Ableton Live CPU usage etc...

[Endeffekt]

Hey guys.
I am interested in learning to use Ableton but have read in many places that the CPU usage is terrible compared to DAW's. So many people use it, so im sure it's not all that bad.
The posts that I read about this was from years ago, I have not seen any recent information about the current state of Abletons CPU usage.
How is it nowadays?
I would like to not have to worry about performance issues with large projects.
Ableton looks really smooth to work with, so I really hope it will run well with my current pc specs.

i5 2500k
8gb ram
Windows 7

I am not sure if others pc specs are worth mentioning?

Thanks!

[SLEEarts]

Any PC will eventually choke as projects get larger. I've found that the devices in Live are usually very efficient with the CPU, plus there are a lot of tools to help you manage the CPU and memory use within the software.

[ImNotDedYet]

Those specs are similar to mine. It all really depends on how many tracks you'll be using, synths/effects you'll be using, desired latency and soundcard drivers, etc. You can always freeze tracks or bounce heavy CPU tracks to audio to conserve CPU as well.

I'd be more concerned with getting the workflow that works for you than I would CPU overload issues. I would guess that most of the CPU overloading in Live would be a result of CPU-heavy synths (other than standard Live instruments) and effects. (other than standard Live effects) There are ways to overcome the CPU being over-taxed (mentioned already in my post as well as upping soundcard buffer size) whereas there are no ways to make up for a workflow environment that doesn't work for you - other than spending more money and having wasted a bunch of time learning one DAW.

[kovaxx]

I am also having issues with this, first of all I have only just starting using my laptop for production as I'm going to be traveling a lot more very shortly.

It's a great laptop with plenty of muscle, probably twice as powerful as my desktop which i also make beats on, I've attached image below of spec.

I'm using a Numark DJIO USB audio interface (which I think maybe the problem) with ASIO4ALL drivers. I've just started a small project and with only a few midi tracks with impulse running in them and a few Simplers my CPU is going bananas!!! If I add much more to the mix it's gonna die!

Anyone know what problem might be?! Is it latency issues?

See pics any advice will help!!

Kovaxx







soundcloud.com/kovaxx

[ImNotDedYet]

Check your ASIO4ALL buffers. If they're too low, your CPU has to work a lot harder.

What effects do you have running on the tracks? Are they contributing to the CPU load?

[jlgrimes]

Hey guys.
I am interested in learning to use Ableton but have read in many places that the CPU usage is terrible compared to DAW's. So many people use it, so im sure it's not all that bad.
The posts that I read about this was from years ago, I have not seen any recent information about the current state of Abletons CPU usage.
How is it nowadays?
I would like to not have to worry about performance issues with large projects.
Ableton looks really smooth to work with, so I really hope it will run well with my current pc specs.

i5 2500k
8gb ram
Windows 7

I am not sure if others pc specs are worth mentioning?

Thanks!

From my experience, Live seems to be more resource intensive than standard DAWs. Compared to a program like Reaper, Live will use a bit more CPU and a lot more RAM/Disk space.

With Live you definitely want the most Ram you can afford.



Keep in mind that while Live might be more resource greedy, it is also fairly stable (although Live got more buggy after Live 8 and have never returned back to Live 7's stability). Also keep in mind that the high resource use mainly deals with the "gapless audio engine" which is pretty important for Live performance.

Many resource light systems will Pop and Click when you try to do simple things such as Copy/Paste Audio, Move midi notes etc, Arming tracks while sequencer is playing. Some will even prevent from even being able to arm a track while the sequencer is playing.

That said Ableton isn't perfectly gapless as they claim to be but they still have a relatively more robust engine than most programs.


While a Program like Reaper which is surprisingly stable and efficient, I wouldn't trust it to be able to handle the Live manipulation of data I do with Live, it will most likely gap. Same with most other programs which are more desinged for Studio Work and not Live Shows.

Probably the only exception programs are Reason and maybe Bitwig.

[Captain Johnson]

Hey guys.
I am interested in learning to use Ableton but have read in many places that the CPU usage is terrible compared to DAW's. So many people use it, so im sure it's not all that bad.
The posts that I read about this was from years ago, I have not seen any recent information about the current state of Abletons CPU usage.
How is it nowadays?
I would like to not have to worry about performance issues with large projects.
Ableton looks really smooth to work with, so I really hope it will run well with my current pc specs.

i5 2500k
8gb ram
Windows 7

I am not sure if others pc specs are worth mentioning?

Thanks!

From my experience, Live seems to be more resource intensive than standard DAWs. Compared to a program like Reaper, Live will use a bit more CPU and a lot more RAM/Disk space.

With Live you definitely want the most Ram you can afford.



Keep in mind that while Live might be more resource greedy, it is also fairly stable (although Live got more buggy after Live 8 and have never returned back to Live 7's stability). Also keep in mind that the high resource use mainly deals with the "gapless audio engine" which is pretty important for Live performance.

Many resource light systems will Pop and Click when you try to do simple things such as Copy/Paste Audio, Move midi notes etc, Arming tracks while sequencer is playing. Some will even prevent from even being able to arm a track while the sequencer is playing.

That said Ableton isn't perfectly gapless as they claim to be but they still have a relatively more robust engine than most programs.


While a Program like Reaper which is surprisingly stable and efficient, I wouldn't trust it to be able to handle the Live manipulation of data I do with Live, it will most likely gap. Same with most other programs which are more desinged for Studio Work and not Live Shows.

Probably the only exception programs are Reason and maybe Bitwig.

I'm currently weighing up the jump from live 8 to 9 an push atm. Thing is I'd only be using 32-bit version as my iMac an MBP only support 6GB ram. So am unsure my units will wig out on CPU. Mind you I only like to use 8 to 10 channels when creating music…still unsure whether to risk rocking my current setup…

[kovaxx]

Check your ASIO4ALL buffers. If they're too low, your CPU has to work a lot harder.

What effects do you have running on the tracks? Are they contributing to the CPU load?

Only 3rd party effect I have is 1x PSP vintage warmer on drum bus, the rest are native ableton compressors and eq's etc!!

ASIO4ALL buffer size is 512 samples at the moment, looks like it automatically sets itself at that value!

Really frustrating as I know when I throw a VST synth in it'll shit itself!!

Kovaxx

[fishmonkey]

there are many guides out there that cover prepping a Windows machine for audio production, have you followed any of those?

most likely your computer has background processes running that are causing the glitches.

[kovaxx]

there are many guides out there that cover prepping a Windows machine for audio production, have you followed any of those?

most likely your computer has background processes running that are causing the glitches.

thanks man had a read of a few articles and managed to solve the problem switching to AERO mode