Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
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enerate josh
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Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 4:47 pm

Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by enerate josh » Fri May 24, 2019 12:43 pm

Hi there!

I'm running a 3GHz 10 core new iMac Pro with 128 GB Ram. I'm finding performance in Live 10 to be a bit unpredictable...

Takes AGES to load a set. Like go and make yourself a coffee and come back... Once i'm in playback of midi and audio is sweet. However more latency when recording audio through my MOTU 828x than my 2012 Macbook pro retina? IMO this computer should crush any audio application... hmm.

Is anyone else on here using iMac Pro? What is your experience?

Thanks!

TLW
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by TLW » Sat May 25, 2019 12:35 am

My interface is RME, not MOTU, but it's my understanding there have been issues with some of the most recent Mac models and USB audio, including MOTU interfaces. There are threads on RME's forum about USB audio issues with some 2018 model Macs.

Apple seem to have dropped the ball somehow on this, but Mojave 10.14.4 and 10.14.5 seem to have sorted things out, at least as far as RME interfaces are concerned. Having said that there aren't many iMac Pros around, and what works on one Mac model might not on another. I suggest checking you have the latest Mojave update (10.14.5) and if it still doesn't work and you're sure everything is set up correctly at your end of things the best idea might be to contact Mojave support.

I'd be interested to know if you get the problem fixed, I'm considering a new Mac some time this year, probably either a 2019 iMac or an iMac Pro so I'm keeping a lookout for issues before making a final decision.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

[jur]
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by [jur] » Sat May 25, 2019 8:39 am

Try loading your set using the computer's built-in sound card, it'll help you check if it's a Motu issue.
Sure you'd not expect such a monster machine to never even sweat!
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UnderwaterSunlight
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by UnderwaterSunlight » Tue May 28, 2019 2:01 pm

Josh,
are you using several of Native Instruments Reaktor 5 or Reaktor 6 instances in your set?
Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022), 24 GB RAM, 1TB internal SSD, MacOS 12 Monterey (up-to-date), Ableton 11 Standard (up-to-date), NI Komplete 14, Steinberg UR22 mkII

ispeakstraightfacts
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by ispeakstraightfacts » Sun Dec 08, 2019 5:31 am

It has 3GHz and that’s not really enough power per core if u are running CPU intensive VSTs.. when it comes to music production quad core is enough and anything above it is really over kill! For example, a 4ghz quad core will outperform a 3GHz 10 core computer any day because it has more power per core!!!

jlgrimes
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by jlgrimes » Sun Dec 08, 2019 4:19 pm

enerate josh wrote:
Fri May 24, 2019 12:43 pm
Hi there!

I'm running a 3GHz 10 core new iMac Pro with 128 GB Ram. I'm finding performance in Live 10 to be a bit unpredictable...

Takes AGES to load a set. Like go and make yourself a coffee and come back... Once i'm in playback of midi and audio is sweet. However more latency when recording audio through my MOTU 828x than my 2012 Macbook pro retina? IMO this computer should crush any audio application... hmm.

Is anyone else on here using iMac Pro? What is your experience?

Thanks!
I have this problem on my 2015 iMac (of slow loadup). After a certain upgrade some projects with a good bit of audio can take minutes to load (approx 2-5 minutes). Im suspecting the slow loading might be a Mac issue.

That said latency and performance still seems good on the regular 2015 iMac (quad core).

I recently went PC and don't have this problem at all (although Windows did introduce a new set of issues, but they are not as bad as the former issue on the Mac).


I will say though that the iMac Pro probably have more than four Cores of processing (just as my new Windows PC does). I used Windows on a Quad Core gaming laptop and the performance seems pretty good, so good that I though that getting an eight core gaming laptop would make the performance even better? Not neccesarily. I notice with higher core processors there is a minimal amount of load always going on with Live's CPU meter that seems a bit higher than with the quad cores, although it does starts to even out when you start adding plug-ins (and maybe even improve with alot of plugins compared to quad). In other words alot of the very high core processors are great multitaskers but for Raw single core CPU power might not be all that great compared to quad core. It probably also has to do with the way Ableton utilize the cores Im guessing as well.

Im just saying Im not surprised that you might be having some performance issues on an Imac Pro (as a high end Windows PC) as higher end Cores (as well as higher end graphics cards), can be on the "bleeding" edge of technology and my guess is higher core performance might not be fully tweaked yet. That's partially why I didn't go 16 core as I heard people were having issues with it, but 8 core is still usuable and good processors at audio, but I was surprised at noticing a bit of intial load (3-5% of use) from loading Live and doing nothing. I do feel though that I might have gotten better use of my money by going maybe 4-6 cores for audio (with a processor with good single core performance). Single core performance is still king in the DAW world although I think Quad cores have been around long enough that most apps have good code to make use of them. I'm not that sure though of higher than 4 though.

My latency is pretty good though on Windows 10 (running at 128 with no issues and can get to 64 if I need to record audio with effects).

TLW
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by TLW » Sun Dec 08, 2019 9:57 pm

Some of the system load when “just” loading an empty Live project is going to be the processor resources used by the audio driver, which can be surprisingly high. My 2014 2.2GHZ quad core i7 Retina MBP sends one core into Turbo mode and holds it there all the time Live (or Logic) is running. Intel’s Power Gadget application can be a useful way to see what the cpu is doing in terms of frequency, wattage and frequency.

The trade-off between the number of cores and speed per core is a nuisance, but it looks like we’re stuck with it for the time being. There’s also the matter of what the cpu is - i5, i7, i9 or in the case of the iMac Pro the Xeon W. The clock speed isn’t necessarily the deciding factor between them.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

xgman
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Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:27 pm

Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by xgman » Tue Dec 10, 2019 5:26 pm

ipro 10 core here but UAD Apollo X6. No real issues to report that would be due to imac pro. recently I had to bounce live to get the project exported, but that was probably a fluke.

jobinho
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by jobinho » Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:22 pm

ispeakstraightfacts wrote:
Sun Dec 08, 2019 5:31 am
It has 3GHz and that’s not really enough power per core if u are running CPU intensive VSTs.. when it comes to music production quad core is enough and anything above it is really over kill! For example, a 4ghz quad core will outperform a 3GHz 10 core computer any day because it has more power per core!!!
I don't think this is entirely true is it? Read this:

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... n-Live-FAQ

TLW
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by TLW » Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:24 pm

I think the more cores the better is probably the principle, but only so long as the clock speed is high enough for each core to cope with what it’s being asked to do. Another factor is how long a DAW is expected to be running under a high load - in that situation a Xeon W with a lower clock speed may be a better option than a faster i7 or even i9.

One issue with Macs was that until the release of the iMac Pro and the new Mac Pro, the built-to-order i7 iMacs could largely outperform the old “waste bin” Pro as a DAW, at least in single-user situations. The “old“ Pro was very long in the tooth and really should have been replaced some years ago.

Things were much simpler back when there was basically only one or two processor types to choose from and the difference between models of a particular type was the clock speed. Back then going purely on clock speed was the obvious thing to do - just pick the fastest (single core) cpu you could afford.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

[jur]
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Re: Anyone using iMac Pro on Live 10? Strange performance

Post by [jur] » Wed Mar 04, 2020 2:56 am

Everyone, please make sure to report to support@ableton.com
We need infos regarding your system and setup to progress on this.
thx
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