It's less about total cycles and more about scheduling. You don't really want a real-time or low latency thing like sound to get preempted by ano

It's less about total cycles and more about scheduling. You don't really want a real-time or low latency thing like sound to get preempted by another process. This is true, but Windows and Mac prioritize this well at the OS level. I've been using mostly USB sound devices for the last ~15 years including gaming and never any skipping or desync issues. Not sure about Linux, I have not used it as a daily driver.