Cubase Pro 12constantly crashing excessive Cpu Consumption & instability Issues

Cubase
1

Hello everyone

I am new to this Forum, however I have been a user of Steinberg products since 2001 (Nuendo 1.5), I have a lot of experience with them, such as configuring computers for Windows-based DAWs, however, lately I am experiencing a lot of frustration with the latest versions of Cubase, (Cubase 12 in versions 12.0.50, 12.0.52 and the most problematic 12.0.60). I have lived nightmares with instability, multi crashed, etc., excessive cpu consumption with overload peaks all the time that generate glitches in the audio (1024/2048 ASIO Buffer), however with the Cubase / Nuendo 11.0.41 versions everything works perfect with 128/256 of ASIO buffer), on the same Windows 10 based production and mixing computers with all the specialized OS setup suitable for DAWs.
I understand that I am writing this very long topic on the Forum, but My concern is that in Cubase 12.0.60, Frequency 2 Dynamic EQ the problems continue, and I have taken some time to read the Forum, where many users experience similar problems.
I am a music producer and mixing engineer with 30 years of experience, I work with important artists, many of them Grammy winners, and I am giving myself the opportunity to change from DAWs to others like Protools, in search of stability and confidence, since lately I have had Several problems with several Steinberg products such as Cubase 12, the Frequency EQ, I use this plugin a lot as a dynamic EQ, when I close the session and open the same session again, the compression and expansion sound in the different frequency bands do not work or sound correctly (however you see graphical activity in this plugin), so I have to move the threshold faders of each band so that they can work and the sound is heard correctly, this problem consumes my work time, so I decided to change that Frequency EQ for another Plugin like Fabfilter Q3, the problem that Cubase 12 constantly freezes and closes itself and more with this plugin, and that doesn’t happen with Cubase/Nuendo 11, that’s why I didn’t want to upgrade from Nuendo 11 to Nuendo 12.

Another problem that happened to me was with the activation, a week ago I traveled from Miami to New York to work in another Studio and to my surprise when I turn on my Laptop and try to open Cubase 12, a message appeared that I had already exceeded the limit of three computers with the activation, and that was a Saturday night, and I couldn’t contact Steinberg support because they only work Monday to Friday, which forced me to work on that Studio’s computer with Protools 2022, and I still haven’t fixed it those activation problems. I comment to see if you can help me with that.

I have always been very loyal to Steinberg products since 2001, because I really like the Workflow/Sound and I am very used to working with them, and now I am worried that all the latest new products are not working optimally and I think that we have to evolve, since I am upgrading my Studio to Dolby Atmos and I would like to continue with my favorite Daw Nuendo 12 / Cubase 12, hopefully the Steinberg team can fix all these Bugs.
I work with other Softwares like Ableton 11, Fruityloops, Reason Studio 12, Steinberg Wavelab pro 11 and Magix Sequia (for mastering), Cubase/Nuendo 11.0.41) very stable without any problems.

Reference of my system:

2x Computers based on the following Hardware:
-Asus X299 Deluxe II motherboard, I9-10980XE, 128 GB Ram Corsair Dominator 3600, Corsair liquid cooling iCUE H100i. storage 4x Samsung EVO 870 4tb.
-Video Card AMD Radeon Pro WX6600 (with the latest version of Adrenaline Drivers 23.Q1), 3x 24" Asus Screens via Displayport
-Audio Interface: RME HDSPe MADI fx, 2x Antelope Galaxi 32 (as AD/DA converters via MADI, 1x SPL Madison MADI.

As reference information, when I updated to the latest Adrenaline Drivers 23.Q1 (on AMD Radeon Pro WX6600 video card), the excessive and unstable CPU consumption in Cubase12.0.xx was further intensified, I tried to go back to the previous version of Adrenaline Driver, but Cubase 12.0.60 did not improve on CPU performance.

When Cubase 12 freezes and I reopen it I always send Steinberg the Crash Logs so they can investigate at least my problems, and I think the problems of many Cubase 12 users.

Thank you very much for your attention.

2

You can upload the crash dumps here. The mods can help with that. If any plugin causes a crash in Cubase, I would contact the plugin manufacturer.

Also, this might help Disabling the Preferences

3

This is something very easy to handle yourself. Just login to the mySteinberg Website and deactivate one of the active computers. See here:

There is no need to call or wait for support for deactivating a license.

Get rid of Adrenaline and install the most basic driver. This software package is known to cause all kinds of trouble and is not needed for Cubase at all (it is a package for gamers).

