Note - This is just and comparison of cpu usage. It is not about which synth is better.

Midi input: Basic Chord
1 Oscillator
1 Filter (Default)
Distortion (Default)
Delay (Default)
Reverb (Default)

CPU usage Source: Performance Meter in Reaper (Track)

Plugin Version: Latest Available
OS: Windows 10 LTSC
DAW: Reaper x64
Processor: Core i3 9100f

Spoiler: Old Comparison

What I did:

Played a chord in a loop

Used 1 Oscillator
Set unison voices to max
1 Filter
1 Distortion
1 Delay
1 Reverb



Obviously it is not a fair test. Just a quick one to give an idea. CPU usage varies with oscillator modes, filter types, effect algorithms, etc.
I am on Windows.
CPU - Core i3 9100f
DAW: Bitwig Studio.
Windows Task Manager: CPU usage is from the plugin host process of Bitwig Studio, which is a separate process & we get exactly what a plugin is costing CPU. Unlike Ableton, Bitwig hosts plugins in a separate process.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2021

Very interesting - what DAW did you use?

Could be cool to try Avenger too, it is rumored to be rather heavy on the CPU.

 

Always an interesting relative comparison. Which DAW?

Anyway, I have a similar result with Serum (you probably mean TasK Manager), 2-3%. But when I duplicate the track 10 times it goes to 5% "only". And that is in Ableton that, as far as I can usually read here, is not super multicore optimized (but cores do kick in..)

Can you make a test with 10 instances of e.g. Serum, all armed/played at the same time?

 

I used Bitwig Studio. CPU usage is from the plugin host process of Bitwig Studio, which is a separate process from DAW & we get exactly what a plugin is costing CPU.

I don't have it. :/

CPU - Core i3 9100f

 

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 22, 2021

That's interesting. Sure, I will update.

 

Wow.. that's the worst offender on my system - 7%. But again, 10 instances and the percentage barely rises to ~9%. Seams it spreads well across cores..

Meanwhile, Diva has entered the chat ;)

 

Just installed it. On 7 unison voices, it was averaging around 5% in eco mode.


I completely forgot about Massive. I will update it.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2021

Updated the comparison. This time using Reaper's Performance meter. 10x performance column also added.

 

You can also try

• Reasynth
• mono_synth https://www.taletn.com/reaper/mono_synth/
  
• Synth1 VST https://whatgear.com/p/synth1?src=daichilab

 

try Spire with Bellatrix audio patches .. always heat up my CPU

 

I want to do this comparison on different DAWs & I want to include LFO modulation in the test to make this test a little more reliable. It will take some time.

 

First of all, thank you very much for sharing your results with us all. Really interesting table.

Could it be possible to add some more? Such as Diva, Largo, LuSH-101, Omnisphere, Pigments, Repro-5, Spire, Super 8, TAL Bassline-101, TAL J-8.

 

Berkeley BSD Unix version pleaseeeee

 

I think it will not be fair to compare analog emulation's cpu usage. They are all very different.

I will add Massive & Massive X in next update which I am hoping to post soon. I will also add omnisphere, cypher, strobe & Icarus v1.