Recording interface hardware issues

[spantini]

Hey all,
I have been trying for the last several years to write songs and as such I have purchased a couple of USB interface devices. (I have limited funds so I'm not talking about the top of the line gear.) I just built a new computer with an intel core i7 (6th gen) with 16GB of 2133mhz ram. The performance level has actually gone down from when I was using my old i5 (3rd gen) with 32gb 667mhz RAM.

The only real difference other than the amount of RAM is the old computer has an SSD HD. I am completely baffled by the increase in lag time (latency) on the new computer vs the old one. On the same buffer size settings I get 5.8 ms delay on the new computer and only 2.8 ms on the old computer. Both are Windows 10 64 bit. At first I couldn't even get the new computer to work at all with the newest model USB device. In fact, It would not even see my midi keyboard. When I connected the older device the keyboard worked. I have a new SSD HD ordered that should be here in a couple of days, but I don't think that will make much of a difference. I have to unplug the USB device prior to booting the computer or it will not work at all... ???

Any ideas or suggestions as to what is causing the problem? I do not have the new computer connected full time to the internet, and I have even gone through all of the Windows startup and disabled everything that is not required for the computer to function properly. I am considering ordering another interface that uses USB-C 2x2 rather than the standard USB. My problem is that will end up costing me another $200 that I really can't afford right now.

I'd say there's probably nothing wrong with your interfaces. Many times it's simply a matter of setting up the proper driver. Or.. since this is a new computer, disabling the PC's audio and selecting your interface as the new audio device. It's not always this simple, could be other factors.

 

[pfschim]

Windows/Intel has imposed any number background processes and services that impose DPC (Deferred Procedure Call) latency lag in even the fastest system. Also, what we would normally think of as a fast system (i7/i9 CPU, DDR1600/3200 RAM), while being great for certain usual computer tasks, may not be so great for audio specifically. It's worth checking out a few of the audio/recording optimization guides that can be found on the interwebs, or possibly your vendor user forums will offer some driver/system tuning suggestions specific to your interface.

I too recently moved from an older Focusrite USB 2 interface to a ver3 Focusrite USB-C (18i8) device and initially had worse performance on my new high end laptop (Dell XPS 15 - i7, 32gb ram, 512 M.2 SSD, Thunderbolt 3) Eventually I did tune it to where I could get sub 3ms latency with DAW monitoring (not input monitoring). It was a bit of a hassle, had to change BIOS settings for Intel Power Management and(counterintuitively) some hyper-threading stuff, turn off Windows visual enhancements (at least during recording sessions), but it did work and I'm quite happy with the results.

I think if I had to do it all over again, I would look at one of the outfits that builds music/recording systems (desktop or laptop). These guys have already sussed out the system components and Windows/BIOS settings that provide the best performance and they can be had for reasonable prices vs the usual high end commercial boxes.

good luck OP

 

[BooDoggie]

Just a follow up... I have the new SSD drive installed. I did a clean install of Windows 10. Then I installed S1 v4. I then installed some of my add-ons and plugins. I found a setting called drop out protection and set it to maximum. The latency issue is all but gone.
Now I cannot get Analog Labs standalone or plugin to work. I have uninstalled and reinstalled 4 times with the same results every time. When I go to activate the program it automatically updates and it looses all instruments and presets. Waiting on a reply from Arturia support. What a PITA !!!

 

[Tosh]

So, this turned out to be a software issue after all?

 

[Basslice]

Hey all,
I have been trying for the last several years to write songs and as such I have purchased a couple of USB interface devices. (I have limited funds so I'm not talking about the top of the line gear.) I just built a new computer with an intel core i7 (6th gen) with 16GB of 2133mhz ram. The performance level has actually gone down from when I was using my old i5 (3rd gen) with 32gb 667mhz RAM.

I've built many boxes. Without knowing what you did and what parts you threw together it is impossible to say for sure what your problem is. I don't think it is your DAW. If you went with a bunch of low budget components to build your box, then you could have a lot of trouble. Here's a list of things to look into. Sounds like you need a tune up or new gear.

• BIOS: the bios of your motherboard ultimately controls how all the pieces work together. If it is not updated or poorly written then that could do it.
• Maker of Motherboard. Quality or cheap?
• Processor: 6th G is probably ok (I am on an 8th gen 8565U), but what is the speed and cache. Budget processor?
  
• Wrong drivers installed for your devices. Windows 10 does crappy job of ID'ing components and I have been finding I need to manually install drivers and override the Windows Update drivers.
  
• Video Card. You didn't mention your video card and memory. A lot of CPU stuff can be advantageously be put off on the GPU, thus improving/decaying overall system performance.
  
• Yes, a GOOD SSD could improve things, but not a budget one. You ever wonder why a single company has vastly different prices for the same sized SSD? Performance.

To do good video or audio processing, you need a well built computer, updated drivers and good components. Otherwise they software will try to do its best, but will offload more of the work to cache and slow things way down.

I hope this is useful. Good luck!