FL Studio CPU meter Explained (It's NOT what you think it is!)

This video will explain how the CPU meter in FL Studio works. There are many differences between the FL Studio CPU meter and the way task manager in windows shows the CPU usage. It's actually not the same thing at all. The CPU meter in FL Studio actually shows the CPU usage with regard to filling the audio buffer, which is the most important thing when it comes to audio production because you need to be able to process all the sounds in real-time.
If one of the cores in the CPU is overloaded, it can no longer process the audio in real-time, and you'll experience crackling and sound distortion in FL Studio. In other words: The CPU meter shows your computer's ability to process audio in real-time, which is the only thing that really matters when it comes to music production.
This video will give you a few examples showing how this audio processing works, making it easier to understand.
If you already have distorted sound, crackling sound or performance problems in FL Studio then your CPU is most likely overloaded already. In that case, you'll have to start optimizing your project and the settings in FL Studio in order to get better CPU performance.
I have another video showing how to do this as well.
How to optimize CPU performance in FL Studio: • How To Get Better CPU ...
The best computer for music production: • The Best Computer For ...
00:00 introduction
00:28 Sound crackling due to CPU overload
00:40 Task manager vs FL Studio CPU meter
01:46 Why Audio Processing is so demanding on your CPU
02:16 Sequential processing vs Parallel processing
03:12 Multiple CPU cores in Audio production visualized
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AUDIO INTERFACE:
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MICROPHONE:
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☑️ Vocal recording booth/stand for microphone: geni.us/microphonebooth
XLR CABLES:
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☑️ Monoprice 6 ft Balanced XLR Cable for monitors: geni.us/monoprice104761
SHORTCUT KEYBOARD:
☑️ Backlit FL Studio Shortcut Keyboard: geni.us/flstudio-keyboard
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[@FireWalkMusic]

✔️ VST & Effect Plugins: pluginboutique.com/?a_aid=5d496680b59cd ✔️ Premium Loops And Sample Packs: www.loopmasters.com/?a_aid=5d496680b59cd -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ❤️ Support this channel on Patreon: www.patreon.com/firewalkmusic ❤️ Support us with a one-time PayPal donation: www.paypal.me/firewalkmusic ️🎹 Do you need professional feedback on your track? Mixing or mastering? Check out my gigs on Fiverr: www.fiverr.com/firewalkRECOMMENDED STUDIO GEAR: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Amazon links below) AUDIO INTERFACE: ☑️ Focusrite Scarlett Solo: geni.us/scarlettsolo-3rd-gen ☑️ Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 (3rd Gen): geni.us/scarlett-4i4 REFERENCE HEADPHONES: ☑️ AKG 612 PRO: geni.us/akg-k612pro ☑️ Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO: geni.us/DT-990-pro REFERENCE MONITORS: ☑️ 5": Yamaha HS5: geni.us/Yamaha-HS5 ☑️ 7": Adam Audio: geni.us/Adam-Audio-T7V ☑️ 8": Yamaha HS8: geni.us/Yamaha-HS8 SUBWOOFER: ☑️ KRK 10S2 V2: geni.us/krk-10s2v2 MICROPHONE: ☑️ Audio-Technica Cardioid Condenser Studio XLR Microphone: geni.us/at2020microphone ☑️ Vocal recording booth/stand for microphone: geni.us/microphonebooth XLR CABLES: ☑️ TISINO 35 ft Balanced XLR cable for mic: geni.us/xlr3ftoxlr3m ☑️ Monoprice 6 ft Balanced XLR Cable for monitors: geni.us/monoprice104761 SHORTCUT KEYBOARD: ☑️ Backlit FL Studio Shortcut Keyboard: geni.us/flstudio-keyboard ☑️Get The Complete Idiot's Guide To Music Theory Here: geni.us/idiotsguidemusictheory As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

[@natesamadhi33]

You & "In The Mix" really are the only channels worth listening to when it comes to learning about FL Studio. Seriously wish I found you all years ago when I first started mixing.

[@triunity686]

Same here, such simple explanations 👌🏼

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, thanks! That really means a lot to me! :)

[@natesamadhi33]

@@triunity686 I always laugh when I listen to explanations on other channels that are like 11 minutes long, then I come on Firewalk & the same concept is explained here in 2 minutes EVEN MORE clearly

[@davidzaharchek5299]

Heyyy!! Same here. Every time I’m trying figure out something I go to both channels and they most always have an answer in clear concise explanations.

