Plugin cpu-load note/scale?

Hi,

It really takes time to optimize a pedalboard so that it is not too CPU intensive.
It would be a great help if there was a scale for each plugin that indicated the CPU-greediness, then we could choose the best compromise more easily.


(I’ve put arbitrary values :wink: )

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This ia a great Idea @Rom.

I wish I could like this feature request 10000 times.

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I’ll upvote this, too. It is a fantastic idea!

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The problem with this is that 1) the numbers are kind of arbitrary (percentage of what?) 2) the act of measuring such performance can cause more performance issues, thus skewing the results

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  1. no percentage, juste a benchmark
  2. measuring would be made once (by the developer or the MOD server) and the score saved in the plugins bdd (like the name, description, link…)
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CPU usage might depend on usage and params.

Reverb with different reverb types might be more or less greedy, or synth playing 0 or 5 notes at once will differ.

Cannot really imagine reliable testing that way.

UPD:
There are some tools that might be related:

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I totally agree with you @Rom
A general idea of the CPU usage would already be very helpfull.
Maybe group plugins in a few categories like “low, medium, high and very high cpu load”.

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Great !
So I it means it could be done, having 2 scores (the highest and lowest) could be a good indication.

If you need to really optimise your board you need accurate data, otherwise you will just test each plugin to see what’s the best.
For large categories I think it can be done now, isn’t it :

  • heavy : IR, reverbs, pitch/octavers…
  • high : delays, overdives, distortions, some modulations…
  • medium : some modulations, synth, some CV treatments…
  • low : switches, CV buttons…

Its inside each categories that data seams interesting, so I can go for 2 Switchbox 1-2 + 1 C* Wider - Stereo instead of 1 Mixer Stereo for example. Or choosing this delay instead of this one

3 Likes