109%-170% CPU in Ableton (Mac)

[Hillbom]

Hello!

I've been looking in to this problem for a long time now and it seems that a lot of people have this problem, but I have never really found an solution.

When I'm working in a project usually with around 9-15 tracks (more audio than midi) with no plug-ins with known heavy CPU usage, I can sometimes peak at 109% in the CPU bar by just playing a simple audio loop.
This is impossible to work with. I've tried restarting Ableton as well as my computer. I've also tried closing down all of my other programs running; problem's still there. I get that this problem would occur at the end mix down stage with about 33 tracks with heavy processing on them, but with a project just started with almost nothing in it shouldn't peak at 109%.

My Macbook is a maxed out 11-inch Macbook Air (2012). (See attached photo for full specs)

If this is a problem I have to learn to live with, what would I have to do to always be able to work flawlessly with no pops and crackles? If it is the computer that is the problem what specs would I need to get it to work? Is it the loss of RAM?

I hope you can help me solve this problem for me, and everybody else having this problem.

/Hillbom

Skärmavbild 2017-02-21 kl. 15.31.35.png

[DJ Warmonger]

1. What is your audio interface? Which drivers do you use?
2. Which processor model is that? Either way, 2 GHz is not quite much for studio work.

[bobhva]

First off your computer is a 5 year old laptop. Maxed out 5 years ago is pretty week by todays standards. The Core I7 is only running at 2Ghz and 8GB of ram is also on the low end for memory these days. If your computer is really maxed out there is not much you can do to help with your problem beside what you are already doing. The processor speed and amount of RAM are the two most important factors when evaluating how "powerful" a computer is.

[exmatproton]

First off your computer is a 5 year old laptop. Maxed out 5 years ago is pretty week by todays standards. The Core I7 is only running at 2Ghz and 8GB of ram is also on the low end for memory these days. If your computer is really maxed out there is not much you can do to help with your problem beside what you are already doing. The processor speed and amount of RAM are the two most important factors when evaluating how "powerful" a computer is.

I disagree.

Such a device must be able to play waves with just a couple of FX units. Also, processor speed isn't that important. The (M)IPS are. Also, RAM isn't that important, since performance (speed) won't get affected by more RAM (after 4~6GB on most systems). If one uses a lot of samples, then RAM is necessary.

What i am thinking (cause it is an old device) is that the HDD is getting old and slow. Also, maybe the cooling of the CPU is getting worn out, so it will clock back in speed faster then usual. Resulting in (often much) lower performance.

An HDD swap and re-applying of the cooler would do the trick, if that is the issue. You could/should (ofcourse) start with a fresh install.

Also, i would erase your serial number on your screenshot...

[whyterabbyt]

around 9-15 tracks (more audio than midi) with no plug-ins with known heavy CPU usage, I can sometimes peak at 109% in the CPU bar by just playing a simple audio loop.

I get that this problem would occur at the end mix down stage with about 33 tracks with heavy processing on them

I'd be wondering where these fairly arbitrary numbers and assumptions are coming from, because reality is clearly at odds with them.

Also, you don't mention your Live version, or your audio hardware. Insightful answers rely on sufficient information.

[bobhva]

I disagree.

Such a device must be able to play waves with just a couple of FX units. Also, processor speed isn't that important. The (M)IPS are. Also, RAM isn't that important, since performance (speed) won't get affected by more RAM (after 4~6GB on most systems). If one uses a lot of samples, then RAM is necessary.

What i am thinking (cause it is an old device) is that the HDD is getting old and slow. Also, maybe the cooling of the CPU is getting worn out, so it will clock back in speed faster then usual. Resulting in (often much) lower performance.

An HDD swap and re-applying of the cooler would do the trick, if that is the issue. You could/should (ofcourse) start with a fresh install.

Also, i would erase your serial number on your screenshot...

Wow, 35 years of computer experience down the drain with one post. By this logic I could still be running a 486DX2 if only I had changed out the cooling fan and hard drive. haha
As far as processor speed and RAM being not important(I want some of what you are smoking), we will just go with you MIPS comments:
92,100 MIPS at 2.93 GHz (Core I7 875k) vs 317,900 MIPS at 3.0 GHz (Core I7 6950X)

I do however agree with you about not posting his serial number.

[exmatproton]

I disagree.

Such a device must be able to play waves with just a couple of FX units. Also, processor speed isn't that important. The (M)IPS are. Also, RAM isn't that important, since performance (speed) won't get affected by more RAM (after 4~6GB on most systems). If one uses a lot of samples, then RAM is necessary.

What i am thinking (cause it is an old device) is that the HDD is getting old and slow. Also, maybe the cooling of the CPU is getting worn out, so it will clock back in speed faster then usual. Resulting in (often much) lower performance.

An HDD swap and re-applying of the cooler would do the trick, if that is the issue. You could/should (ofcourse) start with a fresh install.

Also, i would erase your serial number on your screenshot...

Wow, 35 years of computer experience down the drain with one post. By this logic I could still be running a 486DX2 if only I had changed out the cooling fan and hard drive. haha
As far as processor speed and RAM being not important(I want some of what you are smoking), we will just go with you MIPS comments:
92,100 MIPS at 2.93 GHz (Core I7 875k) vs 317,900 MIPS at 3.0 GHz (Core I7 6950X)

I do however agree with you about not posting his serial number.

