High CPU usage, crackling latest update

[ST Howell]

I apologize if this has been addressed, but I did a search and did not see a thread. That said:

I'm running stand alone Pigments 2, latest update on Win 10, 16G, 1T SSD, i5 7th gen, ASIO USB Scarlett. Some factory presets hit 70% or more CPU usage and audio breaks up/crackles with maybe 5 or 6 note polyphony. I also get stuck notes and UI freeze occasionally. I have adjusted to highest buffer (512) and lowest (44k) sampling with no improvement. I turned off WiFi, eliminated all other programs, did clean install Win10, etc. Still crackles. I love P2, but really frustrating issue with sound break up.

Two questions:
1. Is my machine just too old to handle P2? Is there anything else I can do?

2. If I need to get a new machine, what performance level is needed? 10th gen i7 with 32G RAM, big SSD??

[MajorFubar]

I'm running it on a nine year old iMac with probably less RAM and processing power than the board which works your PC's power LED and it's impossible for me to make Pigments fall over as a standalone instrument. But some PCs somehow need to be ridiculously over-specified to undertake even the simplest of tasks, and it varies from PC to PC for a reason that I've never fathomed.

[LBH]

Hi and welcome to Arturia forums.

You can read the minimum requirements to run Arturias applications on the product sites. The CPU you need very much depend on how much you wan't to do and in what quality at a time. If you need 32 GB RAM is mostly about how much you load, and the size of a SSD is mostly about how much storage you need.
If you are'nt using more RAM and/ or SSD storage that you have, then that's not an issue. You can check that in the performance section in Windows task manager. You shall have very much loaded and stored, if what you have is'nt enough.

I can run Arturias applications with CPU's that's more than 8 years old on Windows 10. So a few years old CPU in it self is'nt the problem. It depend on many things.

You provide some good informations, but more precise informations is needed. The informations you provide does'nt indicate, that you should have any issues. But perhaps it will, if you provide more detailed informations.

Are you saying, that you did'nt have this issue with earlier Pigments versions?
Did a Windows update introduce the issue?

What's your CPUs excact full model name? There are great differences between i5 7gen CPUs. The model name make it possible to get all the CPUs specs, and that's very important. In example the base clock frequency is very important.
Have you changed any BIOS settings?

Is your PC a laptop? Is the fan running much? Heat can lower the CPU performance. And mobile proccessors often are'nt the most powerful.
Do you run on battery?

Have you set your PC to High performance mode in the power settings? You should.

Have you shut down all unused apps that can run in the background? They don't have to run all the time, to be used at a later point.

Where do you read the CPU usage? Is the 70% the usage for one CPU core or for the whole CPU?

Does Pigments freeze when you only use one instance, or only when you use multiple instances?

Do you use Focusrites own driver for your soundcard? You should. Are you sure the issue is'nt about the soundcard or the driver?

Please name one or two unedited factory presets, where you have the issue. That will make it possible to test, and get an better idea about the CPU usage.

[mindphaser]

Watch your release time of the VCA envelope. If it's quite long it's the quickest way to force the cpu to it's knees. Say...in addition with an arp preset and some unison voices...a release time of 4 seconds can already be too long for older machines. At least that worked for me. Had the same problem...