I've been comparing my RTL-SDR Blog V3 and HackRF One setups, particularly focusing on CPU utilization during wideband operations. Running GQRX with both devices on identical Ubuntu 22.04 systems, the RTL-SDR at 2.4 MSPS consistently uses 15-20% less CPU than the HackRF at similar sample rates.

This becomes critical during contest weekends when I'm running multiple instances. Has anyone else noticed significant processing differences between these platforms? I'm particularly interested in experiences with GNU Radio applications beyond basic reception.

Both dongles are using identical antenna systems (Diamond D-130J discone), so hardware frontend shouldn't be the variable here.

Interesting observation. The RTL2832U has dedicated hardware DSP blocks that handle some of the initial filtering and decimation, whereas HackRF pushes more processing to the host CPU. Try running volk_profile on both systems - the RTL-SDR benefits significantly from SIMD optimizations.

I've seen similar behavior with my setup. HackRF's 8-bit samples vs RTL-SDR's more optimized data path makes a difference. For contest monitoring, I actually prefer multiple RTL-SDRs over a single HackRF - better performance per dollar and easier to distribute across different bands.

Are you using the same gain settings? HackRF's AGC behavior can cause unnecessary CPU spikes if not properly configured. Also worth checking if you're hitting USB3 vs USB2 bandwidth limitations - that can affect processing overhead significantly.