Ableton/Live/UG/38 Computer Audio Resources/01 Managing the CPU Load/01 The CPU Load Meter
- The CPU meter in the Ableton/Live/UI/Control Bar compares the time Live takes to compute one audio buffer with the time that buffer takes to play. 50% means computing runs twice as fast as playback; over 100% is possible.
- The operating system schedules threads, so other applications can cause spikes. The meter counts audio processing only, not work such as drawing Live's interface.
- The meter's menu, opened from its triangle button or by right-clicking:
- Average (default) — average load from audio processing.
- Current — total current, or peak, load. With both on, the menu shows both values and the meter shows average in a lighter shade and current in a darker one.
- Meter Text Shows — which of the two values appears as a number.
- Warn on Current CPU Overload — off by default; turns on CPU warnings in the Overload indicator.