CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

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vaulics
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:26 pm

Hello, I am new to this forum so I apologize as this is yet another performance question but I'm at my wits end with this issue.

I recently did a clean install of windows 10 (yesterday) and reinstalled all up to date drivers, software and plugins after having a problem with ilok license manager refusing to update. Before my clean install ableton was running like butter on the system: i9 9820x 10core @3.3ghz with 32gb RAM samsung M.2 SSD focusrite clarett4pre TB using ASUS tb3ex card, windows 10 version 1909 and LIVE 10.1.9. Sessions that were running absolutely fine on the same system before I reinstalled the OS are now suddenly spiking above the 100% CPU usage threshold and making the projects unworkable. Here is a detailed description of the behavior as it occurs:

-After startup I open ableton and notice the CPU usage reads at 4% idle (which in my experience is normal)
-After about thirty seconds, generally when I add an instrument to a track and start playing around, idle CPU usage jumps to 15%
-Once this "change" in behavior occurs, all other tasks in the program seem to demand about 10 times more CPU usage than normal
-changing buffer size has no effect, neither does reducing the sample rate***
***(I tried it desperately even though in my heart I knew this was obviously not a solution as this machine was able to handle large sessions through the mixing process with extensive plugin use at 48khz and a 32bit buffer size without experiencing any abnormalities except in very extreme conditions, and even then I would never have to exceed 128bit to get flawless performance)

Other programs and functions on the PC are ideal, which is to be expected after a clean install. I have tried reinstalling the ableton software to no avail, submitted a support ticket but understand that these requests take time for a response - I know the user base is very knowledgeable and would appreciate any advice or tips. This really is such a mysterious occurrence and I'm stumped. Thank you so much for your help, and I will make sure to post any updates to the support ticket.
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

Mark Williams
Posts: 898
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Location: Kent

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by Mark Williams » Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:33 pm

Have you ensured you have changed power management to high performance etc, ensuring cpu performance is always at 100% etc.
Live 11, M1 Mac Mini, Push 2, Scarlett 18i20 & ADA8200, Softube Console 1 Mk2, Deepmind12, Hydrasynth, Cobalt 8M, Moog Subsequent 25, IK Uno Synth Pro, Plethora X3, Nord Drum 3P

vaulics
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Sun Apr 12, 2020 7:26 pm

Thanks for your response, I have adjusted the power settings and yes it has improved the performance. Though I'm not seeing the same performance that I had before the clean install it is at least workable and I can keep producing until the issues are resolved completely... very grateful to you for reminding me of this essential step that I neglected after reinstalling the OS! The idle CPU usage now drops to about 8% instead of 15% which is considerable. What is still baffling me is that upon a fresh start in ableton the system idles at 1-4% for a short while, then jumps up after about a minute in - so this weird occurrence is still in play albeit greatly improved by the change in power settings. I have also reinstalled all the drivers and reinstalled my tb3 card chasing the issue to no avail. I have also tried disabling the network adapter in the device manager, thinking that the component may be preventing optimal performance but that wasn't helping either.

Again thanks Mark for your help because it's now possible to work again even with this drawback!
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

TLW
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Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by TLW » Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:11 pm

If you’ve not already done it downloading and running the (free) latencymon.exe tool might help show what the problem is.

Also switch off cpu core parking if possible/applicable.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

vaulics
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:20 pm

I will definitely try the latency monitor. As for the parked cores would you go about it in the registry or with software? Or perhaps there is a utility in windows I am unaware of. I generally shy away from manipulating the registry - it can be dangerous on windows 10 unless you are very savvy, and I am only an amateur at best. Thank you for the advice!
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

manasseh
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:15 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by manasseh » Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:48 pm

Try "-_ForceGdiBackend" in options.txt, prefererences folder. Worked for a friend of mine with a similar problem
Live 10.1.30

Mark Williams
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Location: Kent

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by Mark Williams » Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:30 am

Any anti virus software running in background? In the powr management did you ensure the option for CPU stays at 100% usage.
Live 11, M1 Mac Mini, Push 2, Scarlett 18i20 & ADA8200, Softube Console 1 Mk2, Deepmind12, Hydrasynth, Cobalt 8M, Moog Subsequent 25, IK Uno Synth Pro, Plethora X3, Nord Drum 3P

vaulics
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:23 am

manasseh wrote:
Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:48 pm
Try "-_ForceGdiBackend" in options.txt, prefererences folder. Worked for a friend of mine with a similar problem
I've seen reference to this before... not sure about where exactly to add this but I'll look it up. TY
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

vaulics
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:34 am

Mark Williams wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:30 am
Any anti virus software running in background? In the powr management did you ensure the option for CPU stays at 100% usage.
I have windows defender running in a minimal capacity, have disabled reak-time protection and also disabled the conditions in the task scheduler. That is the extent of tweaking I have done for Windows Defender. Both min and max processor states are set at 100% in the advanced power settings. Is there anything else you would advise regarding windows defender? I have considered just disabling windows defender entirely through regedit... I actually removed it from the registry before but later wound up having problems with my registry that led me to my current clean install, so I am shy with regedit now. Not sure if this was a result of my own tampering or some other mess as a result of continual software manipulation (installs/uninstalls etc).
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

miyaru
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Location: The Netherlands

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by miyaru » Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:37 am

Greetings from Miyaru.
Prodaw i7-7700, 16Gb Ram, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen, ESI M4U eX, Reason 12, Live Suit 10, Push2, Presonus Eris E8 and Monitor Station V2, Lexicon MPX1,
Korg N1, Yamaha RM1x :mrgreen:

vaulics
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:31 pm

miyaru wrote:
Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:37 am
Maybe this gives some insight: https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/ ... Windows-10
Thanks for your response... yes this is all very helpful information, I found that it is also covered in the guide on the ableton website and I have gone over every portion of it for sure. The most drastic performance change occurred when I ensured the power settings were optimal - something I neglected to do after reinstalling windows.
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

vaulics
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:24 pm

Many thanks to everyone who responded to this thread... I thought I would just post a quick update on the process. I received word from ableton and they directed me to their articles on PC optimization and power management, suffice to say all suggested actions which have been covered in this thread. Here is a review of the action I have taken since beginning this process:

-disabled all startup processes: DTS, realtek, windows defender notification
-disabled windows defender in system settings
-added a DWORD "DisableAntiSpyware" Value=1 in regedit to kill the antimalware service executable
-disabled all other audio controllers via the device manager
-disabled the network adapter while working in ableton
-added "-_ForceGdiBackend" options.txt to the ableton prefs folder

With these changes I ran LatencyMon while playing a moderately demanding session, complete with an array of plugins from Slate, Arturia, Liquidsonics, soundtoys, and Izotope (ozone9 on the masterbuss) and below is an image of the report (minus information on the individual cores since it was a laundry list); session was at 48kbps with a 128bit buffer. If anyone has any insights regarding this report I would greatly appreciate feedback. This test was done with no programs running in the background, just ableton and the latencymon. All said these actions have produced quite workable conditions (i think) and I am extremely grateful to all of your advice in helping this newb get rolling again! Hope this link works.

https://imgur.com/a/g5If49s
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

manasseh
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:15 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by manasseh » Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:12 am

Would have been interesting to isolate the root cause by trying each of those solutions at a time. I would bet only the GDI flag in Options.txt is relevant enough to produce those changes.
Live 10.1.30

chris vine
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Location: Brazil

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by chris vine » Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:16 am

I get spikes when running external monitors from the laptop that has Live on it. If I disconnect the monitors, spiking goes away. So have you looked at video card issues, something that may have changed after your reinstall?

vaulics
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:57 pm

Re: CPU usage mysteriously spiking high-end PC

Post by vaulics » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:46 pm

chris vine wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:16 am
I get spikes when running external monitors from the laptop that has Live on it. If I disconnect the monitors, spiking goes away. So have you looked at video card issues, something that may have changed after your reinstall?
Running a 2080ti with current drivers, usage for this card is (as to be expected) well within the potential... I mean it better be! Also the display is 1440p at 144hz so it isn't even cranking 4k output, I've never encountered a problem with it. The video performance of this machine was actually one of the most consistent aspects after the clean install. TY for mentioning!
Ableton 10.1.9, Windows 10, i9 9820x, 32gb, Focusrite Clarett 4preTB

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