Music in the palm of your hand could soon be a reality. A game-maker has developed audio software that can play on gaming equipment, and this opens up a whole new world for other composers and creators.
One of the limitations when using computers to create music is the CPU. Usually musicians don’t hit performance limits with the plugins they use, but if you like complexity or have a lot of effects-laden plugins, these will eventually heat up your CPU to a crawl and cause performance issues. Now one plugin maker for computers has found an alternative solution, using your computer’s GPU to process their plug-ins. So why weren’t these features available before?
One of the most significant benefits of a software like Waves DSX is that it provides direct output to hardware. Due to hardware-software latency, some DAWs and plugins currently don’t support this feature. Ultimately, this will be something that will roll out across the industry eventually.
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To visualize the difference between a CPU and a GPU, let’s imagine using chefs as an analogy. A CPU is like one chef who can work very, very fast while a GPU is comprised of hundreds of chefs with less skills, but they also prep food way faster collectively.
The CPU in your computer is typically optimized for processing sequential tasks and applications. However, the GPU – which uses many cores to crunch numbers all at once – often delivers a performance boost as it’s optimized for parallel processing. So, in some cases it might boost certain tasks like rendering graphics or crunching Bitcoins.
“GPUs have many more cores than CPUs, which means they can handle more tasks simultaneously. In addition, GPUs have access to more memory than CPUs, allowing them to store more data and processing instructions,” Jeroen van Gils, managing director at tech company Lifi told via email.
So why not just use GPUs for everything? Using a GPU allows the software to divide up and process multiple tasks simultaneously. That’s what GPUs are good at, and they’re improving on this with challenges like Audio Processing.
GPU FTW
GPU Audio is now available for testing in open beta – simply download the plugin on your Windows machine and experience it. Not only does it include classic effects such as chorus, flanger and phaser (similar but different) – what’s remarkable is that these plugins run not just on regular processors, but graphics chips! GPUs are engineered to handle huge amounts of data quickly; something they have never been used for in audio engineering before now. Get ready to be impressed with GPU Audio!
Electronic musician Dymaxion explains that GPUs have historically been designed to generate 120 frames a second, but not 48,000.
Troubled by high latency in some games? Electronic musician Skinpop thinks it might be caused by uneven driver support across different platforms.
GPU Audio has created a new API that allows plugins to deliver the fastest possible audio, while minimizing the impact on CPU performance. This API can reduce the transfer time of sound by at least 50%, reducing latency to your listeners by up to one millisecond.
There is an issue with some DAW software not supporting GPU installation. But if this technology takes off, it could easily change and you’ll be able to run more plugins simultaneously.
As with most aspects of life, individual needs determine what equivalent is suitable. So it’s best to try and work out exactly what you require. The same is true when it comes to the use of GPU audio processing in your system. If you’re unsure, talk to your software equipment supplier before making a wasted purchase. There’s nothing worse than investing in something you’ll never use for music production!
GPUs play a crucial role for becoming more immersive in games, but now it is still too early and isn’t better than what is already available.