cpu high in ableton but low on pc

[divtec]

im running at like 15% on my pc but ableton cpu says like 85% - why is this?

[ecuk]

The two CPU meters are measuring different things: Live's CPU Meter.

[divtec]

what do you think is causing the high value on the meter?

its got 64gb ram (running at 20%)
a 16 core processor running at 3.6 (15%)
high performance mode is enabled
a brand new 1tb ssd hard drive

dont have an audio interface just asia4all - could this be causing it?

[[nil]]

The CPU meter tells you how close Live is to miss an audio deadline. It's not saying you're using too much CPU or that you don't have any headroom left. If you add more tracks, more plugins but they can run in parallel with the heaviest workload responsible for the CPU meter current value, then they come "for free" and won't make it move up. They will however make your OS CPU metering move up in total utilization.

If you're on Live 11 and beyond, you can use the per track performance impact meter. They are shown in the session view. A track with a high performance impact is responsible for long DSP calculations and an increased CPU meter in Live.