Has anyone figured out how to run Ableton Live 12 on unsupported PC?

 

Please clarify what you mean by "unsupported PC".

 

It requires a CPU with AVX2 instruction set on PC. There is no way around it. Upgrade or get a newer machine.

They chose to use it because 'Intel AVX2 instruction set offers significant performance improvements. It can perform multiple operations per clock cycle, AVX2 can help you get more done in less time, making it a great choice for demanding workloads.'

 

How does this upgraded hw setup compare with running Ableton on Apple Silicon? What is an average cost to do this CPU replacement? Just a ballpark comparison would be good enough...

 

I don't personally have much real-world operational experience with the Apple Silicon so have no comparisons. Apple's stuff won't be price competitive at same ram level)
If I was upgrading I wouldn't be buying the cheapest parts as that won't have lasting life.

Basically any CPU's newer than:

CPUs with AVX2

• Intel
  • Haswell processors (Q2 2013) and newer, except models branded as Celeron and Pentium.
  • Celeron and Pentium branded processors starting with Tiger Lake (Q3 2020) and newer.
• AMD
  • Excavator processors (Q2 2015) and newer.

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html will show you what your existing CPU supports for instruction sets.

As for price, that is hard to say. Older machines can't just take a new CPU in a lot of cases. They love to swap up to a new socket, which means new motherboard, new ram, new heatsink/fan as they change the hole locations along with the socket... Price is also dependent upon where you live. I'm in Canada and it's not as cheap as it used to be.

 

AVX2 vs SSE2 best case scenario: ~2x performance. Where? Convolution reverbs, gain plugins (lol), FIR filters, waveshapers - if the developer wrote their code with AVX2 in mind. Some other places if they went to GREAT lengths.

Outside of those places, how much extra performance just for turning on AVX2 in the compiler? ~0-5% overall. More in very specific places that no one cares about.