VSTs take up way too much processor load?

[Fishticky]

Hey, I've been using ableton for quite some time now, but it's been on an old thinkpad. It works completely fine on that computer, but, when i brought out my 2 year old zd7000 HP laptop (specs are Pentium 4 w/ 3.04 GHz, 2.00 GB or RAM), I find that Ableton really does not run well on it. It acts in a way that a computer with very little processing power would act using ableton, that is, it can run about seven tracks or so completely fine, but any more than that and the audio begins to stagger to a great degree. This problem is even greatly worsened when using VSTs, as every time I try to use Native Instruments' absynth (or any other VSTs, absynth seems to really piss it off though), the instant i start playing, the same thing as described above happens, the audio staggers, and the music becomes unlistenable.

Now, I do have all the basic functions of the computer activated (internet, virus protection, etc), but for this beast of a computer, shouldn't ableton be able to run at least a little bit better? Also, is there some way I could improve the performance with this computer? (Or, is there something I'm not thinking about, such as compatibility issues with ableton, or a possible slow hard drive speed) Could a bad sound card be the reason?

Also, I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I'm using an M-Audi PRE USB preamp to route the sound to speakers, but i've tried disabling that and running it just through the laptop speakers, and the same thing happens.

Finally, I have looked on the forums to see if my problem is similar to others, and I haven't found too many clear answers, but I'm just asking this here to see if I need to invest in a new laptop (i can't use the thinkpad anymore), or if this problem is solvable with what i have.

-Thank you very much

[andy c]

you could have the same problem as me. i have a dell p4 3.06 notebookand have seen the same kind of lame performance. for me it was the cpu overheating and stepping down to 1.6 ghz to cool it's self. have a look at the fan and heatsink if it is choc full of dust that could well be your problem also the paste between the cpu and heatsink can start to crumble over time this too can cause the heatsink not to work as it should.. if you know what your doing it is easy to fix, i dont so it had to go back to dell and as mine was nearly 3 years old i have had the whole lot replaced.

hope this helps mate,

Andy C