Windows 8.1 Sound Driver Issue

Holly

LR Member
Hey all,

Wondering if anyone could help me out, I've recently bought a new CPU and playback on my songs is very clippy, have tried the different sound driver options and latency buffer but nothing seems to be helping. Theres no limit for cpu usage and ive turned off alot of the tweaks to help the processor along.

Here are my CPU Specs:
windows x64 8.1 Intel i3-4000m core @2.40GHz,
8GB Ram,

-Realtek high definition audio dx primary sound driver,

is this just a terrible sound driver for audio production? my cpus specs are more gamer-oriented.

If my soundcard is the problem, can someone recommend some alternatives?

And this might sound really stupid, but do i have to upgrade hardware to increase sound quality or can i download something?

Thanks a million for any help!

Holly
 

Osmose

Reason User +
standars soundcards arent the best for producing music, apart from there (not all, but most) non lineair characteristic, i dont think they handle alot of the processing to well.

But, from what i understand; your on a onboard standards souncard? Then it might be time to upgrade to an external one ;)

Computer specs for gaming versus music production arent to far apart by the way, the only difference is gpu. For gaming you need a good video card, while for music you really dont.
Ram usage and cpu usage for music production are, dependend on your program usage might even be more demanding then gaming. I run an i7 3,5 ghz with 8gb of ram, which i top frequently when nearing ending my tracks.


But, to clarify your direct issue; clippyness is being caused by the buffer size of your soundcard. If the buffer is to low, you notice the glitchy playback. Extend is as far as you can.

im ussually at 2100 samples of buffer size, except when i record vocals. Then i lower it as far as i can cause a higher buffer size causes more latency, both playback and audio and midi input.
 

Holly

LR Member
Thanks Osmose,

my buffer size if 4086 which is right in the middle range for the capacity. have been playing around with it, but nothing seems to rectify it!

I also turned back on 'use multi-core rendering' after posting earlier, this is helping greatly, but i have a feeling my DSP if i add any more intruments will crack!

right, so i'll need to have a look around for an external soundcard..do you have any recomendations?

Thanks again!
 

Osmose

Reason User +
Mmm, then it does sound like you are maxing out dsp?? Sure your dsp bar isn't fully lit?

In terms of external soundcards, there are alot of good ones out there. Check what you need in terms of analog functionality (amount of in and outputs, phantom power etc.) and then decide what fits within your price range.

I personally use a Steinberg CI1, but i want to expand on one with more in and outputs in the future. But, for in the box production it's well enough.


SIDE NOTE: i found out that the dsp usage actually has to do with your hd's writing speed as well.. Its not only cpy power and ram capability.
 

Holly

LR Member
yeah, dsp is hitting red , which is really odd cos ive been using reason for 8 years and i usually have a large rack and its never happened before. i had to really cut back on the amount of instruments to keep it in the green, or grey in reasons case :) im having a look at dsp boosters aswell now, i wonder if an external soundcard could help with that or would i need to buy a seperate dsp booster? anyway, thanks for letting me know your setup...will keep window shopping :)

Thanks again!
 

Osmose

Reason User +
Mmm if your dsp is indeed hitting max, then it's well time to upgrade your pc machine.

Bear in mind that most Rack extensions are more cpu intensive the box standard reason devices. The tsar reverb can be a real cpu hog for instance.


But, i'd recommend getting an I7 and upgrade the C: drive to an ssd (so all programs run on you ssd for faster writing).
Cause you have an I3 already, i think an I7 would fit into its socket without a problem. But some research wouldn't harm.


Getting a different soundcard wont solve your problem in this case.
 

Holly

LR Member
yeah i think the new convolution feature on thr r7000 is definitely an energy hog too! just surprised that a brand new gamer pc is having such trouble with this, but i couldnt afford an i7 so yeah thats one of the issues i'd say.

thanks for all your help!
 

Osmose

Reason User +
well i bought an "gaming" pc as well a couple of years ago, my old one broke down and needed an upgrade anyway. Was an amd dual core running at 3,2 ghz.
Sounded fast enought, but it wasnt capable of the stuff im doing now, ny far!

I3 is ok, but now were near actually being fast. Just the clockspeed alone; 2.4 ghz, isnt really alot in todays day and age.


BEst thing you could do is to save up for an proper i7 and work with split files in the meantime;

- when dsp maxes out, export the entire project to one mix
- Start a new project, import the mix and continue from there on
- When done, export stems from both files and import all of them as audio into a new file to do all mixing there (preferably i do my auxillery reverb and bussing there as well)


By the way, another thing that causes cpu usage is non use information; self contained audio thats isn't being used anymore, devices that even while you are not using them (no midi lanes) still slurp up memory, and muted instruments and note lanes.
For some reason, while you would think that instruments that arent being used wont use alot of cpu or are being muted, still use as much memory as when they are being used (midi information)
 
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