4

Ummm just a thought , have you tried uninstalling the Adrenaline program , i know it’s caused issues in the past and Cubase does seem to be getting more choosey with Graphics as the years progress . I know you shouldn’t have to but in might be a hint to a cause

5

I’m running integrated video card as I don’t have video editing work to do, and 12.0.50 was for me the most stable version in all my history with Steinberg products, wich spans some 17 years! One thing I see regularly adviced, in this and similar forums, is to get ride of all but the most basic driver for your graphics card, all the performance video modes, etc. In fact, in Gearspace they once released a specific fix for Nvidia drivers, wich were causing havoc on top spec systems.

6

Regarding Cubase’s affinity to graphic cards, from reports I’ve read in Gearspace, it seems Cubase 12 (and Nuendo 12, my actual DAW) are the first effectively making use of powerful video cards in lowering system stress in low latencies. Some users reported increased performance when updating from integrated to discrete graphics engine. Now I don’t know if this is to be taken as a fact, as Steinberg hasn’t released any related information, but it could be a shift in the currently recommended hardware specs.

7

I started a thread about graphics in the Lounge area after building a newer computer and trying 3 different graphics cards and yes installing the software on both Nvadia and AMD caused hassles but finally im settled with graphics BUT im running 12.0.52 .
The Affinity requires third party software to keep the choice you make as it resets every time you reboot plus it’s hit and miss as to whether assigning audio only and graphic only to certain cores actually makes it more stable , all i know is Cubase is getting my fussy about which cards will work .
For me it was the random closures , stuttering graphics with plugins like SSL xlimit open and asio peaking out on 512 or anything below that , basically having a new graphics card ive gained approx 40% MORE performance because im not peaking on the Asio due to graphic glitches . Of course this is all system specific but this is what i found with my newly built newer system

9

Thanks for your comment!!!.
I installed from the AMD Adrenaline package only the driver (Basic Installation), not the Adrenaline program, Driver 23.Q1,

10

Thanks for your comment

Excellent tip! Thank you!, but my question, if I have only activated 3 computers (my two studio audio workstations and the laptop), and before the problem everything was in perfect working order, and when I need to work on my laptop that day I get that message ( exceeded the limit of three computers with the activation)?, I think that this activation method without eLicenser still has bugs.
When I did the update with the Adrenaline package, I only did the basic installation, only the 23Q1 driver (without the Adrenaline Software), However, before that I already had all the problems with Cubase 12.0.xx-12.0.60 instability, multi crashed , etc., excessive cpu consumption with overload peaks all the time that generate glitches in the audio(1024-2048 Asio Buffer), but when I opened the sessions with Cubase 11.0.41 (128-256 Asio Buffer) everything was perfect without any problem.

11

Do you have any crash dmp files for upload? Maybe they tell more about the issues you have

I don’t know the details on how the activation works, but I guess it includes the IP address in the calculation of how the licenses is validated. This could be the explanation for your laptop on the road.

12

it could be possible,!!!,
I hope Steinberg perfects that activation method
Thanks

13

I had a similar problem once and it was writing to the cloud as well as my ssd, Try taking a look at your windows cloud folder and see if some of your recorded files are there, this was happening even though I wasn’t connected to the internet. Because the cloud is much slower than a drive it was peaking and breaking up all over the place even though I’ve got a very powerful PC. I deleted my cloud folder and also uninstalled it and the problem was solved. It sounds completely illogical but it worked for me. It’s worth a try.

14

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Sorry for the delay in answering you, I have been in some very intense days of mixing, which by the way I had to work on Nuendo 11.0.41, since my Cubase 12 does not work correctly.
I am not a user of files in real time in the cloud, I only use Dropbox to share work files with colleagues who are collaborating.
I have done all kinds of tests, I have uninstalled, deleting the folders of all the settings such as Cubase 12 preferences, etc in Users\xxxx\appdata\Roaming\Steinberg\Cubase12_64\xxxxxxx…!, reinstall, set it from the beginning , however, the Cubase11/Nuendo11 versions work perfectly on the same studio workstations where Cubase 12 is also installed, and those machines are decently powerful and latest generation with intel i9 Xtreme processor, I think actually I have to wait for Steinberg’s group to fix those bugs, I thought this was the only thing happening to me, a well-known producer engineer colleague is also having performance problems with certain differences to mine in Cubase 12 with a similar interface system RME HDSPe Madi Fx with others AD/DA converters, so I think the problem comes with that version of DAW.

15

That information seems interesting to me and makes a lot of logical sense for Cubase 12, since in previous versions of Cubase/Nuendo these instability problems do not occur, and they could be related to the Hardware of my AMD Pro WX6600 video card and the compatibility with Cubase 12. What seems strange to me that Steinberg has not provided information about it!!, with a list of video cards that are 100% compatible!!