Q: CPU overload issues
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Aug 16, 2016 5:27 AMby lifenoise,50 to 80% CPU usage at idle is way too high. Open preferences>audio. Is the sample rate set to 44.1? Open advanced settings. Adjust the settings for optimum CPU usage and latency. I would try to keep it at or below 30% idle and under 80% while playing a patch. One user suggested using on less core than the maximum in preferences( if it's using 8 cores reduce it to 7). I haven't tried this yet, but the idea is to leave one core for the OS.
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Aug 16, 2016 4:20 PMby Jobsie,
Hey there thanks for the response!
Yeah we have the settings maxed out for safety - the buffer size is actually at 512..!
i've just done some experimenting, and a completely empty concert still runs the CPU at around 40%. (refer to above photo - that's an empty MainStage running at 37.1%) When I revert back to the concert with the instruments and effects the idle operating usage goes up to around 47-50%. I think that increase makes sense. It's just that MainStage operates at that large percentage on its own?
I tried using one less core, however that seemed to only increase CPU usage.
Have you or anyone noted what the normal idle MainStage CPU usage should be?
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Aug 16, 2016 5:48 PMby Jobsie,Hey there, so a bit after I sent the previous post, my computer started getting really hot, I checked the activity monitor and MainStage was freaking!
I have to reiterate that MainStage has NO CONCERT open, it's just sitting in the background.
Also, have tried with friends computer with same computer and a similar problem is occurring. What's going on here?
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Aug 18, 2016 5:44 AMby lifenoise,I don't know why your cpu is running at 525%. Just a shot in the dark, but a few things you might try: close all apps. Restart your Mac. Open Mainstage. When the concert loads, close it and open a new template(a simple one with just one keyboard). Save it as whatever name. Quit MainStage. Reopen it. Quit MS again and reopen again. Check the activity monitor.
I've had a few isolated incidents where MS opened the latest saved concert on top of a previous concert. The above procedure should eliminate that possibility. This link may help optimize your Mac for live use. As for normal idle cpu usage, I don't know if there is a normal number, but under 30% idle and 80% max are what I shoot for.
http://dj.rane.com/support/knowledge-base/how-to-optimizae-your-mac-for-live-per formance
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Aug 23, 2016 7:24 AMby trinitycadet,I'm stunned by the difference in experience of fellow MainStage users!
I guess I've been lucky. My computer running no applications show 99%+/- idle in Activity Monitor. When I load MainStage with no concerts it goes to 97%+/-. When I load a simple concert with one patch it goes to 92+/-% When I load once of my performance concerts with 75 patches it goes to 85%+/-. When I play live, the MBP runs for 4 or five hours with no decrease in performance.
I'm running a mid 2014 MBP, 2.2GHz i7 with 16 GB ram, El Capitan 10.11.5 and MS3 3.2.4. My audio interface is a Radial USBPRO.
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Aug 24, 2016 7:58 AMby waltercruz,I've got a new macbook (new to me, but it's a early 2013) and I'm having some issues with mainstage.
A test that I'm doing right now: graphics issues. My macbook computer has two GPUs, one that should be used when no hard graphics task are going on, and other for the hard work, and the system itself should pick the right one.
Well, in my first tests, I found that always using the more powerful GPU helps the CPU use in mainstage.
This is the default Alchemy concert. I'm using a external app to choose the right GPU (https://gfx.io/).
You can see the moment when I change GPUs. Maybe it's worth the try if you have a macbook with dual GPUs
(a long shot, cause your usage seems reasonable, you shouldn't have any problems with your current usage)
