Ableton says high CPU Load...Process Explorer says otherwise

[4schler]

i'm having a problem running what seem to be fairly simple sets in live lately.

i've been trying to run the sets from the live pack found here: http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?t=68184

each set is one scene in one track with a large rack setup. nothing too taxing, right?

when i run any of the sets, though, ableton's cpu load meter shoots up to anywhere from 200% to almost 400%. however, when I check how much of the cpu is actually being used by ableton in process explorer, it consistently says ableton is using 30% or less of my comp's total processing power, and so far, despite multi-core support definitely on in ableton, it only seems as though live is using one core of my dual-core chip.

anyone else having similar problems, or know of workarounds? from what i've read so far, i've tried running ableton in various compatability modes, disabling a substantial amount of the rack effects, etc., all to very limited effect on the high cpu load according to live.

Hardware specs:
Asus 1201n Netbook
1.6GHz Atom Processor
2GB RAM
Live ver. 8.1.1

I've gotten plenty of other, more complex live stuff to work well on this computer before (even running multiple instances with no problem), so i'm just at a loss as to why this is an issue. is it the age of the sets in the live pack? is there possibly an issue with my comp limiting the processing power any one program can use (unlikely, seeing as skype sometimes uses nearly 50% cpu power when i make video calls)?

all & any help appreciated!

EDIT: I suppose I should also mention I'm running windows 7

[diogo_semedo]

Welcome to the PWCPUE (problems with cpu-eating group), don't wory, you're not alone

[Warrior Bob]

Is there a big thread or a support group or something for this problem? It's knocked out my laptop as a performance tool and I'd really like to explore what my options are and what's going on.

I'd like to think it's something to do with my computer setup instead of Ableton (so I can get around to fixing it), but I'm not sure how to determine that.

[H20nly]

your specs say 2GB of RAM with a proc that's less than 2 gigs...

just to see if anything changes, turn off the fancy bit in Win 7. set the theme to Windows classic or pick through the check boxes in Performance Options.

close open windows, disable your internet connection and then your antivirus software.

fire up Live and try the same things you listed above.

see if anything changes... the idea here is that maybe, you could use some more RAM... or be using less depending on what you've got running.

the idea is not to leave your PC this way or have to do it every time.

Still, there are sites online with tips about optimizing your PC to use as a DAW. You may want to have a look.

The CPU meter spikes/not being accurate is something thats oft talked about on the forum. I have no idea what the status of it is, as I've given up paying attention. I don't run pluggins, have plenty of CPU/RAM so I don't really care what that lying little bar in the upper right says is going on.

Having said that, I have noticed that if I leave my DAW idle for hours/days with Live running, that meter seems to be going ape shit when I come back. A reboot makes it come anew. It seems like a memory leak issue to me.

[Palmer Eldritch]

Hi 4schler,

just downloaded the live-pack that you've linked.

There's only one track (in all off the contained sets).

Live cannot split one audio stream (track) to more than one cpu-core (that might be the answer for the multi-core issue).

This track contains a heavy nested rack (lots of cpu consuming fx),
so heavy that also my mac-book gets in trouble (specs > see signature).

So I think it is not a big surprise that your netbook canot handle these sets accurately

[diogo_semedo]

I'm betting this is a problem with Live. How come the same project create problems in Live 8, but not on 7?

[4schler]

thanks palmer, i figured that might be the issue.

i'll try making some more of my own racks according to the tutorial where i found the live pack, and see if i get to a certain point where it becomes a problem - or, conversely, see if i can solve the problem by splitting the rack to sends/returns, etc. hopefully i can figure this out.

as for h2only's suggestion - i've tried that to some extent. it doesn't seem like RAM is the problem; process explorer monitors RAM usage also, and it never looks like my comp comes close to running out of memory resources.