Does X3 Producer utilise CUDA or GPGPU?

No. But Windows does. In that it can use the GPU directly as games do. It does not use CUDA though. The application needs to be CUDA aware to use CUDA. For example Vegas Pro uses CUDA if you have the right graphics card. Some of the plugins for it can use it too. I believe with Sonar there may be a few plugins that can use CUDA. But don't ask me which ones.   

liamflanagan
I use Windows, so X3 doesn't use either CUDA or GPGPU for processing? What does use? How do you know what it uses?
 
Thanks
 
Liam

It uses your CPU. GPU based DSP and audio processing has not caught on because of competing API's and technical issues. GPU architecture is designed for multiple simultaneous threads being run in parallel. Since DAW's and audio processing in general require a lot of serial data flow,  it's not the easiest thing to implement. 
 
There's also significant latency issues, though these seem to be diminishing as Virtual Reality is becoming a 'reality' in the market and low latency rendering is required for accurate non-sickness inducing experiences. 

From what I can see at work: scientists try to use CUDA (and other GPU based calculations), it is "modern". But the result is normally disappointing, either the cards are overheated or the results are incorrect. GPU was not build to deliver precise accurate results, who will notice that left rear weal on some car you see in 200 meters is drown incorrectly for 1/80 of second? Game "profis" really are, in Internet you can find many comparisons between reference picture (CPU generated) and accelerated (GPU generated) with discussion about "artifacts" (the difference between them). For video it is almost the same, if some pixel was rendered wrong, no one notice that. But are you ready to accept such "artifacts" in your music?
 
I have also seen many notebooks burned by GPU cards under continuous full load.
 
In case you want hardware accelerated audio processing, there are specialized solutions. For example http://www.uaudio.com/uad-plug-ins/uad-2-satellite.html
 

Graphics card shouldn't be your main priority, spend that money on the interface, memory and CPU.

Having said that I tend to buy a graphics card for other reasons like multi-monitor (external) support/better resolutions.... and better video editing in other apps.
 
Ta

@CakeAlexS Sorry to hear about your bad experience with them. I'm going to getting an external extra monitor most graphics cards can handle an extra monitor, can't they?

I have a Nvidia card that does support CUDA and I have it set in Vegas Pro. Some users have done tests and can cut rendering time using it. I haven't had any trouble with it and though what was said above about it would give some pause. Still, if you have a program that can use it I don't see why not get a card that has it. In any case it is optional.
 
 

liamflanagan
@CakeAlexS Sorry to hear about your bad experience with them. I'm going to getting an external extra monitor most graphics cards can handle an extra monitor, can't they?

That would be a likely assumption.
You need to find out the make and models and look at the specs yourself on the internet. Don't take anything for granted I suggest from sales people. Note one day you might want a two external monitors, that's always a nice option. And how about HDMI for instance? Bid your time and research carefully I suggest (then buy a Dell , of course loads of people will now be posting that Dell's are crap now I've posted it ! hahaha). I would also look at HP and ASUS. Scan might tell you their PC is custom built but that in reality means sod all, the components are everywhere even in mass produced machines.... And remember the after service support is a really important factor.Ta.

> Can consumer models compare to the one I was thinking of buying from Scan? 

Absolutely.. it's all made in China or whatever anyway. Cakewalk uses HP laptops for instance.
 
Get into the specs and do your research on the internet, just type in the make and model numbers, and look at the reviews. See what's inside the box, find out what it all means.... That's my recommendation.
 
The audio interface is extremely important as is memory and CPU. Hard drive space and specs is another factor.
 
Cheers...
 
 

I forgot to say the main reason you would buy a PC from a DAW specialist (of which scan micro is not) is so they customize and optimise the software perfectly for Sonar. You can do this as well BTW (in time you would probably do a better job yourself, plenty of tips in these forums). It is not as hard as you think. I suggest you don't waste your money although plenty of people here have paid for this sort of service (nothing against that, these people though think a PC is like a formula one car and always want the latest parts and clock up their PC like games machines). I though prefer larger companies because they can source replacement parts easier when they go wrong.
 
Sonar will almost certainly work straight out of the box anyway with a laptop of the right specs (check the Sonar product page for this). Ask yourself though if you need a laptop, you only need one if you are going offsite, a desktop would be better and cheaper otherwise.

