Ableton Forum

Any tips on how to optimize my G4 powerbook for better audio playback?
When I open sessions on my laptop that were created on my power mac, even if there are not many audio tracks or plugins, the cpu meter sits up around 50-60 percent, even when the track is stopped!!!! Large sessions will not even go down below 120 percent, also while the track is stopped.
When i launch these sessions, Live takes at least a few minutes to load them, during which time my computer all but freezes. Other apps are stuck until the session is loaded.
When i launch sessions created on my powerbook, the load time is normal, and the computer acts normal. Is there something i missing in terms of sessions created on one computer or another?
-jordan

options -> preferences audio
crank up your buffer sizes, there's input, output and plug-in buffers.
Turn up the CPU load limit

the higher the buffers the better the sound performance but the longer it takes data to go from user input to audio so playing from an external device is SLOW. So, crank them up for large projects, bounce to audio and turn them down when you want to play an instrument.

how much RAM do you have? is your video RAM shared? how much?

for optimising a DAW, google on 'DAW optimisation guide Mac' or even start a thread, it's been a while since there's been a 'DAW Optimisation Guide Needed' thread.

hope that helps, good luck.

thanks for the tips. i cranked the audio buffer all the way, but i found that the plugin buffer works best at 2048... any higher and the sound starts breaking up again.
Freezing tracks also helps. But I am suprised by how easily the cpu is craping out. A few tracks of Stylus RMX and the meter is floating up near the top. I'm using a 1.33 Ghz processor and 2 Gigs of RAM.
-Is there any way to allocated more RAM to Live? I remember in the days of OS 9 you could "get info" on an app and give it more RAM. Is there anything comparable in OS X?
-Can anyone tell me more about video RAM?
And one thing is left unanswered:
-The load time on my powerbook for Live sets created on my PowerMac is near up to 5 minutes, during which time the computer all but freezes. Although it may be due to the former simply being a slower machine, it loads its own Sets in under 30 seconds. As obscure as this is, any advice?
-jordan

jordan wrote:And one thing is left unanswered:
-The load time on my powerbook for Live sets created on my PowerMac is near up to 5 minutes, during which time the computer all but freezes. Although it may be due to the former simply being a slower machine, it loads its own Sets in under 30 seconds. As obscure as this is, any advice?
-jordan

Any MP3s in that set? If so, the Powerbook is probably converting the files, whereas the PowerMac may have those files already in the Live cache. Also, the system bus is slower on the Powerbook, which affects speed.

jordan - can't help you there, I'm a PC guy, haven't used a Mac since 1988.

See, I even called it a Mac instead of a Power whatsit-hoozy-whomper-majig.

sadly the g4 is weak as hell.

here's a few tips:



turn off airport. it isn't much, but it is something. maybe 1 or 2 percent.


are you using a firewire audio interface? this sucks up a bunch, like maybe close to 15% i know you don't want to not use your audio interface, but maybe just to load the track so you can bounce a lot of elements down so the load is manageble.



what bit depth, sample rate are you using?

i'd love to be able to do 24bit audio, but with the g4 it's just too much.
16bit 44.1 is about all you can do.



aside from that, i dunno what to tell you. i know i'm gonna have to buy a macbook pro soon.



.lm.

After about six months of hell, I can safely say that the only real option is to open the nearest window and launch your powerbook through it in much the same way you'd throw a frisbee.

Powerbook my arse... more like UNDERpoweredbook. The performance is so terrible that if I had any cash at all, I'd buy a PC. An that's saying a lot since I'm a video editor, I use Final Cut Pro and I have a deep-seated loathing of everything microsoft-related..

I was at Glade festival a couple of weekends ago and I saw two live sets ruined by powerbooks. The engineer at the Origin stage told me that EVERY laptop-related technical fuckup he'd witnessed in all his years doing festivals and club nights had involved a powerbook. As the Americans say: go figure!