TROUBLESHOOTING

Optimizing CPU and memory usage

This section contains tips that will help you reduce CPU and memory usage in your projects.

• Audio settings: Make sure you are using an ASIO soundcard driver if possible with a buffer setting of no less than 10 ms.
• Reduce the plugin count: Try to reduce the number of plugin generators (instrument and FX). These are the most CPU hungry parts of the program.
• Smart Disable: Whenever possible enable Tools > Macros > Switch smart disable for all plugins. This turns off effects & instruments when they are not in use and so decreases CPU usage significantly.
• Freeze mixer tracks: Render some Channels to audio and then mute the instruments in the Channel Window or delete them. Remember that FL Studio records mixer tracks so you will select several mixer tracks to record, then mute or remove the Channels feeding those mixer tracks.
• Increase the buffer latency: Keep doubling the latency until you notice a drop in CPU usage. This will of course make live playing difficult but will allow you to mix CPU intensive tracks easily.
• Channel FX: Channel based delay echoes work by re-triggering the instrument, not in audio. See Function Channel Settings. This increases polyphony and thus CPU usage. In nearly all cases the Fruity Delay effect does the same job with less CPU hit. Similarly Echo Delay will not trigger echoes (thus freeing CPU resources), if feedback is set to minimum (see Function Channel Settings).
• Limit Polyphony: Use the maximum polyphony setting to reduce the maximum polyphony of channels (see Miscellaneous Channel Settings). This often reduces dramatically CPU usage in complex melodies. You can still set FL Studio to ignore the maximum polyphony settings when exporting to wave/mp3 file (see Exporting to WAV/MP3/MIDI).
• Samples: Trim (with any wave editor) the remaining silence in your samples not to have it mixed (you don't hear it but it takes CPU resources). Any remaining ZERO silence is automatically removed within FL Studio, but nothing more.
• Disable MIDI output: See Enable MIDI Output in Options menu. If you are not using it, disable it as it uses CPU resources.