talk-buddy

Performance Tips

Optimize Talk Buddy for smooth, responsive conversation practice. This guide covers system optimization, service configuration, and usage patterns for the best possible performance.

Understanding Performance Factors

Key Performance Areas

System Responsiveness

Service Performance

Resource Usage

System Requirements and Optimization

Minimum Requirements (Basic functionality)

High-Performance Setup (Advanced users)

Operating System Optimization

Windows Optimization

System Settings:

# Disable unnecessary startup programs
# Windows Settings → Apps → Startup

# Optimize power settings
powercfg /setactive 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c  # High performance

# Increase virtual memory if needed
# System Properties → Advanced → Performance Settings → Virtual Memory

Audio Optimization:

macOS Optimization

System Preferences:

# Reduce visual effects
# System Preferences → Accessibility → Display → Reduce motion

# Optimize audio settings
# Audio MIDI Setup → Configure speakers for optimal sample rate

# Check system resources
top -o cpu  # Monitor CPU usage

Background Apps:

Linux Optimization

System Configuration:

# Install performance monitoring tools
sudo apt install htop iotop nethogs

# Optimize audio settings (ALSA/PulseAudio)
sudo apt install pulseaudio-utils alsa-utils

# Check system resources
htop  # Interactive process viewer

Audio System:

# Optimize PulseAudio for low latency
echo "default-sample-rate = 44100" >> ~/.pulse/daemon.conf
echo "default-fragments = 8" >> ~/.pulse/daemon.conf
echo "default-fragment-size-msec = 5" >> ~/.pulse/daemon.conf

# Restart PulseAudio
pulseaudio -k && pulseaudio --start

Talk Buddy Application Optimization

Application Settings

General Performance Settings

Memory Management:

Database Optimization:

UI and Display Settings

Visual Performance:

Service Configuration Optimization

Local AI Optimization (Ollama)

Model Selection:

# Use appropriately sized models
ollama pull llama2:7b        # Faster, less resource-intensive
ollama pull mistral:7b       # Good balance of quality and speed
# Avoid: llama2:70b           # Very resource-intensive

# Monitor resource usage
ollama ps                    # Check loaded models

Performance Configuration:

# Optimize context window
export OLLAMA_NUM_CTX=2048   # Smaller context = faster responses

# GPU acceleration (if available)
export OLLAMA_GPU=1

# Memory management
export OLLAMA_NUM_KEEP=5     # Keep fewer models in memory

STT Service Optimization (Speaches)

Model Selection for Speed:

# Fast STT models
speaches serve --stt-model "Systran/faster-whisper-tiny"    # Fastest
speaches serve --stt-model "Systran/faster-whisper-small"   # Good balance
speaches serve --stt-model "Systran/faster-whisper-base"    # Better accuracy

# Avoid for real-time: "Systran/faster-whisper-large-v3"    # Slow but accurate

Processing Configuration:

# speaches.yaml - optimized for speed
stt:
  model: "Systran/faster-whisper-small"
  device: "auto"  # Use GPU if available
  compute_type: "int8"  # Faster inference
  
tts:
  model: "speaches-ai/piper-en_US-amy-low"  # Fast voice model
  enable_streaming: true  # Stream audio as generated

TTS Service Optimization

Voice Model Selection:

# Fast TTS models for real-time
speaches serve --tts-model "speaches-ai/piper-en_US-amy-low"     # Fast
speaches serve --tts-model "speaches-ai/piper-en_US-lessac-low"  # Good quality

# Avoid for real-time: High-quality models that are slower

Usage Pattern Optimization

Conversation Practice Patterns

Efficient Practice Sessions

Session Planning:

Scenario Selection:

Multi-User Optimization

Classroom/Group Settings:

Resource Management

Memory Management

During Practice:

Between Sessions:

Network Optimization

Online Services:

Mixed Environment:

