This does not sound right, unless "lots" means "lots and lots".

What clock frequency does your 6 core run at? Are we talking an i7 8700K, 7800X or 6800K?

You could try running a program called Latencymon. It will tell you if there are any drivers that are inducing latency in your processing and could be causing these issues. Problems with graphics card drivers and network drivers are not uncommon.

Simple stuff may be as easy as shutting down MS office applications, your browser and WiFi while you use Studio One. (you should also see issues when running the latency monitor that Skaparverket suggests).

Even though PC's are much more powerful these days, background processes can still be relevant.
For example having your WiFi on and Google open, may be causing issues with your WiFi speed, amount of traffic (in your house, selected channel, etc.) and if you have lots of plugins and/or tabs open/running in Google.

You may also want to 'Google' how to set up your PC for an "Audio DAW"... it still helps to get rid of un-needed processes to free up your uP.

I can add this.

A load from a softsynth will put the load on a single core in Studio One. So will all the load on a single track. So your CPU's single core performance is very important - especially when using demanding plugins and playing. The distribution of the load to multiple CPU cores is'nt good.
That's why there is this feature request you can vote up:
http://answers.presonus.com/10836/multicore-support-needed-especially-for-multi-instruments

Also the so called dropout protection system is no good for especially demanding plug-ins.
So you can try to set it first to a setting that allow you to uncheck the "Enable low latency monitoring for instruments" box, and then set the dropout protection to minimum. This will close this system down as much as possible.

Also be aware that the more voices that are playing in a plug-in - including if they are in release phase or are hold - the more demanding it will be on the CPU core the instrument use. In can be a good idea to set the number of voices to the number that's needed, if it's possible.

One can simplified say, that if you have 6 cores and use 7 tracks that each use more than 50% of a CPU core, then you are in trouble, even if you have lots of juice left on other cores.
And you are in trouble if a single track use more power, than a single core can provide.
Each time a load on a single core is more than it can handle, then you will be in trouble, no matter how much power you have left on the remaning cores.

Finding out if your computer, sound device or whatever are having some kind of performance issues is also a good thing to do.
It's also good to find out if you can do anything in the plug-ins to reduce the load while keeping what you need. That can be voice numbers and quality settings and perhaps more.
The way you work can have an impact. If you can convert tracks to audio or something like that to free the ressources from a plug-in, then that's a way to handle it now when things are as they are.

You can also search the forum for more about this topic.

Skaperverket wroteThis does not sound right, unless "lots" means "lots and lots".

What clock frequency does your 6 core run at? Are we talking an i7 8700K, 7800X or 6800K?

You could try running a program called Latencymon. It will tell you if there are any drivers that are inducing latency in your processing and could be causing these issues. Problems with graphics card drivers and network drivers are not uncommon.

I did a test with only one instance of Diva and the preset "cant believe its analog" first 2 voices sounds good, but on 3rd and 4th voice cpu spikes at 100% in S1. But the 7800K are only using about 25% cpu power. I will check out latencymon. Thanks.

scottyo7 wroteSimple stuff may be as easy as shutting down MS office applications, your browser and WiFi while you use Studio One. (you should also see issues when running the latency monitor that Skaparverket suggests).

Even though PC's are much more powerful these days, background processes can still be relevant.
For example having your WiFi on and Google open, may be causing issues with your WiFi speed, amount of traffic (in your house, selected channel, etc.) and if you have lots of plugins and/or tabs open/running in Google.

You may also want to 'Google' how to set up your PC for an "Audio DAW"... it still helps to get rid of un-needed processes to free up your uP.

Thanks for adding that. Im still in the process of setting everything up so i havent got to the "tweaking" part yet.Native Instruments have an article on their site which look good.

LBH wroteI can add this.

A load from a softsynth will put the load on a single core in Studio One. So will all the load on a single track. So your CPU's single core performance is very important - especially when using demanding plugins and playing. The distribution of the load to multiple CPU cores is'nt good.
That's why there is this feature request you can vote up:
http://answers.presonus.com/10836/multicore-support-needed-especially-for-multi-instruments

Also the so called dropout protection system is no good for especially demanding plug-ins.
So you can try to set it first to a setting that allow you to uncheck the "Enable low latency monitoring for instruments" box, and then set the dropout protection to minimum. This will close this system down as much as possible.

Also be aware that the more voices that are playing in a plug-in - including if they are in release phase or are hold - the more demanding it will be on the CPU core the instrument use. In can be a good idea to set the number of voices to the number that's needed, if it's possible.

One can simplified say, that if you have 6 cores and use 7 tracks that each use more than 50% of a CPU core, then you are in trouble, even if you have lots of juice left on other cores.
And you are in trouble if a single track use more power, than a single core can provide.
Each time a load on a single core is more than it can handle, then you will be in trouble, no matter how much power you have left on the remaning cores.

Finding out if your computer, sound device or whatever are having some kind of performance issues is also a good thing to do.
It's also good to find out if you can do anything in the plug-ins to reduce the load while keeping what you need. That can be voice numbers and quality settings and perhaps more.
The way you work can have an impact. If you can convert tracks to audio or something like that to free the ressources from a plug-in, then that's a way to handle it now when things are as they are.

You can also search the forum for more about this topic.

Interesting reading. So is there a way to adjust or "tweak" the cpu performance so it works more effeciently in a daw? I didnt think about this when buying a new pc. The processor is an I7 7800K
which has 6 cores.

kaosikosmos wroteI did a test with only one instance of Diva and the preset "cant believe its analog" first 2 voices sounds good, but on 3rd and 4th voice cpu spikes at 100% in S1. But the 7800K are only using about 25% cpu power. I will check out latencymon. Thanks.

