Logic Pro 9 CPU Utilization

Question

Hello
I have two major questions about how well Logic Pro 9 utlizes Multi-core CPUs.
1. What is the maximum number of threads/cores that Logic Pro 9 can support. I heard that it was 16 threads, which means that a processor with 8 physical cores is the maximum since Intel's HyperThreading makes them 16 thread/cores. So does anybody know of the max?
2. How well does Logic Pro 9 utilize processors that have more than 4 cores? Does the performance increase greatly with additional cores or is there barely any difference?
Thanks

Answer 1

Hi
It sounds to me like you are considering which new Mac to buy?
YJKimNaDa wrote:
1. What is the maximum number of threads/cores that Logic Pro 9 can support. I heard that it was 16 threads, which means that a processor with 8 physical cores is the maximum since Intel's HyperThreading makes them 16 thread/cores. So does anybody know of the max?
Support for 6/12 core Macs was added in v 9.1.2. I believe that the max number of threads is 16, but I have not checked this on a 12 core MacPro.
YJKimNaDa wrote:
2. How well does Logic Pro 9 utilize processors that have more than 4 cores? Does the performance increase greatly with additional cores or is there barely any difference?
This is not an exact 'science'. Taking into account the way that Logic assigns "channels" to CPU cores, the overall performance will depend on what you need it to do.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3161
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4426
For example, a large (8 Part) multi-timbral instance of Omnisphere could seriously load 1 CPU, leaving the others relatively un-touched. (Here, a faster CPU Core helps).
Running several 'smaller' instances of Omnisphere, the CPU  load would be distributed more evenly over the cores. In this sort of situation, more cores would be better.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: if you can afford it, get as many cores as you can, and get the fastest cores that you can. There is a "price point" where the benefits of the additional cost of faster cores/ number of cores becomes too expensive.
hth
CCT