Hi all,
 
I just loaded iZotope's new "BreakTweaker" drum beat software, and notice a huge degradation in my video performance while BreakTweaker is displayed running on my screen.  That is, the X3 cursor makes big jumps, my mouse pointer is jerky, and if I move a Pan knob (for instance), it takes a second or 2 to show the rotation.
 
Does anyone have some pointers as to how to improve my video performance in X3 (or in general)?  I have the newest Sweetwater Creation Station 450 (the i7 model, Win7 Pro, 64bit, 32GB RAM), but it has integrated video and not a separate video card in it.  Would increasing my virtual memory or page file settings help?  (Page file is set to Managed by Windows currently.)
 
Any help greatly appreciated.  (I'm not real "up" on video/computer performance stuff.)
 
Thanks.

There are so many variables with video and audio hardware and software that its really hard to make a recommendation.
 
One sure fire way that helps is to use a low resolution proxy (copy) of the video, using a low overhead codec. This greatly reduces the CPU load, leaving more for audio and plugins. Once you're done scoring or mixing on that low resolution copy, you can then mate the resulting audio to the original resolution video.
 
I should note that doing a proxy annoys some folks, but this is the way things have always been done in the video community when starved of resources. Back, say 10 years ago, people used to make DV proxies of HDV mpeg-2 video for editing, and then replacing the DV proxies with HDV for final rendering. With today's PC's, mpeg-2 is now a great choice for editing mpeg-4 video, which can tax many computers.
 
 

Oops... I may have mislead you guys....  I just mean my SCREEN display... not a "video" that I am editing...so nothing to do with mpeg, etc.  (I'm only looking at Sonar X3 and the drum module on my screen.)
 
But thanks SuperG.  :-)

latest drivers? but in the long run probably worth spending $30 on a dedicated video card

But thanks SuperG.  :-)]

 
No sweat - you're welcome. 
 

You may want to check your PC with DPC Latency Checker (Win 7 and before) or Latency Monitor(for Win 8). You can see how big of a slice your video is consuming (and all other drivers and time critcal processes). Other common performance hogs are network drivers and USB drivers. Back when I was running sonar X1 I had a similar issue with the Now cursor jumping when running several soft synths. To my surprise I found the print spooler was taking a huge amount of time!. I disabled it and problem solved. With your current setup you really should not be having DPC latency issues but I would check it out.  No DPC process should take more than 1 millisecond at the absolute max.
Some folks (me included) will sometimes disable the network adapter and kill their antivirus as well while working in a huge project. Basically disable anything you don't need for Sonar.
 
Michael

It does sound like the video card is the weak link in your setup, but I doubt one plugin is so intense it is causing your problem due to video card.  Does the program have a standalone mode to compare performance?  I w

Before you do anything, give Sweetwater a call and speak to a tech there.  They have always solved any issues i have had.  They can drive your computer and tweak things for you.  They know your system better than anyone else will.