Is a mix without any ext plugins always CPU friendly?

[Suds]

Thought:

If I just use the onboard EQ and Comp, maybe a reverb or two on a bus, can I assume that because they are built in, I will never reach maximum CPU? Things will remain nice and smooth?

[Ben@Harrison]

Hi Suds,

Mixbus uses significant CPU resources to recreate the analog console experience. You'll have to experiment to determine how many tracks you can run on a given system.

The DSP meter ( in the bottom-right corner of OSX, or the top-right corner on windows/linux ) will help you determine when your system is maxed out. Most systems can run up to about 80% without problems, but some go all the way to 100% while others have problems at 50%. It depends largely on how many other applications you have running, the quality of your soundcard drivers, the buffersize setting, and the realtime-responsiveness of your OS.

[Suds]

Ah, that's why it sounds so good.....no issues so far on a MacBook Pro 2010 dual core, 8gb ram. I've had 27 or so tracks and not even 50% dsp.

Thanks for the clarification.