G'day
When mixing a 26 track project (a quarter of the tracks/plugs I've flogged Cakewalk with in the past) I've run into an issue. Running my new project template (with around 80 tracks pre setup with plugins ALL SWITCHED OFF except Master Bus plugs), I loaded everything in, got to work, and about half way through noticed glitches, dropouts, and unexpected clipping, so I checked CPU usage. Internal load was as expected, but CPU usage in the system was pinned. Adjusted interface buffersize in increments up to the maximum 2048 samples. Issue remained (I can generally mix large projects at 256 - 512 samples without an issue)
Rig Specs:
Ryzen 5600x @ 3.7 Base, Max 4.8GHz
CMW32GX4ME3200C16 32GB @ 3266MHz CL16
Asus B550M-K Board
Geforce 1060 3GB (Custom OC)
970 Evo Plus NVMe Drive
Windows 10 Pro 64bit
Tascam US2x2HR Interface.
Generally Cakewalk isn't that resource hungry. I began to freeze tracks, which sometimes failed to freeze entirely, Restarted the project, same issue. Restarted Cakewalk, same issue. Restarted computer, same issue. I went so far as to switch off all plugins, remove all plugins, and further delete all audio from the project. After closing the project but leaving Cakewalk open, the issue remained. I have attached photos with the project open, the project closed, and my 'idle' cpu useage after closing Cakewalk. The spikes are from opening Snipping tool.
It seems as if Cakewalk is:
A: Still utilizing CPU when plugins are switched off/FX rack is off.
B: Still utilizing CPU when the project is closed.
The issue potentially pertains to UAD's new Spark plugins, of which I have a few in my project template, however, theoretically, the system should only react when those plugins are switched on. As mentioned above removing the plugins one by one failed to reveal any culprits, leading me to suspect the issue is perhaps a Cakewalk setting.
And yes, background processes were checked, Cakewalk was the CPU hog. In addition the usage was cross checked with OCCT.
Any information is greatly appreciated, please let me know if you wish me to supply any other details.