I am a long time user of Cubase now, and allways without any problems. Recently i bought a new pc, and it has an Intel i5 with 16gb memory and a 4 gb Nividia videocard. Perfect you would say, well, it maybe sounds better then it is…
I use Cubase 7 and a M-audio projectmix i/o as my mixer. All my drivers and plugins are up to date.
When i start Cubase everything is fine, but as soon as i start NI Kontakt the performanc meter reads 30% allready, when i load one of my library’s like NI Action Strings or Action Strikes the performance meter really goes nuts. Even a "
" simpeler" plugin like NI A.R. 50’s Drummer makes the performance meter crazy. The name N.I. alone makes Cubase goes nuts allready. Not using NI stuff sounds likea solution, but i invest a lot in Kontakt and the library’s i have. I should change my username in Desperately Seeking Susan… 
Any suggestions anyone? Did i miss something to do or to install ?
If these are 32 bit plugins using VSTBridge then I can report that some of my oldest 32 bit plugins cause 100% CPU. I demoed JBridge and this doesn’t happen, low CPU usage instead, so for me the cause was VSTBridge. I avoid those plugins now.
Mike.
Thanks for your response. I’m not using much 32 bit plugins anymore. The solution to my problem should be in an old thread by “promotouk” in the “solved issues forum” , and that is to remove the older preference file, but there is absolutey no preference file there. I really checked every folder. I can’t respond anymore,coz the thread was allready closed last year.
Your not alone, many threads are popping up with this issue since 7.0, hopefully steinberg will iron this out. One way to test actual CPU strain in windows is to open cubase and load up , run your plug ins, and hit control alt delete and open task manager, then select the performance tab, and compare the % in task manager to the vst performance meter. I found that task manager was around 33% CPU usage while vst was 50-70% usage with spikes to 100% and some clipping. Some threads indicate video drivers could be the issue. Also if your working on large projects for commercial purposes, I would go with the i7 chip, I wouldn’t be able to run my templates with i5…
Thanks for your reply. It’s not only Cubase 7, because i also tried Cubase 4,5 and 6, and all have the same problem.
Does the M-audio device have drivers which support MMCSS and ASIO 2.2?
Haha, thats a very good question. 
I have no idea, but what i know is that the last update is from febuary 6 2012 i believe. I also contacted the store were i bought the projectmix, and they also told me that the projectmix could be the problem.
I don’t believe M-audio have kept pace in this area even though the parent company digidesign have.
The asio meter performance in cubase is different than the CPU usage on your task manager as I’m told. So looks like you have asio issue.