No. I am against general closure of some features.
For example I am talking about wonderful instruments inside LogicPro that cannot be used outside of it. Many of them would be very interesting inside GigPerformer. This and other software things are annoying.
Windows is more suitable to be tuned. You can change SSD on a Windows laptop. This can be dangerous for not expert people but gives more freedom to nerds like us.
I often mention that one bad experience I had with a new Windows laptop forced me to turn to the dark side of the Force…
So this is your CPU)?:13thGeneration Intel®Core™ i5-1340P Processor (E-Core Max 3.40 GHz, P-Core Max 4.60 GHz with Turbo Boost, 12 Cores, 16 Threads, 12 MB Cache)
If so, your performance cores max out at 4.60 GHZ. That is not too bad. I have a bigger Lenovo that maxes out right around 5.0 or so. (Mine also has big fans to try to keep temperatures in check).
If you check the task manager (especially while you are getting crackling) what does it show? You can also check for each core.
If your CPU (in the Task Manager) is below 4 (even if it isn’t) I definitely think you should try Throttlestop (with Frank’s simple setting). It would suggest you are experiencing throttling, so you are not using the CPU that is available to you.
Sorry, to badger you, but that saved me on one of my Lenovo laptops. (Might as well use a cooling tray too).
That is not an Apple specific issue. If you buy almost any DAW (Cubase, Digital Performer, many others), they will have plugins that cannot be used outside of that specific DAW. Obviously the goal is to try and keep you in their system and that’s the reason I only use 3rd party plugins even with Logic.
Heck, even Gig Performer does this - for example, AudioPlayer, SAFP, ChordMaker, Envelope Follower are plugins but only available inside GP.
Your issues is why I move to Mac a year ago, and I’m not looking back.
Currently rocking an M1 Macbook Air for my live setup, and an M2 Pro Mac Mini for my studio machine.
I just got tired of constantly chasing down and trying to fix crackling in Windows, and never knowing if it would now finally be stable enough to gig with.
Thanks to everyone who’s been a part of this discussion - I really appreciate it. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
I tried more Windows tweaking as advised by some here, including the Throttlestop app. I’m fairly convinced that I do not have an underpowered CPU issue. The issue is very elusive however - I cannot predict when it will occur or reproduce it at will. It just happens when it happens. As I’ve previously indicated, I am weary trying to configure Windows. And it may not be a Windows issue. Perhaps with a beefier Windows laptop, along with all those Windows tweaks, and the crackles would disappear. I’m sure Windows works fine for a great many GP users.
However, encouraged by those comments I received about having a much better experience with a Mac, I did purchased a refurbished one and intend(ed) to see where that takes me. Unfortunately, I’ve had to return the Mac I purchased because it did not come equipped as the seller described. So, once that hurdle is cleared, I will try another purchase and once I get the Mac I need, my experiment will begin. I will post back with my results at that time. Thanks again to this great GP community - I am overwhelmed at the response!
P.S. Is there a way to upgrade from my Windows GP5 version to the macOS+Windows version?
Had a similar problem. My solution was 2-fold : added RAM to the max my computer could take (40Gb) and change my audio interface to another one with a better ASIO driver. My old Focusrite 2i2 could not handle the load. Switched to an older Steinberg UR44 with the Yamaha USB driver and now everything is fine. I mostly use NI Komplete and Arturia VCollection VSTi’s. Larger RAM helped for NI huge libraries and better driver made the biggest change.
I had the same problem with my HP laptop. Intel i5 processor, 32g RAM and 250SD. I upgraded hard drive to 1TB and also tweaked settings. I found that a few didn’t take simply because HP didn’t have some options avail. I was tired of it. Crackling (experimented with various sample rates/buffering settings). Memory was always maxed out (hovering around 65%). Also shut down on me numerous times on stage. I used a Scarlit audio interface. I play in a Journey Tribute, an all decades party band and a 90s tribute.
Finally bought a Macbook Pro 14 and also upgraded to a Radial USB DI. No problems at all and sound is clean. Memory doesn’t surpass 18%.
I too have now moved from Windows 11 to a MacBook Pro.
I still have the old laptop and it pains me to retire it from a music computer… but the dropouts were interfering too much. Tried all kind of optimization and after one week of frustration I gave up. One day was working great and the next day all of the problem started. I am sure it is to do with Microsoft interfering as I did not change anything apart from the occasional forced update…. Anyway, I took advantage of a great offer during Black Friday and glad I did! This M4 is really great! I did consider getting the Air M4 but I like the cooling fan of the Pro when needed, running a large mix in Reaper using 110 plugins hasn’t needed the fan at all! The CPU usage is about 14%. I will Freeze some tracks at some point but at this stage, I am curious to see how far it can be pushed. As already mentioned, no need to search for audio drivers. The hardware I use connected and ran on the first time without any drama. I will be still be using my windows based computer as a family’s machine, not music related and when that one needs replacing, I will be ditching Windows for good.
I have now heard the fan of my MacBook Pro, but not while in Reaper. I was doing stem splitting in RX 11 in Best quality. I would think that it doesn’t help feeding a live vocal track that includes many songs and that it’s over an hour long! That process I cancelled, as I will be splitting the track to individual songs first, before extracting the cleaned up vocal stem out. I am posting this to make you aware that’s worth getting the Pro vs the Air version as the Air version does not have a fan.
Thank you everyone for all your insights. I really appreciate them.
I haven’t followed up until now because of the holidays and because: I bought the refurbished MacBook Pro I mentioned in a previous post and it didn’t go well. The supplier left it locked on someone’s Apple ID (I had to get help at Best Buy to figure that out - I’m not at Apple guy yet). While working through that issue, I finally took a look at the SSD and discovered it was 500GB instead of the 1TB it was supposed to be. So, I returned it. Holiday delays, but I finally got reimbursed yesterday, and I’ve now purchased another MacBook Pro from a different supplier. It is scheduled to arrived Thursday.
So, I still plan to take the MacPlunge and will report back.
I am as well in the ‘thoughts’ to set up a GP-only computer. So far I am using i7-8565U Dell laptop with 64GB (used as well for office etc). I am playing Bass (NAM, Amplitube, PA Ampeg) and some Keyboards (IK B-3X, LABS etc). Sometime bass and keyboard is played at the same time as a band colleague takes over keys. I have put quite some thought and limitations into avoiding crackles, e.g. never use NAM and B-3X at the same time. With that is works very well and I am generally happy.
For a new GP-only computer I thought so far about a NUC 15 255h 64GB.
Now reading this discussion I am getting hesitant if it would be better to get a MiniMac, e.g. M4 32GB, which comes at a rougly similar price tag.
Am I right that I would be probably better protected against crackles etc with the MiniMac? Would it be your choice?
I have a NUC 13 with an I7-1360P which is more or less comparable. The 255h is 20% faster than the 1360P. I’m very happy with the 1360P.
Whether to switch to mac or not could depend on more things than reliability and performance: For example, I will not switch to Mac quickly. I can’t get used to the keyboard and the shortcuts, the menu bar always on top of the screen etc. And because I also develop software: X-code is not my best friend. But that’s me. You, on the other hand, might be using mac already in a different setting, so this all might not apply.
From a technical standpoint: As far as I can see, mac is a really good platform and widely used by many people in this community, so I don’t think that mac will disappoint you in terms of reliability and performance.
Thank you very much for your input!! I am not using Mac at all so far and really would like to avoid it - however the statements above seemed to be so clear in favor of Mac that I started ‘thinking’
Thanks.
and will report back.