Ableton Forum

Hey fellows, if you have a 2011 mpb, you should definitely use SL instead of Lion. You'll experience a huge performance gain.

Valiumdupeuple wrote:Hey fellows, if you have a 2011 mpb, you should definitely use SL instead of Lion. You'll experience a huge performance gain.

I gotta try that

For sure you have to JUAN!
I've got something like 18% on a quad i7 2ghz with SL (Live 8.2.2).
When I receive the mpb, with Lion pre-installed I had result like yours, and I couldn't go more than 20 or so tracks before it starts to get crazy.
With SL, it starts crackling a bit at something like 64 tracks (duplicates of the 8 provided in the test, of course).

Valiumdupeuple wrote:For sure you have to JUAN!
I've got something like 18% on a quad i7 2ghz with SL (Live 8.2.2).
When I receive the mpb, with Lion pre-installed I had result like yours, and I couldn't go more than 20 or so tracks before it starts to get crazy.
With SL, it starts crackling a bit at something like 64 tracks (duplicates of the 8 provided in the test, of course).

but how to downgrade ? where can i find SL? all mid/late 2011 MBPs came with Lion pre-installed...

I have basically the same setup as Komodovaran:

1. Ableton Live CPU Meter: Average 19%, min/max: 18-20%
2. Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? Late 2011 MBP 15"
3. Operating System? 10.7.4 Lion
4. Ableton Live version? 8.3.2
5. CPU Make, Model, and Speed? 2.3 GHz Intel i7 quad core
6. Amount of Ram? 8 GB
7. Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? M-Audio Firewire 1814, driver v1.10.2
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 7200 rpm
9. Number of playback tracks? 8

Results were the same with the built in soundcard and with SoundFlower output.

Comparing my results with Komodovaran's: 25% cpu vs 19% cpu = 31.6 % difference in Ableton cpu meter results!

Could the difference in cpu speed? He reported a 2.2Ghz quad core i7, whereas I have a 2.3Ghz (maybe it was a typo?): 2.2Ghz vs 2.3ghz = 4.5% difference in cpu speed

Could it be the SSD? Probably not. In this benchmark Live Set, I doubt the machine would be reading anything from disk during the test. If it did, mine ought to be much slower.

It looks like the version of Ableton Live is the most likely explanation. Since I'm getting about the same results as those using Snow Leopard, I think upgrading Ableton Live would be a much less intrusive way to get more efficiency from your machine.

Valiumdupeuple wrote:Hey fellows, if you have a 2011 mpb, you should definitely use SL instead of Lion. You'll experience a huge performance gain.

So I should sacrifice all Lion's neat features to have my CPU meter stay 5% lower? No thanks.

pgmjsd wrote:Comparing my results with Komodovaran's: 25% cpu vs 19% cpu = 31.6 % difference in Ableton cpu meter results!

That's weird. Also, I updated my version but it didn't change much. And AFAIK there are no 2.3 GHz versions of that model. Are you sure it's not 2.4 GHz?

Sorry for double posting.

Komodovaran wrote:

pgmjsd wrote:Comparing my results with Komodovaran's: 25% cpu vs 19% cpu = 31.6 % difference in Ableton cpu meter results!

That's weird. Also, I updated my version but it didn't change much. And AFAIK there are no 2.3 GHz versions of that model. Are you sure it's not 2.4 GHz?

Sorry for double posting.

Here are the tech specs listed for my MacBook Pro http://support.apple.com/kb/SP620

Processor and memory

2.0GHz or 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB shared L3 cache; or optional 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache

Just sayin' I got that from apple's specs. I opted for the fastest processor, mostly because I plan on having this machine for a while.

So I should sacrifice all Lion's neat features to have my CPU meter stay 5% lower? No thanks.

No, that's quite different :

When I receive the mpb, with Lion pre-installed I had result like yours, and I couldn't go more than 20 or so tracks before it starts to get crazy.
With SL, it starts crackling a bit at something like 64 tracks (duplicates of the 8 provided in the test, of course).

digid wrote:

JuanSOLO wrote:32bit
1. Ableton Live CPU Meter: 35%
2. Laptop/Desktop? Make/Model? MBP 15"
3. Operating System? 10.7.4 Lion
4. Ableton Live version? 8.3.2
5. CPU Make, Model, and Speed? 2.3GHz Intel Core i7
6. Amount of Ram? 4 Gb
7. Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? Built in
8. Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)? 5400rpm
9. Number of playback tracks? 8

64bit
1. Ableton Live CPU Meter: 38%
same computer

I did get lower CPU results running my own drumRack test.

Hmm, this certainly debunks the few "64 bits are eating less CPU than the 32 bit" posts I have seen.

There's a lot more variables other than the bits. BTW I can't find the original test project for this. Maybe someone can do a new one without adding any 3rd party effects.

kitekrazy wrote:BTW I can't find the original test project for this. Maybe someone can do a new one without adding any 3rd party effects.

it's at the beginning of this thread, there are no 3rd party effects, only Ableton stuff.

System I built in Sept 2010-

1st test Sept 2010

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter 15%
2) Desktop Make/Model? Custom PC
3) Operating System? Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
4) Ableton Live version? 8.1.5
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel i7 930 @ 2.8GHz
6) Amount/Type of Ram? 6GB G.Skill (3x2GB),DDR3, pc-12800 (1600Mhz)
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? RME Multiface II_3.0.8.5
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)?-System Drive- Corsair SSD 240GB-read 285MBsec/write 275MBsec,- 2nd Drive-W/Digital 1TB sataII_7200RPM
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

64 Bit Beta Test

1) Ableton Live CPU Meter 15%
2) Desktop Make/Model? Custom PC
3) Operating System? Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
4) Ableton Live version? 8.4b.1 64 Bit
5) CPU Make, Model, and Speed? Intel i7 930 @ 2.8GHz
6) Amount/Type of Ram? 6GB G.Skill (3x2GB),DDR3, pc-12800 (1600Mhz)
7) Soundcard (and driver version if you know it)? RME Multiface II_3.2.7.0
Hard Disk Drive Speed (if you know)?-System Drive- Corsair SSD 240GB-read 285MBsec/write 275MBsec,- 2nd Drive-W/Digital 1TB sataII_7200RPM
9) Number of playback tracks? 8

I'm disappointed to see such bad results for Mac machines. Anyone try doing this before running the performance test?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=180344&hilit=mac+priority

Komodovaran wrote:So I should sacrifice all Lion's neat features to have my CPU meter stay 5% lower? No thanks.

juanSOLO's MBP is newer I7 model than mine (2.3 to my 2.2).

his results on Lion 10.7.4: 32bit = 35% CPU / 64bit = 38% CPU
my results on Snow Leopard 10.6.8: 32bit = 15% CPU / 64bit = 14% CPU

I cant find my Snow Leopard disk, it's driving me nuts.

However I'm pretty happy with the 64bit beta and the results I am getting with my set, not necessarily this performance test.