Performance module question

[Skelm]

Hi,

A recent plugin update appears to have pushed my CPU usage up to the point where I am having to keep an eye on the performance module for the first time (not 100% sure which plugin, but I suspect NI Kontakt's usage has increased by a fair amount). I noticed in the manual that a few late buffers should not cause a glitch - quote:

"Note: It's OK to have a few sporadic late buffers during playback since it will not result in audible glitches."

To the question - does anyone know how many late buffers should cause concern? I had a track generate 3 late buffers which I did not hear cause glitches, but I would prefer not to miss something and then hear it after mastering the track.

As a side question, is there any way of monitoring plugin CPU usage so I can track down the CPU hog? Thanks.

[Helios.G]

1 hour ago, Skelm said:

Hi,

A recent plugin update appears to have pushed my CPU usage up to the point where I am having to keep an eye on the performance module for the first time (not 100% sure which plugin, but I suspect NI Kontakt's usage has increased by a fair amount). I noticed in the manual that a few late buffers should not cause a glitch - quote:

"Note: It's OK to have a few sporadic late buffers during playback since it will not result in audible glitches."

To the question - does anyone know how many late buffers should cause concern? I had a track generate 3 late buffers which I did not hear cause glitches, but I would prefer not to miss something and then hear it after mastering the track.

As a side question, is there any way of monitoring plugin CPU usage so I can track down the CPU hog? Thanks.

You've got to give a little more info in order to help. What are your specs, what's your system like, interface, computer, hardware etc.?  That said, a few spikes won't matter as long as everything is playing along fine.  What setting do you have the interface set to? (Bit depth, sample rate, buffer)?

Edited February 12 by Helios.G

[David Baay]

5 hours ago, Skelm said:

"Note: It's OK to have a few sporadic late buffers during playback since it will not result in audible glitches."

To the question - does anyone know how many late buffers should cause concern? I had a track generate 3 late buffers which I did not hear cause glitches, but I would prefer not to miss something and then hear it after mastering the track.

Whether you hear a single dropped buffer depends on the material. I can often hear the resulting click/pop from a single late buffer pretty clearly on a soloed track in a project that's pushing the limits at the current buffer size. But you don't need to worry about what gets exported in any case as offline rendering is not subject to the processing time constraints that lead to late buffers when playing back in real time.

[Skelm]

Thanks for the replies - I am not having system issues as such, just looking for a tool to identify CPU usage of plugins in a project. My dropout question was answered by David - in my situation I will need to make sure there are no late buffers as I don't render offline, I mix to stereo from a mixing desk. Thanks again!