---
id: performance-battery.will-storage-studio-interrupt-a-game-or-render
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/will-storage-studio-interrupt-a-game-or-render
category: "Performance & battery"
subcategory: "Meetings, presenting and when you're busy"
question: "Will Storage Studio interrupt a game, export or video render?"
alt_questions:
  - "Does Storage Studio slow down Final Cut exports?"
  - "Storage Studio and gaming performance"
  - "Will Storage Studio steal CPU during a render?"
  - "storage studio heavy workload"
  - "Can I leave Storage Studio running while I edit video?"
short_answer: "No. Under a heavy load Storage Studio drops to Light and then pauses its background work, and its disk reading is low priority. Only jobs you started yourself keep running; Minimum mode stops non-essential services for the session."
tags: ["gaming", "video editing", "heavy load"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-is-survival-mode", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-is-minimum-core-only-mode"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# Will Storage Studio interrupt a game, export or video render?

No — a heavy workload is exactly when Storage Studio gets out of the way. If your Mac has very little processor time to spare, its Automatic setting moves to Light and then to Survival, pausing its background work until the load drops. Its background disk reading is also low priority, so your app wins the disk.

The one thing that will keep working is anything you started yourself, such as a large move or a backup. If you're about to start a long export, you can:

- Let your own jobs finish first, or
- Switch to **Minimum** for the session, which stops non-essential background services entirely.

See [Minimum mode](https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-is-minimum-core-only-mode).