CPU load

[fastfx]

I'm finding lately that ableton starts crapping out when my CPU meter in the top right starts hitting about 70% +

What I'd like to know is would more ram help? Or faster processors?

My current spec is

Ableton 9.1 (buffer at 512)
Mac Pro - 2 x 2.66 intel duel core xenon processors
13gb ram
OSX 10.7.

Thanks for any help and advice

Tom

[dcease]

perhaps make a back up and see if updating to mavericks helps? that way if you have issues you could roll back... some peeps have noted increased gains when upgrading. you can't really trust live's meter anyhow on a multicore system, you could be maxing out one core on your mac and live is taking an average. try checking activity monitor or some 3rd party solution and watching your various cores while live is running to see if one core is being used more than any of the others.

if that is the case you could maybe rearrange tracks for increased performance, tracks work on a per core basis i.e. if you have 8 tracks then 1&5 would be on core 1, 2&6 on core 2, and so on. of course routing and groups need to be figured as well...

maybe try freezing/bouncing down before investing in a new computer?

[fastfx]

Sadly I don't think I can upgrade to is mavericks. I tried updating to the last OS and it wouldn't let me because my Mac Pro is a late 2007 model. Needs to be 08 onwards apparently.

As for the multi core, How can you tell ableton which core to use for certain tracks?

Is more ram not the answer here then?

[antarktika]

Just looking at your specs, I can say pretty safely that more RAM isn't going to do a thing for your problem. I'd worry more about those 2.6ghz dual core processors than your 13 gigs of RAM. That should be more than enough RAM for most users, but those processors are getting a bit outmoded. From what I can tell from a cursory performance benchmark comparison, the most basic Mac models today outperform your system by about 2 to 1. So aside from upgrading your processors, or getting a new computer, it looks like you'll have to just use as many cpu saving Ableton tricks as you can find. As per the other question, you can't tell Ableton how to utilize cores, that is handled by the program.
*edit* I just noticed you didn't list what version of Live you're running (i.e. 32 vs 64 bit) but unless you're running in 64 bit mode, Ableton can't even address most of the RAM you already have.

[fastfx]

ah ok interesting thanks, I'm running in 64bit mode so at least i can make the most of the ram.

I know this is a separate question but is it possible to change the processors?

thanks

[antarktika]

It's possible to upgrade your processors, yes, but unless you know what you're doing, you'd have to get it done professionally, for probably a fair amount of $

[eyeknow]

Does live still have the "70% shit outta luck problem" it had all those years ago?

e gads........there is no reason you shouldn't be able to push a cpu higher.

[fastfx]

I think the time has come to get a new Mac Pro.

[fishmonkey]

Does live still have the "70% shit outta luck problem" it had all those years ago?

e gads........there is no reason you shouldn't be able to push a cpu higher.

the Live meter is a rough measure of real-time audio processing capacity, it's not a standard CPU meter. real-time processing is subject to the weakest link in the chain, so it's only very loosely related to the total CPU power of a multicore machine. also, Live has no control over the other crap you might have running in the background.

[fastfx]

If I was to buy a Mac Pro with 8 cores, instead of the 4 I have at the moment, would that help?

[TheZwut]

Totally

[antarktika]

If I was to buy a Mac Pro with 8 cores, instead of the 4 I have at the moment, would that help?

Yes, if you're going to get a new computer, make sure you get as much actual processor power as you can I.e. the x.xx ghz should be significantly higher than 2.6, as the cores will allow you to run more threads, but the speed itself is an equally important factor. If in the initial investment it comes down to a compromise between ram and processor speed, always prioritize processor speed, as ram is much easier to upgrade later.

[fastfx]

Yes that would make sense.

Thanks for the advice guys