Crackle, stutter, slow down on new PC everything

john

Hi everybody,
my PC is broken (motherboard, possibly by an excess voltage)
Now i've got a new one and have just installed everything which is needed,
to go on having fun with Reaper.
The old PC has been low-end (old and so on), the new one should be a lot better although at best middle class.
But with the new PC i have crackle, stuttering and slow down while playback in Reaper.
I have stripped down a project, so that it only contains ONE! track with a VSTi no other effects used.
The performance meter shows about:
7% CPU usage
Disk total 0B/s
RAM use 100MB
System free: 1318MB/1791MB
And then sometimes - not always and unfortunately not determinable when -
it begins to crackle, stutter and slow down to slow-motion or even to stagnation of sound.
Sometimes it suddenly recovers and plays on in normal tempo and without annoyance.
Similar to the above is playing with this armed track with its one VSTi.
I really can't understand it! Never had such problems with my old slow and low end PC.
By the way e.g, playing the ProteusVX standalone: no problem, playing it in Reaper: see above...

In the following you can see the specifications of the both PCs:

Reaper-Works-Like-A-Charm-PC:
Motherboard:ASRock K8UPGRADE-NF3, Socket 754
Chipset: nVidia nForce3 250
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2200 MHz
RAM: 2GB DDR
Graphic: nVidia GeForce 6200, AGP8X, 256MB
Sound: PCI Soundblaster SBLive Digital 5.1, Emu10K1 Chip
ASIO: kX Audio Driver V 3545, latency-setting 8.00 ms (384 samples), format 48kHz
Disk1: Samsung HD080HJ, SATA
Disk2: Maxtor 6E040L0, IDE
DVD-Writer: LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N
Operation System:Windows XP Home SP3
Reaper: V2.53

Reaper-Crackles-Stutters-SlowsDown-PC:
Motherboard: ASRock ALiveNF7G-FullHD, Socket AM2+
Chipset: nVidia nForce 630a
CPU: DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2200 MHz
RAM: 2GB DDR2
Graphic(ONBOARD): nVidia GeForce 7050 PV 256MB
Sound: PCI Soundblaster SBLive Digital 5.1, Emu10K1 Chip
ASIO: kX Audio Driver V 3545, latency-setting 8.00 ms (384 samples), format 48kHz
Disk1: Hitachi HDS721616PLA380, SATA
Disk2: SAMSUNG HD080HJ, SATA
DVD-Writer: LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N
Operation System:Windows XP Home SP3
Reaper: V2.53

I hope somebody can help!

Michael

Edit: Can you run a finished project with more tracks **and no track armed for record** without problems?

Due to the intermittent nature of the problem, I'd say the first thing to check is the DPC latency. Run this tool dpclat/dpclat.exe in the background and see if the crackles coincide with yellow or red spikes and the crackle-free phases with low measurements (both is important since the problem may be related to something different in addition to high DPC latencies). If there's indication that the system suffers from DPC problems, follow the advice in the message box of the tool.

The SB-Live (perhaps all PCI audio cards) is very sensitive about the right PCI slot. Refer to the INT table of your motherboard manual which PCI slot is not sharing an INT line with some busy onboard component. E.g. in some old boards only PCI slot #3 will allow the SBLive to run properly with ASIO.

Besides checking for resource conflicts (which are *not always* indicated by exclamation marks and become visible only when you open the properties windows of devices), all sorts of OS tweaks may help too. A computer with an SB-Live was the only one I ever saw the old quot;processor scheduling to background processesquot;-tweak actually helping. Googling 'tweaking pc for audio' or similar will give you a truckload of links to sites on that topic.

Ok I finally found the manuals for the NF7G series - they have only 2 PCI slots and no INT table in the manual.

Of course there are some options in the BIOS and onboard devices (audiochip, RAID controller) which may or may not affect the audio performance. I assume you have the onboard audio disabled in the BIOS?

Furthermore, there are several options with quot;Spread Spectrumquot; in the CPU menu of the BIOS - turn them all off, they all vary clockrates in order to reduce interference (for CE conformity) but that's a potential source of trouble.

