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Winamp 5 - Visualizations

Keep Visualizations From Hogging the CPU

SUMMARY: Display visualizations in Winamp 5 without keeping other software from running effectively.

Are Winamp 5 visualizations hogging the CPU, keeping you from multitasking effectively? Instead of turning visualizations completely off, you can instead lower their process priority, meaning that visualizations may display yet they may be slower or slightly jerky whenever other CPU-intensive tasks are running.

1. Access the "Winamp Preferences" dialog box. You can click on the "Main Menu" button, choosing "Options" - "Preferences". Or, right-click on the title bar and choose "Options" - "Preferences". Or, press Ctrl + P.


Accessing Winamp 5 Preferences



2. When the "Winamp Preferences" dialog box appears, click "Plug-ins" in the left side of the window.

3. In the right pane, underneath "Visualization plug-in specific options", you should see a slider next to "Visualization plug-in". Move the slider to the left to reduce the visualization priority, which should make other tasks run faster and visualizations appear less smooth. Move the slider to the right to make the visualizations appear smoother at the risk of slowing down other tasks.


Changing the visualization plug-in priority



4. Click "Close" to close the dialog box.

This tip was written regarding Winamp 5.57 on a Windows XP machine. Features, information, and screenshots may differ between versions and operating systems.

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The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >