Performance HUD
When playback isn't smooth or you want to understand how Orbit is performing on your system, the Performance HUD shows real-time diagnostic information. It's useful for investigating glitches, comparing different settings, and confirming that your system is handling the workload.
Pro
The Performance HUD's GPU profiling readouts are an Orbit Pro feature. Base Orbit shows the basic CPU and audio buffer indicators only.
Opening the HUD
- Menu: Debug → Toggle Performance HUD (⌘⌥D)
- Shows a floating window with real-time performance metrics.
Metrics to watch
| Metric | What it means | Healthy range / guidance |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Usage | Host CPU usage sample | Low and steady; spikes with render time suggest contention |
| Sample Rate / Buffer Size | Device clock and buffer length | Buffer 128–512 frames typical; unexpected changes = device switch |
| Render avg/p95/max (ms) | Engine render time per buffer | Stay well below buffer duration (<25% is comfortable); p95/max near buffer size risk underruns |
| Load (%) | Render time as % of buffer duration | <50% steady is good; >75% sustained or spiky warrants attention |
| Underruns | Buffer underrun count | 0 and not increasing. A single blip might be benign; rising counts during playback need attention |
| Faults | Engine fault count | 0; investigate any non-zero value |
| Active Objects | Objects currently contributing | Matches ADM expectation; big jumps without timeline changes suggest ADM/mute/solo issues |
| Event/Prep/Log Queues | Internal queue depths | Near zero or stable; growth correlates with contention or I/O stalls |
| Blocks | Total buffers rendered | Reference counter to align timing between runs |
| Transport | Engine transport time (s) | Should track playback; sanity check HUD sync |
When to use
- Investigate glitches: watch underruns and render p95/max.
- Compare routing/mode changes: ensure active object counts and queues stay stable.