Cubase Pro 8 Performance Comparison Mac OS X 10.10.5 and Windows 7 Video

[ObsoleteAcc99]

75 stable instances at 128 buffer asio guard off. 80 at a pinch. That's actually performing better than my 2600K imac sandy bridge.

VS 128 instances, and actually performing better than my 2600K imac sandy bridge.

So nothing has changed, mac still gets thumped by windows in low latency performance.

It's only changed cause of asio guard, so in keeping with your original topic, yes, you are right, steinberg have done a killer job.

at low latency, a native mac computer built by apple with apple's efi, at 128 buffer, gets 50% the plugin instances of an identical processor in windows.

I also did the reason benchmark test before i left reason, on my SISTER's retina quad core, 2.5ghz, vs my 2.3ghz windows IVY BRIDGE laptop. This adds even a third mac to the mix. They can't all be wrong. As can't the 6 core mac pro i owned in 2010 which was thrashed by windows machines using hexas back then too.

She got 40 seconds of playtime before "engine overload" message, at 128 buffer, with props and crackles starting at 12 seconds.

The windows, older generation processor, lower clocked, got 28 seconds in the test.. but the crackles and pops started at 28 seconds. ie there wasn't a single one. At 64 samples it got 24 seconds but once again right through without any audio degradation.
Once again, windows doubles the USABLE low latency plugin count of mac. On a slower processor!

Things evened out better at 1024 buffer - coincidentally, what cubase standard asio guard setting is.

I will put any bet, any money on the table, that there is no mac you can buy off the apple store in existence, that at 32/64/128 and 256 TRUE buffer, can match plug in count with a windows machine using the same processor. In any daw that's available on both.

The ONLY exception are "cheat buffer ones" like cubase. Steinberg have done a better job than most with their implementation of cheat aka safety guard buffers. I will give them that. Now if i can only stop the crashing.

[monkeymanx]

Maybe it has something to do with cooling. So in theory if your iMac parts were in a case like mine with premium cooling it could handle more. I'm just not sure if it is only to do with Core Audio vs. ASIO which is what people would attribute the performance difference to before.