Reference Guide

Improving audio performance

Improving performance with digital audio

The Performance module contains the following controls:

• CPU meters. Displays the time it takes to process a buffer full of audio data as a percentage of

the maximum time available to process that data and maintain uninterrupted playback. There is

one CPU meter for each core in your computer, up to 32 cores. There is some tolerance built into

the meter, so it is possible that it will exceed 100% at times (more so during recording than

playback).

• Disk Activity indicator . Measures how much of the available time SONAR is using to

perform input/output functions on your hard disk. The size of your setup’s I/O buffer size (listed

under File System in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Sync and Caching) determines how much

time is allowed to perform disk operations and maintain uninterrupted playback. When SONAR

performs disk operations, the Disk Activity indicator changes color from yellow to red to indicate

the time SONAR is taking to complete each cycle of disk input/output. A red icon indicates very

high data activity.

• Disk Space meter. Shows the amount of available space on the drive where your wave data

directory is located. The tooltip shows the actual remaining disk space on your audio disk.

• Memory Usage (RAM) meter. Shows the total memory (RAM) usage by your computer, not just

by SONAR.