# Studio one 5 and CPU



## AndreasHe (Jul 26, 2020)

Does anyone have an opinion regarding CPU usage of studio one 5?

With version 4 I often hit the limit of my machine with a lot of instruments. Is it better with version 5?


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## Ozinga (Jul 27, 2020)

On Mac it is better as they are now using Metal but I don't know about Windows.


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## AndreasHe (Jul 27, 2020)

Ozinga said:


> On Mac it is better as they are now using Metal but I don't know about Windows.


Metal?


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## Ozinga (Jul 27, 2020)

GPU framework








Metal Overview - Apple Developer


Metal powers hardware-accelerated graphics on Apple platforms by providing a low-overhead API, rich shading language, tight integration between graphics and compute, and an unparalleled suite of GPU profiling and debugging tools.




developer.apple.com


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## AndreasHe (Aug 9, 2020)

Now I upgraded to Version 5 and did a measurement before and after for a song. 




Version 4Version 5loading61 sec​61 sec​saving22 sec​25 sec​max cpu70%​73%​

So, version 5 is not better in performance, a bit worse.


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## KarenR (Aug 18, 2020)

Are any of you using laptops? I'm using a MacBook Pro mid 2015. Fan runs constantly and CPU is running about 30-50%. I changed some instruments to audio to help. I am new to using this technology for composing so I'm not sure what the normal is. Is 30-50% really good? Is it hard on my laptop (hooked to a bigger monitor if that makes any difference). I'm looking into getting a Mac Tower but I don't know if that would be any better. I was starting to get clipping and delay when my song was playing back so not sure what to do.


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## Mark Kouznetsov (Aug 18, 2020)

I sometimes use my laptop, an old HP from 2016? I believe. It all depends on how many virtual instruments you have playing at the same time, how many effects, plug-ins etc, etc. CPU, RAM are also important. I've noticed no significant difference between Studio One 4.6 and 5. It also depends on your settings (audio settings in your DAW, Kontakt). I've been able to push it higher with time by learning more about setting everything up and at this moment have no reason to bounce any tracks to audio.


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## AndreasHe (Aug 18, 2020)

Hi Karen, Hi Mark.

Also got an older Mac Book Pro (2011) and Studio One works there with simple songs. But more for collecting ideas.

Karen do you mean 50% with your whole CPU or inside Studio One?

Filters may take a lot CPU and some instruments. Which one are you using and how many instruments? The Audio-Card of a Mac is quite good and better than the typical PCs on-board cards - that helps.

Not all Kontakt instruments take the same CPU, some are simple and some take a lot CPU (e.g. from Heavyocity). Some non-kontakt synths like Serum take a lot.

If using effects, you can save a lot by bundling and using buses and forwarding others to just one single reverb. You may also save a bit with Studio One's dropout protection. But then you need to handle a bit manually the bypass during recordings to avoid latency. And disable or even remove unused instruments. If you have the choice, take vst3 rather than vst2 as it handles idle better (there is no Kontakt for vst3).

And yes, when you are satisfied with a track, better to transform it to audio. Studio One can simply transform it back.

Double click here to see more details, which instrument or effect takes your CPU:






At the end, my experience is; if you have e.g. 20 instruments running plus effects, you will need a powerful machine.

On a Mac there might also run a lot in background. You may stop unneeded apps. My experience regarding the fan is also; it runs often too early. There are some apps to control this by yourself, but then watch the temp to keep it cool enough. (check this out: https://www.tunabellysoftware.com/tgpro/)


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## Mark Kouznetsov (Aug 18, 2020)

Also: when setting audio, make sure (if you have an external audio interface) to set it to 512 samples. At least in my experience, I'm not experiencing any input lag with that setting and I work with 48/24. Granted, I have 16GB RAM, but I'm not freezing anything. If you're working with samples only, it's the best option imho. 1024 will give you severe lags. 256 will start to give up with loads of instruments. With 512 I am yet to limit my processing power (not freezing/purging anything as of yet). Also, set Kontakt to override instrument cache to maximum. Thank me later. Although, SOME rare libraries like Joshua Bell Violin have conflicts with overriding cache by loading everything to you RAM (13GB per one instance of JB violin). So set it to the default setting in that case.

And yes, bouncing to audio helps (don't worry, as mentioned above, it bounces to a separate track, all your midi will stay intact, just muted). To do that quickly, click Ctlr (command)+B on a selected tracks.


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## AndreasHe (Aug 18, 2020)

I am not sure how an external Interface may help in CPU (any experience there?). But I think it is a good idea at all to skip internal Audio and go to a "real sound device".

Just discovered mine has only USB 2 and there are already faster ones. Especially a Mac should provide good connection posibilities and you may select a faster interface then USB 2. That may avoid lacks as audio flushes out faster.

Am I right? Any experience here from others?


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## Mark Kouznetsov (Aug 19, 2020)

Buffer size


AndreasHe said:


> I am not sure how an external Interface may help in CPU (any experience there?). But I think it is a good idea at all to skip internal Audio and go to a "real sound device".
> 
> Just discovered mine has only USB 2 and there are already faster ones. Especially a Mac should provide good connection posibilities and you may select a faster interface then USB 2. That may avoid lacks as audio flushes out faster.
> 
> Am I right? Any experience here from others?



Buffer size. The smaller it is, the bigger the stress to the CPU. Working with samples you don't need it set too low. You set it low when you record live and want no latency (when monitoring/wanting to hear yourself through the microphone)


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## KarenR (Aug 20, 2020)

This is all very helpful - thank you everyone! AndreasHe, I thought the CPU indicator inside Studio One was representative of the CPU as a whole. So this makes more sense. The fans just run constantly. So I'll look at the fan control app, and change my buffer size, for starters.


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