Thanks a lot for your effort! I've disabled nearly everything which i don't need in BIOS.
Onboard Audio, infrared port, parallel port, serial port, floppy disk...
The DPC latency checker tells me:
This machine should be able to handle real-time streaming of audio and/or video data without drop-outs.
With an absolute latency of 26 microseconds
When i start Reaper or each time i switch to Reaper or i click an FX button in Reaper it tells me:
Some device drivers on this machine behave bad and will probably cause drop-outs in real-time audio and/or video streams. To isolate the misbehaving driver use Device Manager and disable/re-enable various devices, one at a time. Try network and W-LAN adapters, modems, internal sound devices, USB host controllers, etc.
With an absolute latency of 10539 ms (but just one peak).
While Reaper is playing there are no peaks.
And while Reaper's playback dies a noisy death, the latency checker remains green...
Okay, i'll try your other advices.
But i really don't understand why Reaper struggles with a higher class motherboard with a dual core cpu and had no problem with the old one...

Thanks again

Michael

Ok, the single DPC spike when Reaper starts/fx button/etc. could indicate some problem with buffering and/or disk access. Not sure how to take this and if it's related to your problem - maybe not.

- Is this maybe also depending on the VSTi? I can get crackles with certain SE based plugins when a track is armed for record which makes me repeat the other question from above:

- Can you run a finished project with more tracks **and no track armed for record** without problems?
Originally Posted by MichaJoBut i really don't understand why Reaper struggles with a higher class motherboard with a dual core cpu and had no problem with the old one...

No offense, I'm just taking the opportunity to express this for once:

The short answer is: Still not every chipset and/or motherboard design is well-designed for that job and better CPU speed or more memory doesn't tell you anything about the eligibility to run it as a DAW.

Configuring a DAW computer is not trivial and can't be compared to building a generic or gaming PC (which will do its job most times, even when misconfigured). It has become much better over the years (there were times when Steinberg guaranteed proper Cubase operation with only 1 or 2 specific motherboard models IIRC) but you still can't take *any* hardware and expect it to work properly with low latency audio and the configuration of that stuff may require quite some knowledge about how to get get it running at all, not to speak of getting most out of the hardware's potential.

That's the very reason why professional DAW builders exist - they know how to pick and configure the right hardware for a DAW and take the huge amount of research and learning off your shoulders and tweak the stuff for optimum performance, way beyond what most normal users or all the (mostly generic and useless) tricks from the various forums could achieve.

The other way is to look around what stuff other people use with good success and buy the same products, your mileage may still vary but at least you can benefit from similar experiences of other users and ask them for *specific* help.
Just picking some random hardware often means you end up troubleshooting stuff all on your own and sometimes all you learn is that you're wasting your time with a specific hardware or combination of hardware or you easily miss the single OS or BIOS tweak that would make it run.

The less a specific e.g. motherboard is used for pro audio, the smaller are my/our chances to support you with simple Google searches on the issue which intensifies the problem even more.

Sorry to sound so negative/naysaying but that's the story IMHO. That all doesn't mean you can't solve your problem. I found at least one indication on Google that someone used a NF7G series board (which one exactly is unknown) with an Emu 1212 successfully which doesn't mean much but gives me hope.

- Is this maybe also depending on the VSTi? I can get crackles with certain SE based plugins when a track is armed for record which makes me repeat the other question from above:

No.
I've tried different VSTi. Steinberg E-Piano or DSK Etheral Pads or ProteusVX. Each crackles while armed and playing on the Midi-Keyboard.
- Can you run a finished project with more tracks **and no track armed for record** without problems?

No. After some time the noise starts, then sustains, tempo slows down...
And sometimes when i don't stop this holy shit - reminds me to bad free jazz, maybe it could give me some new ideas  - it recovers, speeds up to it's correct tempo and the noise disappears...
One could compare it to a long swinging wave
gooooood...hmmm...worse...worst...ugly...§#amp;7??!!!  ##§...ugly...worst...worse...hmmm...goooood

Thanks for the general explanation. I knew that, better said i suspected it to be that way.
So i accidentally have been a lucky guy with my old computer stuff.
A very lucky guy with a latency of 8ms without crackleing

Meanwhile i've tried variations with disableing network, firewall, antivir, etc. but no success.

