Reducing the CPU load on macOS

To optimize performance and reduce CPU load on both Intel and Silicon Macs, you can adjust settings in Ableton Live and on your computer, as detailed below. For more tips, visit Learn Live 11: Computer Performance and Optimizing CPU intensive devices.

Important CPU Tips

• To rule out plug-ins as a source of increased CPU demand, go to Live's Preferences/Settings → Plug-Ins and disable the relevant plug-in folder(s). Or, try disabling individual plug-ins that display high impact via Live's Performance Impact meter.
  
  To launch Live with plug-in scanning disabled, hold down [OPTION] on your computer keyboard while launching Live. If this improves performance, check that all plug-ins are up to date and correctly installed. To re-enable plug-in scanning, relaunch Live.
• Live 11.3.x or later may add headroom to its demand on system CPU, as reported in Activity Monitor, to make sure enough resources are allocated and Live's performance is not interrupted. This extra margin is designed to consume as little energy as possible and doesn’t interfere with actual audio processing. However, a higher value may be listed in % CPU when Live 12 is idle than was typical for Live 11.2 and earlier versions. This increase may be expected, and does not necessarily indicate a problem with Live.

Guidelines to reduce CPU usage on macOS

Audio preferences in Live
Performance and Efficiency Cores on Apple Silicon
Software updates
Optimizing resources
Prevent overheating and reduce CPU Throttling

Audio preferences in Live

Intel and Apple Silicon

As of Live 11.3.25, the following guidelines apply to both Intel and Silicon Macs. Please test various settings on your computer to find the best balance for your system.

Buffer Size

Open Live's Preferences → Audio → Latency to set the buffer size.

• Smaller buffer sizes may contribute to higher CPU usage and lower latency
• Larger buffer sizes may contribute to lower CPU usage and higher latency

Sample Rate

Open Live's Preferences → Audio → Sample Rate to select the desired sample rate, if different from Live's default 44100 kHz. Set the sample rate before starting a new project.

• Lower sample rates may contribute to lower CPU usage and higher latency
• Higher sample rates may contribute to higher CPU usage and lower latency

Driver Error Compensation

Outside of certain specific situations in which you’ve measured the precise offset required by your hardware, set Driver Error Compensation to the default value 0.00 ms. Visit the Driver Error Compensation FAQ for more details.

If you’re experiencing latency, follow the steps in our guides to setting up an Audio Interface and How to reduce latency.

Performance and Efficiency Cores on Apple Silicon

If you compare the idle performance of Live 12.0 or 11.3.x with earlier versions on an Apple Silicon computer, you might observe a higher overall CPU load. Live may add headroom to its demand on system CPU, as reported in Activity Monitor, to make sure enough resources are allocated and Live's performance is not interrupted. This extra margin is designed to consume as little energy as possible and doesn’t interfere with actual audio processing. However, a higher value may be listed in % CPU when Live 12 is idle than was typical for Live 11. This increase may be expected, and does not necessarily indicate a problem with Live. For more about performance and efficiency cores, visit this external article: How does macOS manage virtual cores on Apple silicon?

If you’d like to revert to Live’s prior behavior for handling performance cores, an Options.txt entry (-DisableAppleSiliconBurstWorkaround) is available. Please test Live's performance and try optimizing CPU usage following the other tips in this guide, if needed, before installing this option. Learn more about Monitoring Live’s CPU usage on your computer and Multi-Core CPU handling.

Software updates

Intel and Apple Silicon

Update all third-party plug-ins, e-licensing software, hardware drivers, and control scripts to the latest Silicon-supported versions. Install all available security and performance updates for your versions of macOS and Ableton Live.

Apple Silicon

If available, use native Apple Silicon builds of third-party plug-ins.

Optimizing resources

1. Close other programs.

To free up processing capability for Live, close other applications that are placing a high demand on your computer’s CPU, such as your web browser.

You can check the current breakdown of CPU in use by open applications in Activity Monitor (Finder → Applications → Utilities). Learn more about Monitoring Live’s CPU usage on your computer.

2. Deactivate wireless connections.

Conserve CPU usage by disabling Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth in your macOS System Settings or in the macOS menu bar when not needed.

3. Clear space on your system drive.

As a rule of thumb, we recommend keeping at least 10% of your hard drive's capacity available as free space. Running low on free space may affect Live’s performance and the ability to create and save audio files.

Reduce CPU Throttling

Follow the steps in this guide to Recognizing and preventing thermal throttling: