Hive 1.0

[Urs]

Hehehe, for the record, we did this test on an 8 year old CPU with Sylenth1 as well and got exactly the same results:



We then repeated the test with different presets (chords etc.) and it was the same.

Nevertheless, we didn't check if Sylenth1 stacks identical notes on release. If overlapping same notes is a problem maybe we can add Diva's "Poly 2" mode or something similar. That'll reduce CPU when long releases are at play.

[fluffy_little_something]

You then seem to have an old CPU that doesn't have registers on it for all the neat optimizations that Hive is using, which DOES make it less CPU intensive than Sylenth. You cannot blame u-he for that, only yourself.

Besides, Hive sounds like much better than Sylenth in each and every aspect, IMHO. The filter especially, Sylenth can only dream about it.

I am not blaming anyone, neither U-he, nor myself (why would I be to blame? because I don't buy a new computer every two years?!). I know Hive is more modern, that is the strength of Sylenth, it was written for older computers, obviously. I don't know if it was considered a hog when it was first introduced, but by today's standards it is very efficient.

And I don't agree with your verdict on sound at all. It may sound a little bit better in some cases, but in others it sounds a bit worse. All of that is subjective of course, it depends what sound you are after...

[fluffy_little_something]

Hehehe, for the record, we did this test on an 8 year old CPU with Sylenth1 as well and got exactly the same results:



We then repeated the test with different presets (chords etc.) and it was the same.

Nevertheless, we didn't check if Sylenth1 stacks identical notes on release. If overlapping same notes is a problem maybe we can add Diva's "Poly 2" mode or something similar. That'll reduce CPU when long releases are at play.

With lush pads I simply can't confirm your results, I am using Windows, though, unlike you obviously, and I use a different DAW. With short mono sounds like that ugly sound in your video most synths are pretty efficient...

[MikeCallon]

Yes, I always keep my computers until they break, usually after 10 years or so. I am not the consumerist kind of guy, I try to lead a sustainable life, to the extent possible that is. I know my mere existence is a problem for our planet...

The vast majority of PC components can be recycled these days, so you're mere existence shouldn't be an issue

I'm afraid if you want to keep buying the latest software then your old hardware just won't cut it (certainly not in another 5 years!) and you really can't expect developers to keep supporting old hardware & operating systems for longer than the original hardware manufacturers/software companies do.

I'd suggest your 'non-consumerist' tendencies that apply to your hardware need to also apply to the software you intend to run on it

Seriously though you don't need anything too hefty to run Hive on ... my 3 year old i5 does the job very well. For the price of Hive + Diva you can upgrade to something that will do the job very nicely (sorry Urs - not trying to do you out of business )

[fluffy_little_something]

Your i5 is probably better than my equally old AMD processor

I must say, though, that I use a 96 kHz sampling rate these days because I employ pitch bending a lot and that often sounds ugly with a lower rate, especially on the upper half of the keyboard. Somehow I need to hear the way it should sound, not the way it will sound when I use a higher rate later on, like during mixing or exporting to WAV. I need to hear the correct sound while working, from the very start.

That is also my issue with even more demanding plugins. That whole draft mode and freezing business is not my cup of tea.

I am not expecting U-he not to use the latest technology available. All I am saying is that Sylenth is more efficient on my computer, there is no blaming. When I tried the demo, I was still using the 44 kHz sampling rate, so I did not come across the CPU issue. I don't watch the CPU load usually, I only notice it when the sound starts to crackle.

Hive is a good synth, though, no doubt about it. Still, I will sell it asap (what exactly is the waiting period?!), but maybe buy it again in 2020 or so, maybe it will be around for many years like Sylenth But by then I might as well have already been recycled myself

[EvilDragon]

AMD. That says it all

[fluffy_little_something]

Yeah, I know, but I avoid Intel. It's like Google, way too dominant for my taste, almost a monopolist

[chk071]

My recent desktop computer is Intel/NVidia. Best thing i ever done. With AMD graphics cards i always had driver problems, flickering textures, shadows and what not in games. Nothing with, or rather only few issues with my NVidia card. The system is rock stable too, don't think Win 8.1 ever crashed here once in 3/4 year now... monopolists do have the monopole for a reason mostly btw.

