Hi, wondering if it’s normal that VCV makes my Mac (2018, 6-core, 32GB, OS 12.3) go into hovercraft mode? (Fan on full, and lots of glitchy audio too). I had the same problems with this machine running Mojave, upgrade to Monterey has made no difference. I know about dropping the number of threads and lowering the frame rate to improve performance, but I’m still encountering the same problems. Any ideas on how to get around this? Thanks!
What’s all in your patch?
There is a performance meters option you can use to see how much each module is using. Maybe one if using a lot?
Thanks, performance meters are super useful, but I’m getting this even in relatively small patches like this one, even with no other apps running.
Why not post another picture with no meters showing? That should help. (sorry, that was sarcasm. But why not show the meters? Might tell us something.)
1 Like
no, you are right about that. Plenty of CPU. Sounds like the classic intel macbook thermal issue. The manual has a good section about this, and there are plenty of tips here. They are usually “reduce the frame rate”, and other things about reducing the graphics load. (and the not very appealing suggestion of getting a different computer).
btw, not that it’s the problem, but that EvenVCO is really a CPU pig. Look at how it’s using as much as Plateau! That’s nuts. I have a couple of clones of that thing that use much less CPU.
Thanks for pointing out alternatives to Even VCO. EV3 I guess? BTW I use Formants and Growler a lot - love them! Looking at the patch again, I’m using the Even VCO for a low sine. Not really a very efficient at all. (FWIW I’m not averse to getting a new computer or changing platform - if Windows deals better with VCV than Mac OS I’m in)
Oh, macos is very good for music, and for VCV. It’s just the hardware of the intel macbooks, and many other laptops, have bad thermal design, and are prone to getting hot, running all their fans, and slowing down.
Many people are finding the new “Apple Silicon” macs are much better in this respect. And any old Windows or Linux desktop (box) with a mediocre graphics card will work great.
In terms of a good sin VCO - there are a zillion of them. The fundamental is very efficient. It intentionally puts out a slightly distorted sin since it is now in “analog mode” all the time (boo!).
My BasicVCO has very few features, but it is super efficient, if it meets your needs. And yes, EV-3 is a port of the Even, just fixed up a little. But afaik it’s not super efficient (although much better than Even).
Bogaudio makes several VCOs that efficiently make sine waves. Theirs are not super efficient for polyphonic use, but they are quite efficient when used monophonicly.
For info, I’m running VCV2 on a base model M1 Mac Mini (8Gb RAM) and haven’t encountered any issues at all. In fact, it runs beautifully! I was a PC guy until last December when I purchased the M1 and it wipes the floor with the i7 16Gb rig I was using. Also runs really nicely as a VST inside Bitwig. However, I’m still on Big Sur for now until I’m certain all my software will be ok.