Advanced Performance Tuning

Hardware Acceleration

GPU Acceleration

NVIDIA GPU Setup:

# Check CUDA availability
nvidia-smi

# Configure Ollama for GPU
export OLLAMA_GPU=1
ollama serve

# Verify GPU usage
nvidia-smi  # Should show GPU memory usage during AI inference

AMD GPU Setup:

# ROCm support (Linux)
export HSA_OVERRIDE_GFX_VERSION=10.3.0
export OLLAMA_GPU=1

# Verify GPU detection
rocm-smi

CPU Optimization

Multi-core Usage:

# Linux: Set CPU governor to performance
echo performance | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

# Monitor CPU usage per core
htop  # or top on macOS/Linux

Storage Optimization

SSD Configuration

Windows SSD Optimization:

macOS SSD Optimization:

Linux SSD Optimization:

# Check SSD optimization
sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda | grep TRIM  # Verify TRIM support

# Optimize mount options
# Add 'noatime' to /etc/fstab for Talk Buddy partition

Network Performance

Connection Optimization

Quality of Service (QoS):

DNS Optimization:

# Use fast DNS servers
# Google DNS: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
# Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1

# Test DNS performance
nslookup api.openai.com 8.8.8.8

Performance Monitoring

System Monitoring Tools

Windows Monitoring

# Task Manager for real-time monitoring
taskmgr

# Performance Monitor for detailed analysis
perfmon

# Resource Monitor for detailed system analysis
resmon

macOS Monitoring

# Activity Monitor (GUI)
open /Applications/Utilities/Activity\ Monitor.app

# Command line monitoring
top -o cpu  # CPU usage
top -o mem  # Memory usage

Linux Monitoring

# Real-time system monitoring
htop        # Interactive process viewer
iotop       # Disk I/O monitoring
nethogs     # Network usage by process

# System statistics
iostat 1    # I/O statistics
vmstat 1    # Virtual memory statistics

Performance Metrics

Target Performance Benchmarks

Conversation Flow Timing:

System Resource Usage:

Performance Testing

Conversation Stress Test:

  1. Start conversation: Begin practice scenario
  2. Continuous dialogue: Speak immediately after each AI response
  3. Monitor metrics: Watch CPU, memory, network usage
  4. Duration test: Maintain conversation for 15+ minutes
  5. Quality assessment: Note any degradation in response quality or speed

Troubleshooting Performance Issues

Common Performance Problems

Slow AI Responses

Symptoms: Long delays between user input and AI response Solutions:

  1. Use smaller AI models: Switch from 13B to 7B parameter models
  2. Reduce context window: Lower OLLAMA_NUM_CTX setting
  3. Check system resources: Ensure sufficient RAM and CPU available
  4. Restart AI service: Stop and start Ollama to clear memory

Audio Latency

Symptoms: Delays between AI text generation and voice output Solutions:

  1. Use faster TTS models: Switch to “low” quality for speed
  2. Optimize audio buffer: Reduce audio driver buffer size
  3. Check audio device: Ensure no exclusive mode conflicts
  4. Local TTS preferred: Use local instead of online TTS services

UI Responsiveness

Symptoms: Slow interface, delayed button clicks, freezing Solutions:

  1. Close background applications: Free system resources
  2. Reduce visual effects: Disable animations and effects
  3. Restart Talk Buddy: Clear application memory leaks
  4. Check disk space: Ensure adequate free storage

Memory Issues

Symptoms: Out of memory errors, system slowdown Solutions:

  1. Restart services regularly: Clear accumulated memory usage
  2. Use appropriate models: Choose models fitting available RAM
  3. Close other applications: Free memory for Talk Buddy
  4. Add more RAM: Hardware upgrade if consistently memory-constrained

Quick Performance Checklist

Before Each Practice Session

System Optimization

Service Configuration

Optimized Talk Buddy performance enables natural, flowing conversation practice. Take time to configure your system properly for the best learning experience! ⚡

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