[EvilDragon]

Yeah, I know, but I avoid Intel. It's like Google, way too dominant for my taste, almost a monopolist

Well the simple truth is that Intel has way better performance than AMD, so that's about that. AMD just laps up the scraps, they don't have their tech at the same level, not even close. Cheapo solution with cheapo performance.

There's a reason Intel has monopoly. Simply becaue nobody can really touch them.

[fluffy_little_something]

Well, in the past AMD was not so bad actually. Sure, their stuff was clearly cheaper, but not much worse. Often they were bargains with excellent performance for the buck. And the quality was not cheap, either, AMD processors last as long as Intel ones.

But I guess they no longer try to be a rival to Intel in the CPU market. Maybe it is not worth it anymore now that tablets, cell phones etc. are replacing conventional computers...

I have to scroll down quite a bit before the first AMD CPU appears on that list, at 10297 points And that is almost twice as many points as mine (5869)
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

[Shiek927]

And I don't agree with your verdict on sound at all. It may sound a little bit better in some cases, but in others it sounds a bit worse. All of that is subjective of course, it depends what sound you are after...

I guess I can't argue with your ears, but Hive sounds much better and hardware-like than Sylenth1. Sylenth1 can sound very juicy and acidic, but so can Hive and with much more power and clarity. A lot of which comes down to the filters which are only second to Diva. Not to mention the overall design and really clever mod-matrix.

Most important of all however are u-he themselves. Sylenth1's support, from what I've seen, has basically dropped off the planet. Customers however are free to talk with u-he pretty much everyday, not to mention popular feature requests can eventually be reality. FM/Sync for example, which Sylenth1 doesn't have, looks like it's going to be a new feature.

But different strokes, I guess :3.

[bmrzycki]

Well, in the past AMD was not so bad actually. Sure, their stuff was clearly cheaper, but not much worse. Often they were bargains with excellent performance for the buck. And the quality was not cheap, either, AMD processors last as long as Intel ones.

In 2011 I decided to upgrade my aging Core2Duo Intel processor with an AMD Phenom II X6 1090T. After installing it I was disappointed to discover the single-core throughput of the Hexacore was slower than the Core2Duo. Presets in Zebra2 that ran fine were now creating dropouts and forget about using Diva. I quickly sold the combo on Craigslist (at a loss), switched to an Intel Core i7-3770 and haven't looked back. The dropouts disappeared and I could run Diva again.

Think about it this way: most music developers are small companies like u-he. They have to minimize risk by picking the most common targets their customer are likely to have. Since Macs are big in the music world and they only ship Intel processors it makes sense cross-platform companies optimize for the same Intel target. The company buys Intel machines to develop and test on and inevitably that's what their software will run best on.

I too wish for a decent competitor to Intel for price and feature competition. As it stands today Intel owns the x86 market.

[xx JPRacer xx]

Wonder what will happen if Microsoft buy AMD...

[fluffy_little_something]

Well, in the past AMD was not so bad actually. Sure, their stuff was clearly cheaper, but not much worse. Often they were bargains with excellent performance for the buck. And the quality was not cheap, either, AMD processors last as long as Intel ones.

In 2011 I decided to upgrade my aging Core2Duo Intel processor with an AMD Phenom II X6 1090T. After installing it I was disappointed to discover the single-core throughput of the Hexacore was slower than the Core2Duo. Presets in Zebra2 that ran fine were now creating dropouts and forget about using Diva. I quickly sold the combo on Craigslist (at a loss), switched to an Intel Core i7-3770 and haven't looked back. The dropouts disappeared and I could run Diva again.

Think about it this way: most music developers are small companies like u-he. They have to minimize risk by picking the most common targets their customer are likely to have. Since Macs are big in the music world and they only ship Intel processors it makes sense cross-platform companies optimize for the same Intel target. The company buys Intel machines to develop and test on and inevitably that's what their software will run best on.

I too wish for a decent competitor to Intel for price and feature competition. As it stands today Intel owns the x86 market.

That AMD processor of yours was basically the same level as mine

Of course I understand that developers focus on Intel. I would do the same I suppose. I guess Sylenth was developed at a time when AMD and Intel were still fierce competitors, so LD probably tested his synth on AMD as well because the race was still undecided.

Anyway, we are a bit off-topic, just a tiny bit

[fluffy_little_something]

Wonder what will happen if Microsoft buy AMD...

They would screw it up They have the anti-Midas touch, like AOL