I will add that with laptops, in particular, please note that MANY Wi-Fi adapters on laptops cause massive latency spikes, which doesn't matter other than when you need low latency for things like Sonar or other music applications.
 
Sooooooo, my suggestion is to be prepared to either physically switch off the Wi-Fi (if there is a switch), or use a function key to do do (if it uses a function key for controlling the Wi-Fi), or go into Windows Device Manager and temporarily 'disable' your Wi-Fi adapter, ONLY doing so just prior to launching Sonar - or some other music application that is streaming audio.
 
I used to use a laptop for gigging, and lots of other folks have used theirs remotely as well, and many have to do as I have posted above, to prevent real problems with latency from the Wi-Fi adapters.
 
As soon as you finish using your music application, Sonar or whatever, switch the Wi-Fi adapter back on, or enable it in Windows, and you are good to go for surfing again.
 
It's not a big deal to switch them on/off, but if can make a HUGE difference in your sound quality.
 
Oh - I would also recommend you make sure your laptop has at least 1 USB 2 port, as some USB-connected audio interfaces freak out if they get plugged into a USB 3 port.
 
Also, I recommend trying to pick one up that has at least 8 GB of memory, and if possible, get one with a 2nd physical hard drive.  Splitting things off so that the OS and applications are one the primary drive, and data libraries and projects and such are on a 2nd physical drive REALLY makes things run a lot zestier.
 
Best of luck with all of it - we will be here to assist you with anything we can.
 
Bob Bone
 

liamflanagan
@CakeAlexS I'm getting a laptop as I may have go off site in the future, so good to have that option. I can see what you mean about doing my own research. What is Scan then? Who is a DAW specialist. I thought of going with Scan as they could tune up the laptop to work at maximum capacity and I wouldn't be have to deal with all the crap that you can't remove from a consumer laptop that takes up hard drive space and processing power.

Well their blurb:
 
" Our Pro Audio workstations are fully optimised for studio and music production duties. We test our music production PCs with a wide range of software & hardware with a focus on building powerful, quiet audio solutions so that you can simply get on with writing and producing great music. "
 
So as I haven't bought a machine off them recently I guess I can't comment.
They just assemble PC's which they custom build and install Windows on top of it. They may do some optimization, but it won't be any where near as good as you will do eventually.
 
But I suggest YOU are to become the DAW specialist. They may optimize it, but they don't maintain it throughout it's life. In order to maintain it you will need to do some optimizations yourself. Like I say though Cakewalk should work out the box without much optimization to start off with. You might have to tweak the power management but that generally is all. It's all part of the fun anyway (and pain which everybody goes through once in a while).
 
Do what you are happy with anyway, maybe I'm over harsh on them but I hate people spending money on stuff they don't need to spend it on because of marketing.

@CakewalkAlexS I akready have an audio interface and have optimised X3 Producer for my laptop. I just need to upgrade from my current 5 year old laptop. The Scan laptop I'm looking at furfils all the specs that I know about. Getting stuck with things I don't know about such as Graphics card. I'm wanting to work doing Music for Media so the laptop needs to be able to handle Producer X3 and video files and be stable. Just want some help/advice or direction to help and advice on what I should looking for.
 
 

Here is a site to compare hardware. I don't really have much brand loyalty myself with graphics cards:
http://www.hwcompare.com

I strongly recommend looking at internet reviews as well in case of known issues. Thanks.

It is not really necessary unless you are experiencing symptoms such as clicking and stutters. Save your energy otherwise I suggest or perform your own benchmarks to find out.

OpenCL is the best option for applications  looking for GPU acceleration, because CUDA is propriety and wont work on other hardware besides nVidia.
OpenCL is also receiving a lot of support from video encoders and video editing programs.
 

robert_e_bone
I will add that with laptops, in particular, please note that MANY Wi-Fi adapters on laptops cause massive latency spikes, which doesn't matter other than when you need low latency for things like Sonar or other music applications.
 
Sooooooo, my suggestion is to be prepared to either physically switch off the Wi-Fi (if there is a switch), or use a function key to do do (if it uses a function key for controlling the Wi-Fi), or go into Windows Device Manager and temporarily 'disable' your Wi-Fi adapter, ONLY doing so just prior to launching Sonar - or some other music application that is streaming audio.

This is true, I had this problem. You can find an updated driver from the official manufacturer of the hardware (not the brand it was licensed under) and that can also fix it and you won't need to change anything.