?? I think you're taking my post a bit out of context here.
I am obviously not talking about 20 year old hardware....

All i am saying is that, in this case, CPU freq speed isn't everything. 2 CPU's at (around) the same speed (MHz) can perform completely different (because of the instructions/die/iteration/etc). There are way more parameters to consider, aside from the amount of MHz...also, you're exactly posting, what i meant (the 875k vs 6950x).

About the RAM; you really believe (after 35 year of computer exp. ) that 8 GB or 16 GB is going to make ANY difference in performance? In this laptop? Don't make me laugh...

Listen, if he had a laptop with 1 or 2GB RAM, a 10 year old CPU and never replaced his HDD, i would advice him to replace his whole laptop. However, in this case, a 5 year old laptop should be able to do some realtime DAW work.

[DJ Warmonger]

About the RAM; you really believe that 8 GB or 16 GB is going to make ANY difference in performance? In this laptop? Don't make me laugh...

That's right. Apparently the guy didn't load enough stuff yet to fill up these 8 GB of RAM. Until he posts a 99% RAM usage figure, I wouldn't consider it to be an issue.

What i am thinking (cause it is an old device) is that the HDD is getting old and slow

I never head about HDD getting "old and slow", where did you get this idea?

Surely MacOS has some system monitoring, until we see it it's a blind guess.

[exmatproton]

About the RAM; you really believe that 8 GB or 16 GB is going to make ANY difference in performance? In this laptop? Don't make me laugh...

That's right. Apparently the guy didn't load enough stuff yet to fill up these 8 GB of RAM. Until he posts a 99% RAM usage figure, I wouldn't consider it to be an issue.

What i am thinking (cause it is an old device) is that the HDD is getting old and slow

I never head about HDD getting "old and slow", where did you get this idea?

Surely MacOS has some system monitoring, until we see it it's a blind guess.

An HDD will wear out (try Google; block error's for instance ). By "old and slow" i don't mean that the speed at which the HDD is turning, is slowing down. Just that error's and bad sectors will slow down the overall performance of the device. That's often why these days older (4 to 7 year old ones, for instance) are being upgraded by swapping the old HDD with a SSD.

The 3 things i brought up (cooling, old HDD and re-installing everything) are my best guesses with the information he provided.

[thecontrolcentre]

Maybe try opening the project that's hitting 100% and delete any plugins (or tracks) one by one until you see a significant CPU drop. Then you'll know what's causing these spikes (maybe).

[Hillbom]

1. What is your audio interface? Which drivers do you use?
2. Which processor model is that? Either way, 2 GHz is not quite much for studio work.

1. Scarlett 2i2
2. All I know about my prosessor is what is in that picture.

[dave dove]

don't worry about it unless you can hear an issue
see this article:

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... k-Manager-

is a mac so no need to worry about drivers
the 2i2 is plug and play
there is a known issue with it when left idle for an amount of time
it may crackle and pop
so if you got a gig and done your soundcheck
disconnect and reconnect the 2i2 before you start the show
i know this cos it happened to me....

dave

[pottering]

Most process in Live are non-destructive, that means that every time you play a project it is recalculating everything in realtime, especially Warping.
If you have audio warped with Complex and Complex Pro (that use a lot of CPU), you are not "just playing WAVs", those audio clips will be using a lot of CPU unless you actually freeze.

The meter in Live's top right is NOT a CPU meter, it is a CPU LOAD meter, it is affected by other process you may be running and your buffer settings, so may try rising your buffer.

If you want to see Live's real CPU usage you should use Activity Monitor or similar.

[Winstontaneous]

What are your buffer settings? Have you tried freezing tracks?

[kmatheussen]

First off your computer is a 5 year old laptop. Maxed out 5 years ago is pretty week by todays standards. The Core I7 is only running at 2Ghz and 8GB of ram is also on the low end for memory these days. If your computer is really maxed out there is not much you can do to help with your problem beside what you are already doing. The processor speed and amount of RAM are the two most important factors when evaluating how "powerful" a computer is.

I disagree.

Such a device must be able to play waves with just a couple of FX units. Also, processor speed isn't that important. The (M)IPS are. Also, RAM isn't that important, since performance (speed) won't get affected by more RAM (after 4~6GB on most systems). If one uses a lot of samples, then RAM is necessary.

What i am thinking (cause it is an old device) is that the HDD is getting old and slow. Also, maybe the cooling of the CPU is getting worn out, so it will clock back in speed faster then usual. Resulting in (often much) lower performance.

An HDD swap and re-applying of the cooler would do the trick, if that is the issue. You could/should (ofcourse) start with a fresh install.

Also, i would erase your serial number on your screenshot...

I agree with this post. HDD or fan is likely to cause this. Vacuuming the air flow system for dust can do wonders to old lap tops, and half-faulty HDDs can almost stall a computer. Could be other reasons as well though, but a 2Ghz core i7 computer is not a slow computer. Personal computers aren't that getting much faster anymore, so a 5 year old computer should not be slow.