bris_catrin@yahoo.fr

here is a short story about a problem with MAX one might be able to resolve :

I did a patcher one year and a half ago on my old powerbook, under MAX 4. There was a lot of calculation, so even so the CPU utulization was low after the DSP status, actually it was too high for the computer (fact that I checked thanks to the "activity monitor" of the MAC). Shortly after I bought a MacBook Pro, still running with OS X Tiger at that time, and I did not have CPU problem anymore ! Hooray !

But then came OS X 10.5, my patcher was still running fine, and finally came MAX 5 and I started having calculation problem back. This is strange, because the activity monitor doesn't show that the processors are at their maximum. So here is the situation : under MAX 4.6, my patcher is still running, a bit slowly but without jumps in the sound. Under MAX 5, sound is jumping every few seconds ! And I DO need to run it under MAX 5, because it is part of a longer piece and I have to switch from one patcher to the others (which I built under MAX 5) very quickly.

I send the patcher, if that helps. To run it "full speed", just put the dac~ on (carefull, it is loud), you will get the first sound, and then click twice on the pink button (under the "p autopilote"). On my computer, sound is constantely jumping, which it did not under MAX 4.6.

One last detail: when I use the "coreAudio built-in", the sound jumps in both MAX 4.6 and MAX 5. When I run it under "coreAudio MOTU 828 MK2", I get less jumping in MAX 5 (but still do), and under MAX 4.6 it works slowly but fine. If that helps...

PS: attachment : Here is the patcher, together with its subpatchers, in order to make it run. The file to run is "partie1.32", the following one ("partie1.33") is just a test in MAX 5.

I send  the patcher, if that helps. To run it "full speed", just put the dac~ on (carefull, it is loud), you will get the first sound, and then click twice on the pink button (under the "p autopilote"). On my computer, sound is constantely jumping, which it did not under MAX 4.6.

PS: attachment : Here is the patcher, together with its subpatchers, in order to make it run. The file to run is "partie1.32", the following one ("partie1.33") is just a test in MAX 5.


calculation-problem-i-have-under-max-5-that-i-did-not-have-under-max-4-6

What are your settings for io vector size and signal vector size in max 4.6 and 5? Also - what are your overdrive settings, and are you running your scheduler in audio interrupt?

If your settings aren't the same in both then one wouldn't expect the same results. Possibly the MOTU defaults are different than the built in ones.

My CPU usage increases massively when the scheduler is in audio interrupt. Probably you're doing a lot of max calculations - If you don't run it in the audio interrupt it allows the scheduler to run in a separate thread, and hence use the multi-core ability of your laptop.

Anyway, if you say what your settings are in each version it'll be possibly to be more helpful.

Shame on me and on my family for centuries and centuries ! I totally forgot to select the "Max scheduler in overdrive", as I used to in MAX 4.6 ! What a stupid mystake ! And I have been on this problem for one week ! Thanks a lot for pointing it (and destroying my ego into tiny pieces) !

One last thing, so that I die a less stupid person : why shouldn't it work as fine under "COREaudio built-in" as under the COREaudi MOTU ?!

calculation problem I have under MAX 5 that I did not have under MAX 4.6