Hi guys,

I work with Ableton 12 in Windows :

- Windows 10 Pro Lite Ghost Spectre 22H2 19045-4046

- Intel Core I7 _ 9750H @260 GHz

- RAM 32 GB

I have activate the Ultimate Performance power plan with the command prompt :

powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

Now I have the following options :

° Balanced
° Ultimate Performance

and some additionnal plans :

° Dynamic Boost Performance
° Game Turbo

What is the best Power Option for music production ?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

To optimize your power settings for audio performance, go to Control Panel > Power Options > Create a Power Plan.
Choose "High Performance." Click the "Next" button, and make sure both options are set to "Never."

Ableton - Optimizing Windows for Audio
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071469-Optimizing-Windows-for-Audio

The Ultimate Guide to Optimize your Windows PC for the Stage
https://gigperformer.com/docs/ultimate-guide-to-optimize-windows-for-stage/index.html

 

I don't think those power plans will be that different,
if you go edit them, most likely all should have disk suspend disabled, minimum cpu at 100%,
I doubt any of them has USB selective suspend disabled (which is wrong, because causes usb disconnections),
since you have a laptop (I assume) then do make sure it's not overheating that would cause cpu throttling, in which case running high performance plans actually making situation worse

 

Thank you all for your advice I will continue to explore this topic further

 

Why is my PC or laptop so hot?

One of the most common reasons for a PC or laptop overheating is poor ventilation due to dust buildup or blocked vents. Other reasons can include the age of your computer and its components, system overload from numerous tasks, running demanding applications, and direct sunlight.

 

Initially, the manufacturer only offered PCs with a case and CPU fan. Eventually, they realized they could expand the range of mobile devices, and a new business area was born. At first, Intel dominated the market because AMD CPUs always ran too hot.

Many notebooks were left on trains, many were dropped and broke, and initially, nothing could be replaced—everything was welded, soldered, and glued together. Quentin Tarantino once left his laptop with the script on a train; he ended up rewriting it.

The display isn't particularly large either; some people like that, but the batteries tend to fail after a few years.

 

This is the way. Know what you're doing, understand the consequences, really understand them. Don't pro-actively tweak because forums circlejerk their "tweaker best-practices" echo-chamber nonsense without ever having done any actual measurements themselves.

 

The best power setting for music production is On!

 

I never understood that either. I guess it works fine, despite being a Windows thing

 

Another one is thermal paste drying out over time.

 

Power options haven't been important for desktops for a few years already. Modern CPUs will switch clock speeds instantly as needed. Switching to a high performance mode will only make your CPU hotter and waste electricity during the times you don't need max clock speed. There is a lot more to how a CPU performs than raw clock or turbo speeds, those options exist for fringe cases where absolute stability is needed for some very specific reason (that is not music production or gaming).