CPU usage difference for Windows and Mac (FX Plugin)

[obolig]

I'm working on an effect plugin that uses multiple compiled scriptnodes. All of these have been compiled as DLLs and loaded into hardcoded master effects. The CPU usage of the HISE project is very similar on my Mac and Windows computers, but there is a significant difference upon exporting the 2 FX plugins. The performance of the Mac plugin is optimized as expected, but the Windows version performs similarly in HISE vs DAW.

Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution? Maybe I accidently toggled a switch that prevents the Windows build from compiling correctly?

[whoopsydoodle]

@obolig maybe accidentally compiling for debugging instead of release?

[obolig]

@whoopsydoodle This was a really good guess, so I compiled the plugin directly from the VS project making sure it was set to "Release". This did not resolve the issue. I even went back to old projects to find that they have the same issue. It actually seems like the exported VST is less efficient than the project within HISE.

Does anyone have any other guesses?

[d.healey]

@obolig How are you measuring cpu usage?

[obolig]

@d-healey I am using the floating tile control set to performance label. I'm also referencing the CPU display within Ableton to compare its usage to plugins made by other developers.

[bendurso]

@obolig Are you using convolution reverb? Do you have IPP activated on Windows?

[obolig]

@bendurso I am not using convolution reverb. I did try activating IPP, but this did not improve the performance.

[Lindon]

@obolig said in CPU usage difference for Windows and Mac (FX Plugin):

@d-healey I am using the floating tile control set to performance label. I'm also referencing the CPU display within Ableton to compare its usage to plugins made by other developers.

well I dont think you are comparing the same thing - HISE is looking at a single core (I think) and Abelton is probably looking across all cores...

[d.healey]

HISE's meter will report peak usage if I remember correctly, while DAWs tend to report average.

[obolig]

@Lindon I understand that. I'm not comparing Ableton's display to the plugin's performance label. I'm referencing Ableton's while my plugin is inserted vs other plugins.

I'm mostly focused on the lack of difference with the performance label within HISE vs the same label on the exported VST. The Mac export has a significant performance upgrade, while the windows export does not.

Is anyone seeing a notable performance improvement with their windows exports?

[Christoph Hart]

@obolig usually there is not too much overhead of running inside HISE, except for the debugging tools that might cause some UI lags - the audio rendering path is almost identical between HISE and the compiled plugin - unless you do something weird.