Logic 9.1.2 HT Quad i7 performance solution!

I feel rather ignorant asking this so apologies in advance: do I have an 4-core Mac (with Hyperthreading affected negatively by the latest update and requiring that Terminal "fix"), or do I have an 8-core Mac? "About This Mac" says the following:
Model Name: Mac Pro (from June 2009)
Model Identifier: MacPro4,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8

Thanks for the clarification!
Sincerely,
robjohn

You have two quad(4) core processors, totalling 8 real cores, with HT active you should have 16 cores. How many bars do you see in *Activity Monitor* in the *CPU Usage* window?

Does this mean that I SHOULD apply that Terminal hyperthreading fix after installing 9.1.2? Thanks again for the clarification -
Sincerely,
- robjohn

You can try, it is easy to reverse, as I understand. But I believe that the maximum of 8 cores for Logic still applies, so I doubt whether you'll get sixteen cores after the "fix", but you can always try.

With the general terminal command, Logic goes up to 16 cores. So all cores including HT are used on all machines except for the 12 (which uses 16 out of a possible 24 cores including HT). It's still an improvement on the 12 but still not using all the CPU on that machine.

How does this update effect users with older 8 core machines? I have the 8 core with 3.0 Ghz Xeon's. I assume my machine has no hyperthreading so the terminal command wouldnt help much?

Model Family: Mac Pro
Processor Type: 3.0GHz Eight Core Xeon
Model Number: A1186
Production Year: 2007
Production Week: 19 (May)

drwebmail wrote:
How does this update effect users with older 8 core machines? I have the 8 core with 3.0 Ghz Xeon's. I assume my machine has no hyperthreading so the terminal command wouldnt help much?

Wouldn't help.... period.

pancenter-

Bee Jay wrote:
You know what, I was just coming here to post exactly this!

I had a look into the audio engine binary to see if there were other options, and saw the MD_AllowVirtualCores setting (in addition to the Quad variant) - I was coming here to let people know who want to play to try it and see what it does...

And yes, the AllowVirtualCores (but not the Quad variant) is in the 9.1.1 audio engine too, I just checked.

I just loaded Logic Pro 9.1.1 right out of the box and did the defaults write com.apple.logic.pro MD_AllowVirtualCores -bool yes thing in Terminal. The CPU history window shows a stack of twelve black boxes ... and only every other one shows any activity when playing the demo. I take that to mean my real cores are working but the virtual ones are not. What am I missing?

At this point I'd back up 9.1.2 and try out 9.1.3.

Yeah - the old 8 core / 3Ghz / Xeons is my machine too - thanks for the clarification - so definately no HT?!?!? ( when I put in the code line Logic just refused to boot - so it is what it is - Ok.)

So... a couple of other quick questions:-

I am thinking of buying another Mac - and the 12 core seems the best bet -

I use logic and also VSL Ensemble hosting Kontakt 4 VSL library on the same computer ( as well as on slave computers)- am I naive in assuming that as Logic can only access the 8 cores at the moment - the other 4 can be somehow allocated to the VSL Ensemble software. In other words the computer would be smart enough to use the additional cores for another program - if so, this would mean the 12 cores would be getting a full work out.

secondly - anybody got any adverse experience with the 12 vs 8 core mac pros. Processor distribution etc i seem to have a habit of buying the 'donkey' ... Bought Xeon processers - then Nehalms came out 13 weeks later - that kinda thing!!!!... you know - missed timings. So just trying to do the homework before splashing the cash.

any help greatly appreciated...

BTW my set up is 100% used for film/ TV composing - so massive orchestral template- loads of RAM - not a lot committed to audio - all running live - tons of kontakt4 libraries/VSL/LASS etc ....

Cheers - Paul

Now that 9.1.3 has the hyperthreading issue sorted do I need to reverse the Terminal command

(defaults write com.apple.logic.pro MD_AllowVirtualCoresQuad -bool yes)



which I applied for 9.1.2 or does it make no difference now

Mike Connelly wrote:
At this point I'd back up 9.1.2 and try out 9.1.3.

Thanks, Mike. Unless someone knows another place to look for 9.1.2, I'll probably just have to take my chances with 9.1.3. On the Apple Support page for Logic Pro downloads, the options skip from 9.0.2 to 9.1.3.

Odd...

Quick follow-up: I updated to 9.1.3 and have had no problems with it ... while apparently gaining use of all twelve real and virtual cores. I may have had them before, however (using the Terminal text patch) ... it may be that I simply wasn't taxing the system enough. To see that activity, I took the demo and multiplied tracks and larded them up with plug-ins until all twelve bars were lighting up ... despite the insane treatment I just couldn't overload the system before I got tired of trying...

Quick question for you Mike or anyone that can answer this

I stayed on 9.1.2 (with the HT terminal command activated) after reading all the disaster posts of upgrading to 9.1.2 & 9.1.3

Everything has been fine on my machine and still is for the most part but i am noticing odd behavior on my internet browsing and i assume its from not updating safari and osx to 10.6.5. I am afraid to to update everything (Logic to 9.1.3, Safari to 5.0.3, and osx to 10.6.5) as i don't want to experience any grief on my music projects

Should i disable the terminal command and do the updates or would it be safer to stick to what i am at right now ?

Watched the forums as much as i could but never saw a definitive answer to my questions

Logic is safe to update, just make a copy of the app before doing the update so you'll still have 9.1.2 just in case you need it.

Safari shouldn't make any difference either way to your music apps, you can probably do the same thing - back it up then update.

Updating the OS is a little riskier in the middle of a project but it sounds like it has been a relatively safe update for most users. I'd update Logic and Safari (making backups first) and see if that helps, then upgrade OSX when you have down time between projects (or when you know you have a backup of your boot disk to easily revert if you need to do that).