CPU and RAM questions

Hi all,
i am running a Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 with 8 gb ram

I am running some greedy 3 party plug ins and my CPU is getting maxxed out if i am not careful.

I just put 16GB of ram, but saw no help in Logics performance. So i have gone back to 8.

Below is a post i made in a thread at Apples forum.
I think i get the difference between CPU and RAM


Activity monitor shows

"system memory" 8 gig of RAM

Free 5.17 GB
Wired 1.08 GB
Active 1.52 GB
Inactive 223 MB
Used 2.82 GB
What does that mean?



An analogy.

So if CPU is how fast the number crunching gets done

and the RAM is how big the plate is that is holding the numbers to be crunched,

is it correct to assume if adding 8 more GB (making the plate bigger) wont really help if the CPU can't crunch more in real time? Which is i whats happening in my Macmini running Logic pro?

In other words my CPU is getting maxed out, not the ram?

So does this mean, to see a performance boost in Logic pro,

i need a computer with a faster processor ( more cores )?

Like the quad core 2.0 i7 Macmini? which has 8 threads.

And by having a more powerful CPU, it will be able to really utilize 16GB of RAM?

Hi and while i am at it.

Just discovering 32 bit v 64 bit.

Will running logic in 64 bit help the Macmini utilize 16GB (2 x 8GB) of ram?

3rd party plug-in's like waves are still 32bit apparently.

Are all of Logic 9's plug- ins 32bit?

I have found that creating and selecting an empty audio track durring playback solves my CPU spike problem. If you select the CPU heavy track all the plugins on that real will be assigned to only one core. Select an empty audio track will divide the processor load evenly across the cores. Do not pole up a bunch of plugins on a track when you record. I have East West pianos. I have no problem loading the master patch as long as I follow these guidelines. CPU spokes are not a problem when tracking as long as you wait on adding your effects plugins. Other CPU heavy programs I have are Artiria synths, Omnisphere and some Kontact patches. I have no problem as long as they're not selected durring playback.

In 32-bit mode, any one application can access a max. of about 3.4 GB ram. EXS24 can also access an additional 3.4 GB ram (outside of Logic's allocation).

Make sure to run Logic in 64-bit mode, so any plugins you have on your system will be able to access the more than the 3.4 limit. Of course, you should check that you have the latest 64-bit compatible versions of these plugins.

Also check in Preferences > Audio > Devices that Processing threads is set to the number of virtual cores you have... I believe 4 in your case?

Running 32-bit Waves in 64-bit Logic may also not be great performance wise... but not much that Logic 9.1.6 or your mac mini can do about that ...

Hope some of this helps
R

Rounik,

Hello. You mentioned the Processing Threads, but I do not see a parameter for this. There are Core Audio parameters, but nothing specifically about threads. Please advise where this is set.

Hi Gordon,

What exact version of Logic 9 are you using?

This is what I see in Logic 9.1.6:

Rounik,

I cannot see the image above, the browser says it cannot locate the image. Pls upload again, or send to my email. Thanks,

I have upgraded both my MBPro and MacPro to version 9.1.6, but for some reason, Logic on my MacPro shows version 9.0.0 (1660.12), even through I have upgraded Logic both automatically and manually, using the same download that shows 9.1.6 on my MBPro. Any ideas why...?

That said, I still cannot locate the 'Threads' parameter on either machine within Logic's Preferences/Audio/Devices.... it's just not there.

Please advise,
GG

Hi gordon,

Which browser are you using? I've tried in Safari and Firefox and it displays fine...

Sounds like you may be running the wrong version of Logic.

Go to the Applications folder and make sure you launch the application titles Logic Pro.

What spec MacBook Pro do you have? Is it a CoreDuo, Core2Duo or i5 or i7?

Hi Rounik, I can't see the image either. I have tried on an iPad using Safari and on my MacBook Pro using Safari, Firefox and Google Chrome.

Very weird, as I see the image just fine.

This is odd... tested it on my iPhone and iPad and I can still see it fine too.

I uploaded it using Imageshack.uk which has worked ok in the past. Wonder if this is a territory thing...

The image isn't anything ground breaking... just shows the multi-core selection in the Preferences window.

Let's try another test... what colour sweater am I wearing? ;-)

Blue! Wait! No, Red! No...

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRGGGGG............

LOL!

Sorry you got ejected from the bridge... and we didn't even get to the second question... ;-)

That's okay. I don't know anything about unladen swallows either. It was bound to happen...

Unladen Swallows? ... Uhh, I don't know that... ARRRGGGGHHHHhhhhhh....

LOL

Damn, those questions can be tricksy.

Rounik,

Well... I solved the problem with the 9.0.0, thanks.

FYI - I have tried 3 different browsers and an iPad and still can't see the image...

However, I found the Processing Threads parameter and it's set to Automatic on both my MBPro and MacPro. The MacPro is a Quad, so I changed it to '4', but the MBPro has an Intel Core i7 so I changed that one to '4' as well.

Is there a difference between Automatic and setting it to an actual #?

Thanks,
GG