[@SALEENS7GTR5]

FL Studio Tips is also actually good for smaller tips about native plugins.

[@FireWalkMusic]

Optimize FL Studio in 10 easy steps: How to get better CPU performance in FL Studio: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYi8nqStl5yVas0

[@simpaulistic9795]

thank you. I have watched so many videos on how to fix CPU performance, but without any explanation of what is happening, those videos are only partially helpful. I like to understand why things happen in FL studio, not just what one can do to try to fix them. Cheers, thanks again!

[@XRXONE]

been here since the very beginning. And even with your tips I finally built a pretty good music production pc not to long ago. Glad you still release videos and thank you for all the help FireWalk!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad to hear it! And congratulations with the build 😃

[@VaChiee]

the intro is exactly what I've been thinking for years, thank god ive found some answers, much appreciated

[@AA-lq5pu]

OMG, the way you used the cups to demonstrate! Freaking Awesome!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked it 😀

[@AaronZuniga617]

This channel is fire like how did I not notice the real gems this channel has

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! 😀

[@DjClimamusic]

Hi FireWalk, thanks again for sharing the information!😊👍

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome 😃 Glad you liked it 😃

[@drumbeat455]

Great example

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it! :)

[@KristohanongBisdakMusic]

Great content. Brief and concise!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, thanks! Much appreciated! :)

[@user-lt2rw5nr9s]

What's funny is that on a low end PC, I've seen that CPU bar go well over 100 and turn blue. Haha. Great technical information!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it 😄

[@GoReallaBeatz]

Great help

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it helpful! :)

[@FunkZzzz]

nice explained , thanks bro !

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome 😊

[@ROBbYZ_Music]

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH YOU DONT EVEN KNOW HOW GLAD I AM

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome. Glad you found it helpful :)

[@jesustj1]

Hey, FireWalk. Fire video as always. Question for you if you have time: I'm quite sure I've heard you voicing videos for other creators and vst companies. Am I correct? Just curious.

[@neek01]

I'm struggling to understand how it works because I'm currently working on a song that has around 40 mixer tracks so technically should be 40 individual processes (except that 2 of them are routed so their process is combined). 20 Kontakt instances with heavy banks and around 15 instances of serum also all being loaded with effects and almost maxed out voices. The playback is perfect, only 42% CPU usage, and my highest core is reaching 50% usage. But I have this one Serum preset that I made, that literally only has 2 oscillators, both using 15 voices each and that alone, there's no effects on it or anything but it's still using 92% of the usage in FL studio.

[@Lastrevio]

good videos as always

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, thanks! Glad to hear that you liked the video :)

[@maskedgamer7565]

Could you do a video on memory usage? I have a song with only 10 patterns, it uses 8% cpu load, but 25000 mb memory usage. I also have other songs with 50 patterns with 8000 mb memory usage. I don't understand why this is.

[@efthimischrtk]

Bro i thought that cpu that appears as mb in the top shows how much the app waste device storage

[@kevintran9321]

Awesome explanation thanks

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome! :)

[@justadj85]

Great video!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked it! :)

[@Suchitttt]

Nice explanation

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you liked it 🙂

[@nickhuang1408]

Hi I am a beginner of FL studio, I got a question, so for different sounds but all come from the same VST Plugin (let's say ElectraX), do I really need to add a new instance of that VST every time I need a new sound from it? It costs a lot of CPU... Thanks !

[@Motekk67]

Hello... If you use the same sound/preset and just wanna play a different melody then you can use the same Vst and open a new pattern in wich you can play a new melody... If you wanna change the settings of the vst/synth then it is changed on all patterns/melodies that use this vst... So then it is better to clone it and use another instance of it

[@diffrentvibestalk2em97]

thank you ....you taught me sumn

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome 🙂

[@SimpleMusicProducer]

Thanks man!

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome! :)

[@Arkvalerian]

What are the best laptops for music production

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, I'll be making a video about that soon. In the meantime, I suggest you check out this video which explain what to look for in a computer for music production: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnevZKqFm7Wrb9U

[@Motekk67]

Hey thanks, that was well explained... Now i know why it happen 👍... I have this problem when i mix a song and have quite some Plugins and synths playing... Sometimes i can't hear the song bc'z it's too much hihi... So i start mixing groups separately and bounce them to audio... It's ok and if something is not right i can go back 😊

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome. Glad you liked it! That's a good way of doing it, bouncing it to audio (consolidating the tracks). This is what's usually referred to as "freezing" tracks, and it's a good way of freeing up resources. If you're done with something, and you know you're not going to change it then you might as well freeze it and get the latency down as well. :)

[@richardpress9551]

Just get reaper

[@Motekk67]

@@richardpress9551 hi i think the daw doesn't matter when you use 3rd party plug-ins that together can become really CPU hungry... I started to work with audio and render all synths then it's ok 😊👍

[@thomasfroland762]

Thank you!

