.

But I don't know Mac/ Apple OS.

@m-bition "That is why everybody should push this test to the max, use all CPU-power available" That's absolutly right!

[UniversalFlyer]

Yes, you are right. All the cores were used. But we are not sure if there was highest cpu performance during the test. Maybe there is Unix check from the Terminal or application for current frequency rate? I can guess that turbo was not used. It seems it was at 2.8 Ghz and not at 4 Ghz. For example cooler was completely silent if I played this track for ~10 minutes as loop.

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter % 15-17
2) Macbook Pro 2014 Mid
3) Yosemite 10.10.1
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.7
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4980HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
6) Amount of Ram? 16GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Integrated
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? SSD 256GB
9) Number of playback tracks? 8
10) 64 or 32bit live? 64

Not very impressive. This laptop is fastest one in the planet - https://www.cpubenchmark.net/laptop.html . I can see 90-95% on Activity Monitor. As I understood it can be up to 400% - multicore support?
I saw ~350% on another Macbook on heavy project. Maybe some can explain that? Is this test for all the cores?

15-17% is a good performance for a laptop CPU. I guess all cores are used. For this CPU I hoped the performance would be somewhere between 10 and 15%.
However; Running this test with 8 tracks might not use the turbo-boost at full throttle. That is why everybody should push this test to the max, use all CPU-power available and check how many tracks can be used without glitches. Remark it under 11.

[TheDZA]

1 ) Ableton Live CPU Meter % : 13%
2 ) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? : Costume Pc
3 ) Operating System? : Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
4 ) Ableton Live version? v9.2b4
5 ) CPU Make, Model, and Speed?: i5 2500 3.30ghz oc 4.5ghz
6 ) Amount of Ram?: 16 GB
7 ) Soundcard : Uad Apollo Duo
8 ) Hard Disk Drive Speed : 500gb crucial bx100, 2x Seagate 3TB 7200RPM
9 ) Number of playback tracks?: 8
10) 64 or 32bit live: 64Bit
11) Maximum tracks: 96

[M-bition]

Yes, you are right. All the cores were used. But we are not sure if there was highest cpu performance during the test. Maybe there is Unix check from the Terminal or application for current frequency rate? I can guess that turbo was not used. It seems it was at 2.8 Ghz and not at 4 Ghz. For example cooler was completely silent if I played this track for ~10 minutes as loop.

I do not know how to check CPU freq on OSX. Perhaps activity monitor can provide this info ?

[yk]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter?
2) Computer? ECS G33 MICRO ATX with ATI graphic card
3) OS version? windows 7 x64
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.7
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel q6600
6) Amount of Ram? 8GB
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? echo2 USB, mbox3 usb,emu1820m pci, tc konnekt live FW
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? SATA HDD
10) 64 or 32bit live? 64bit
11a) echo2 and mbox3, max 51 tracks (ASIO4ALL + WDM) cpu 95%
11b) emu 1820, max 49 tracks (EMU ASIO) cpu 88%
11c) konnekt live, max 54 tracks (ASIO4ALL + WDM) cpu 97%

ECHO2, ASIO4ALL + WDM driver is better than echo asio driver especially in high CPU usage.
echo2's asio driver is useless.
MBOX3, a little better asio driver than echo, and also WDM+ASIO4ALL is better.
EMU asio, CPU usage must be less than 90%, asio4all is not working with emu
konnekt live is the best of 4 audio interfaces i tested, though audio quality is the worst of them.

[graphixsounds]

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter? %25
2) Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model?Macbook pro retina 13" (april 2015)
3) Operating System?10.10.3
4) Ableton Live version? 9.1.8 (64 bit)
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? RMBP 13" 3.1 ghz dual core i7
6) Amount of Ram? 16gb
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Apogee Duet 2
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? SSD 512 (samsung)
9) Number of playback tracks? 8
10.) number of tracks before crackling? 36

is this normal? im seeing slower computers out-spec my 2 week old laptop