Did you activate the multicore function of Diva? Diva is one of the few synths out there with multicore support, because it's such a beast. S1 can't do anything about a single plugin overloading a core - that's completely out of its hands.

kaosikosmos wroteSo is there a way to adjust or "tweak" the cpu performance so it works more effeciently in a daw? I didnt think about this when buying a new pc. The processor is an I7 7800K
which has 6 cores.

I7 7800K base frequency is 3.50 GHz. It's good but you can get higher on some CPUs. Personally i would look for more than 4 GHz, but my current CPU is slower and older than yours. The single core performance is important. But 3.50 GHz is'nt bad. But it depend. Coding for multicore CPUs is important, but you can't do anything about that.
But yes - a very CPU demanding plugin and sound that's played with many voices can max out a single CPU core if the base frequency can't handle it and create troubles depending on your soundcard settings.
But as said, then settings on your plug-in can make a huge diference. Sometimes perhaps also depend on your BIOS and other settings.
I for example have a trial of Diva on laptop - not on my main music PC. If i turn on DIVAs multicore system using my laptops configurations, then i get less load on a single core, but i get a higher total load on my CPU than if not using the multicore option. So in some situations it might be best to switch this option on and in others to switch it off. It's also about how the DAW handles this.
The one sound you mention by Howard Scarr is very demanding on the CPU.

You can find many articles on the web on how to optimize it for audio performance. Many vendors like Native Instruments have a help site/ knowleadge base about this. But perhaps it only help a little. You can also search on the web for for example "how to optimize windows for audio production" and perhaps add a vendor name.
Also your soundcard performance and it's settings can have an impact on the CPU load. Perhaps your soundcard vendor has a help article about how to optimize your PC with your soundcard and it's drivers.

I will not advice how to tweak the CPU directly. You can overclock, but it has to be done right.
Some settings in BIOS might help or might not help, and perhaps in different situations.
In first hand optimize your PC.

Also keep in mind that all components on your PC need to perform when it come to audio production to avoid bottlenecks. Some processes put more load on the CPU and the DIsk than others, and thesame with RAM. And the components need to work well together to get the best performance.
You can get some hints about this by studing the computers made for audio production is comfigured. Just search for "Computer for audio production" on the web.

I suggest you study all this if needed. There are plenty of informations around about all this. Some pay to get all this done. It's also about how you wan't to spend your time.

@kaosikosmos

when you are running Studio One, can you check what your CPU speed indicates?
Open up the task manager and switch to the performance tab and have a look what
the clock speed says.

This article from NI about tuning windows for audio i find mention many things including speedstepping if that should be an issue:
https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/209571729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing
But as said, there are many articles like this from differnt vendors and others out there.
Also remember that processors of new date might handle things fine without changing anything. Sometimes changing things make things worse. It's important to know how to go back to the original settings, just in case.

Exactly... What I'm trying to say is:

I suspect that the power management of Windows is set to balanced. That's what I had here as well.
You have to manually put it on "high performance".

I always saw a difference between Cubase and Studio One in terms of VST performance. The reason is: Cubase has its own power management setting (high performance as well). So, when you launch Cubase, the CPU is always set to high performance.
So, check what the power management is set to, when Windows starts.

Enabling the multicore option in Diva is such a great idea.
I have to admit, i didnt notice this option before.I can run this Scarr patch now without any problems.
Guess ive learned a thing or two about multicore and hyperthreading and how vst and daws are using the cpu. Now i can get on with the NI tweaking guide which is already printed out

Just be aware that the DIVA multicore setting might give you issues if you use multiple plug-ins, as the overall load on the CPU seems to be bigger when it's on. You can check this in Windows ressource monitor.
There should'nt be a bigger overall load, if there was true multicore support. I have not changed BIOS on my laptop to see if the reason lies in there, but perhaps. Perhaps about hyperthreading settings as it look like you suspect yourself. But i can't tell.

In case you have to switch DIVAs multicore option back to avoid overall performance issues, then that will give you issues, if it was needed to have the multicore option switched on in the first place, to be able to play, - unless you convert to audio or other things you perhaps were trying to avoid by using the option.

I don't think i normally would use the multicore setting if the overall CPU performance is worse by using it, unless it can help me for a recording i change to audio right after or something else i can do in the workflow that can make it usefull.
Perhaps DIVAs multicore behavior in Studio One has to do with computer settings that might be better to change, than to use DIVAs multicore option. But i don't know.

Test things yourself, and do what's best for you. I would.


@Stevie: Tuning tips articles have Power Plan Settings like that included, and sometimes in a context that might tell more about this.

LBH wroteJust be aware that the DIVA multicore setting might give you issues if you use multiple plug-ins, as the overall load on the CPU seems to be bigger when it's on. You can check this in Windows ressource monitor.
There should'nt be a bigger overall load, if there was true multicore support. I have not changed BIOS on my laptop to see if the reason lies in there, but perhaps. Perhaps about hyperthreading settings as it look like you suspect yourself. But i can't tell.

In case you have to switch DIVAs multicore option back to avoid overall performance issues, then that will give you issues, if it was needed to have the multicore option switched on in the first place, to be able to play, - unless you convert to audio or other things you perhaps were trying to avoid by using the option.

I don't think i normally would use the multicore setting if the overall CPU performance is worse by using it, unless it can help me for a recording i change to audio right after or something else i can do in the workflow that can make it usefull.
Perhaps DIVAs multicore behavior in Studio One has to do with computer settings that might be better to change, than to use DIVAs multicore option. But i don't know.

Test things yourself, and do what's best for you. I would.


@Stevie: Tuning tips articles have Power Plan Settings like that included, and sometimes in a context that might tell more about this.

Good Stuff to know if any problems occur:) Thanks.