[@FireWalkMusic]

You're welcome :)

[@ragtagboyrebel]

NOICE!

[@shardsofmusic.]

This was such a good tutorial, the only thing I really didn't understand yet is how I can fix this problem? Should I buy a new CPU core?

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, glad you liked the video. I have another video explaining how to set up FL Studio so that you get the most out of your CPU. There are many hidden settings that will reduce the stress on your CPU. If you follow the 10 steps in this video, I'm sure you'll see a good improvement: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYi8nqStl5yVas0

[@shardsofmusic.]

@@FireWalkMusic thank you, I'll check it out! My computer all of a sudden can't play older projects I have at all, the audio is just cracking and the cpu meter is 100 all the time, even a bigger serum preset is pushing the limit... Has anything like this ever happened to you? I feel like I just can't fix it

[@FireWalkMusic]

@@shardsofmusic. could be the audio buffer or treated processing being turned off. If you Follow the steps in the video i linked to then it should make a huge improvement.

[@yaccfonoti]

I'm new to producing and it seems my laptop isn't good enough I just don't understand why. I have an msi gaming laptop, i7 8750 16.gb ram Loads of space. From everything I've read, that should be good enough but it's not :( I've set that buffer as slow as possible, changed sample rate, tweaked settings. Guess I just need a newer and stronger computer :( Atm I'm running vps avenger and stock plugins om a particular track and its glitching. Let me know if anyone has any tips. Obviously a new pc in the future but that's gonna take time

[@FireWalkMusic]

Hi, lower buffer size mans less latency which is best for recording. However, it also means increased CPU usage, which can cause glitching. Increasing the buffer size will reduce glitching. There are also plenty of other settings you can adjust to optimize FL Studio, and get the most out of your computer. I recommend that you follow the 10 steps in this tutorial to get better CPU performance in FL Studio: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYi8nqStl5yVas0

[@yaccfonoti]

@@FireWalkMusic thank you

[@music_creator_capable]

Good!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! 😀

[@JostSchwider]

👍 - _also_ for the YT algo! 😊

[@nchangcute2539]

good

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@PatrickObiang]

Bravo!

[@FireWalkMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video :)

[@PatrickObiang]

@@FireWalkMusic 🙏🏿 We Learn So Much From You. Thanx!

[@FireWalkMusic]

@@PatrickObiang You're welcome! Glad to hear it, that's why I'm here! :)

[@FireWalkMusic]

@@PatrickObiang Oh, and be sure to let me know if you have any tutorial requests! :)

[@TheRealCalijokes01]

I wondered the same thing I’m looking like something off

[@Xtroblades71]

Is Intel core i5 10400 good for fl studio?

[@FireWalkMusic]

It's not my first choice. I would recommend going for an i7 if you can afford it. The difference between i7 and i9 is not huge, but the difference between i5 and i7 is. Unless you only make very small projects I would definitely go for an i7.

[@Xtroblades71]

@@FireWalkMusic please recommend me A budget cpu

[@FireWalkMusic]

@@Xtroblades71 if you're on a tight budget then the i5 will work well enough. If you want the most bang for your buck then I would check out AMD CPU's as well. You generally get more performance for your money with AMD. Check out the Ryzen 7 3700x: geni.us/ryzen3700x It provides two extra cores and higher single core performance. It's generally 20-30% faster than the i5, and just marginally more expensive.

[@SinaJVH]

🙏🙏🙏🙏👏👏👏👏

[@rtyprty]

this dude sounds like the narrator for the krusty krab training video

[@FireWalkMusic]

😂

[@johnnyanko6051]

I always just thought it was broken lol...

[@FireWalkMusic]

Glad you found it helpful😂

[@heykuruu6486]

me having an i3 processor trying to produce an epic song! 😭

[@EmilyB5]

This is why Bitwig wins the battle. Slap 100 plugin and cpu is still 30%