Huge slowdown in CPU, definitely need some help

[chrissobo13]

I just installed Ableton on a new refurbished laptop, which is under spec, but don't think that's the problem. Used to run it on a pc with 4 gigs of ram and a quad-core processor, while this laptop has 3 gigs and a duel-core (2.30GHz).

The thing is, it ran fine at first. Not as good as the PC, but manageable. Now after 5 minutes of using it, I get a steadily rising CPU spike, which will reach 700% if you let it go. And this is with ONLY audio clips (in RAM mode), no effects or instruments. Pressing the stop button will stop it, and ironically, the computer does not seem like its under the throes of cpu overload. While Ableton freaks out, I can minimize it and even browse the internet, as if nothing is wrong. And it sounds really granular and stretched, if that helps.

Also, I use ASIO 4 All, buffer set to 512. Been using it for a while and never experienced any problems before.

[simmerdown]

i use asio at 256 for rec, 1028 for playback, you could test higher

but, it sounds like it could be something else

[chrissobo13]

I tried changing the buffer, but didn't make any difference. Not sure what it could be, but it definitely doesn't seem like the processor.

[madlab]

did you try turning off ram mode for clips ?

[chrissobo13]

Yup, didn't make a difference though. Did so many searches, but nothing worked and I couldn't find anything like what I was experiencing.

I restored the system to when it actually worked, reinstalled Live, and so far I don't have any issues. Just disappointed I couldn't find the solution, as I remember this same issue happening to me a few years ago.

[dug]

I am having the same issue as chrissobo13. Like 'all of a sudden' I start getting big spikes on the cpu meter and Live is all crap. Today I opened up a set I had been working on and it was running fine. At some point I added a track and loaded a synth but no recording. Whacko! Same issue. Then I open another set and play it with no new modifications and it is wahcko. That has been the pattern for a week now. An associated symptom, I think, is that I cannot stream movies from Netflix smoothly or in sync. Anybody come up with fixes for this?

[chrissobo13]

I am still having this issue, and I've since upgraded to Live 9 Standard edition. The CPU meter doesn't spike as high as before, now it only reaches the low 100s. The maddening part is that it seems to happen with no rhyme or reason. I can play through a specific portion of my set with only a 25% peak, all the while incorporating effects. I can play through the same part again only using the bare audio clips (all effects are turned off) and the meter peaks in the high 70s at least. And as before, once it starts, it won't calm down until I restart Live.

I still can't even tell if its a problem with hardware or software. Unfortunately I've riffled through a bunch of google searches and everything I found was of no help. The processor on this machine can't be upgraded past the Dual Core 2.3 GHz. Maybe upgrade to 8 gigs RAM and put all clips in RAM mode...?

[fishmonkey]

have you done all the basic steps for preparing a Windows machine for audio work?

one of these tools may help you find the cause:

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

[nemoy]

I've got very jumpy and completely unpredictble ramdom CPU % Values too...

Sometimes a set uses 80-90%, and stays there, next time i open the very same file, it uses 20% and runs stable.
completely random and all over the % range.

I play a concert tonight, and i'm a bit nervous about getting CPU spikes out of nowhere while performing...
live 8 was a lot more stable here... but i'll give 9 a try on stage tonight...

[chrissobo13]

Well, using Latencymon, I determined that plugging in my USB hub (2.0) would make USBPORT.SYS jump from .06 to 2.6. I don't have enough ports to not use a hub, but it seems this might be cause the slowdowns in Ableton. Has anyone had any luck with this issue?

[chrissobo13]

Tried my buddy's interface, and was still the same, and probably will be for all USB setups. I'm thinking its just the simple fact my machine can't handle Ableton. It seems to have the most trouble in streaming the audio clips in my set. Start turning on effects and forget about it.

My only options, other than buying a new laptop, are to upgrade my ram (3GB to 8GB) and upgrade to a solid state hard drive. I really need some input, as I don't want to go through with the upgrades and find out it didn't make much of a difference and I need a new machine anyway.

Here are my specs again:

Pentium Dual Core (2.3)
3 gigs RAM
350GB hard drive (5400 rpm)
Windows 7
Ableton 9

(Also, I've done everything I could to make the laptop run Live smoother. The only programs running are Live and any system processes I was lead to believe shouldn't be turned off. Everything else has either been uninstalled or disabled.)

[Martin Gifford]

I and others had exactly the same problems using Max for Live. Could you have accidentally inserted it in one of your tracks or in the master track (e.g. convolution reverb)???

Since I stopped using M4L, Ableton 9 has been fantastic!

[TabSel]

Fans dusty, cpu getting hot then throttles?

Depending on your cpu, try throttlestop, at first to check temps, then, after cleaning, to stop throttling...

[chrissobo13]

Martin: I don't have M4L, but I wish it were that simple!

TabSel: Monitored my temps and clock speed for a while, looks like the processor is fine. Low at 38C, high at 58C and the clock speed seems to be full tilt. Never really looked into throttling before, but if it were in place, I feel like the speed would come down to compensate for the higher temps. But I'm only going off the little research I just did. I've thought about overclocking, but I don't want to take any risks, especially since I know nothing about it.

I think just finding a more efficient way to stream the audio would be the best route. My hard drive is only 5200 RPMs, would putting them on an external drive be beneficial?

Thanks for the replies people, I do appreciate it~

[fishmonkey]

so did your system pass the latency checks? no bad spikes?

what is your audio interface?