CPU load and its effects

[pwabrahams]

I have two laptops, an Asus K60IJ and an Acer Aspire 3100. The Acer is the older one. On the Asus, as I'm recording, the cursor movement along the track seems fairly smooth, but on the Acer it's a bit jerky. According to top, the Xorg and audacity processes are using most of the processor time and memory, with Xorg sometimes first and audacity, typically at 27%, sometimes first. The other users are minor.

So I'm wondering -- how demanding is the audacity recording process of CPU resources? And is that slight jerkiness likely to produce an audible effect? So far I haven't been able to hear it, but I haven't tried playing back on good speakers.

[steve]

Jerky cursor movement can be caused by minor issues with the graphics drivers. It usually has no effect on the quality of the recording. If the computer is struggling to keep up with the data flow, the effect is usually a very obvious stuttering in the sound.

[pwabrahams]

Thanks, Steve. That's very reassuring.