If you have noticed huge CPU spikes when using Serum the simple reason is that you probably have a slower CPU processor.
And that’s without even considering the number of instances of Serum and other virtual instruments you are running in your DAW.
In a nutshell, for Serum to sound as good as it does this requires extensive CPU processing power which also takes into account the following scenarios:
- More voices playing simultaneously (polyphony) = High CPU Usage.
- Complex “spaghetti” modulation routing (LFOs, Envelopes e.t.c) = High CPU usage.
- Turning on multiple Serum effects = High CPU usage.
- Stacking more unison voices on both oscillators = High CPU usage
Solutions to Using Serum with a Slow Computer
The straightforward explanation to address Serum’s CPU usage is to just upgrade your computer bro. If you have a desktop machine you should replace the CPU with a faster one.
Word of advice: don’t bother upgrading your RAM before upgrading your CPU especially if you mainly use synthesizers such as Serum.
RAM doesn’t necessarily address the issue of your machine being taxed by Serum because the DSP processing is heavily dependent on your CPU. This is were all the number crunching happens.
If upgrading your machine is not an option then you probably might want to freeze or bounce your tracks and relieve your machine from such a huge workload.
Just so you know, Serum is not a wavetable synthesizer for faint-hearted computers but lion-hearted computers can tame the wilderness of Serum. Now have a good day. Cheers.
