Here's a fix to stop the CPU load meter fluctuating wildly when using Live 8 under Windows 7 -
Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Power Options
In the additional options there is a 'High performance' power scheme, you may need to click on 'Show additional plans' to reveal it.
Select the 'High performance' plan, click on 'Change plan settings', in the next menu I opted to never have the computer go to sleep.
Select 'Change advanced power settings', then the 'Processor power management' tab. Open the 'Minimum processor state' tab and set the value to 100%.
Did the trick for me although Live 8.1.4 still often crashes when I try to load a new song.