But one thing helps to get rid off this bugbear.
A small silver button on the frontside of my new PC.Michael

I don't know why...
I've followed your advices and changed a lot.
Then, finally i've deleted the reaper-midihw.ini and the reaper.ini again.
(I've done this several times before)
And now tataaaa! It works!(Knock on wood) Don't ask why.
It works with new songs. I can't reuse the already recorded pieces.
But i don't care a copper.
Tested until now:
Four different instruments of ProteusVX, one track DSK Etheral Pads, two instruments of SynthFont VSTi...no crackle, stuttering, slow down...latency 8ms and Reaper works like a charm again.

I'll try to find out what the reason was, maybe some differences between the ini-files...
So perhaps some others can profit of this.

Again, thanks Steindork!!!

Michael

This sounds pretty much like a buffering problem actually. So I have to ask these questions even if they might be redundant:

- Have you migrated your Reaper installation from the old computer to the new one or did you do a fresh install from scratch? The former should work too but who knows and so I recommend the latter.

- Have you tried to play the VSTis in another host like Cantabile? cantabile/ Oh, and don't try it with DSK plugins BTW, they're made with SE IIRC (lt;- What a beautiful sentence looking like coming straight from an Enigma machine.)
Originally Posted by MichaJoBut one thing helps to get rid off this bugbear.
A small silver button on the frontside of my new PC.

Been there mate, and don't despair. I guess many of us have fumbled days or even weeks to get a new rig running, tearing their hair out and yelling at silicon chips and so on.

Edit: LOL! We posted at the same time and that answers my first question then in a very satisfying manner!  Glad you got it working! Now give that baby a test drive and enjoy the sheer power of 2 cores!

Get rid of the SB soundcard.  Notoriously rubbish.   OK for game players, crap for music recording.  Cheap EMU 0404 works perfectly here on a similar spec PC.  I got new dual core AMD, after old single core.  Astonishing performance change. 40 plus tracks, no stuttering.  Tons of vsts running.

Perhaps trying out a different soundcard or ASIO4ALL...

have a good one
3Eo

Bebop, i know you're right. But money and me... two things that don't fit together. And i just had to buy this new PC.
But sure. The next to do then is to buy an EMU 0404 or a M-Audio Audiophile 2496.
But for now - with the help of Steindork - Reaper and my SBLive do their job with satisfaction
@three_eyed_otter: I've been using the ASIO4ALL before the kXProject driver (with Cubasis and the very start with Reaper).
The kX driver are much more complex but when you finally have found the appropriate settings then they are great and work with really low latencies.
(I've set latency to 8ms as i mentioned above)

Thanks for your hints.

Michael

Stick with Intel Processors and boards. Use name brand stuff all the way. The only other board I would perhaps consider is an Asus. Dump AMD processors.

Whether or not there is such a thing as a DAW is open to debate. All computers use the same components. If a person does word processing his computer has the same basic components as one who just surfs the web. If a person plays games on his computer, his machine has the same parts that can be found in a graphics computer. Motherboards, RAM, Power Supplies, Video Cards, Hard Drives, Sound Cards and so on.

I bought all the parts for my latest build and had my tech friend assemble it for me for nothing. It works great. Great for recording, great for word processing, great for photo-editing.

And I certainly didn't go out and take great pains to pick only certain parts. I stuck with name brand high quality stuff and it works very well.

No reason it shouldn't.

imho there should be a quot;stickyquot; on why things go bump in the night
n hiccup n stutter audio wise .
ive posted many times Jo (as have many others.).
there are several reasons/alternatives.
i'm just sick of typing this stuff over n over.


Originally Posted by 357magStick with Intel Processors and boards. Use name brand stuff all the way. The only other board I would perhaps consider is an Asus. Dump AMD processors.

Whether or not there is such a thing as a DAW is open to debate. All computers use the same components. If a person does word processing his computer has the same basic components as one who just surfs the web. If a person plays games on his computer, his machine has the same parts that can be found in a graphics computer. Motherboards, RAM, Power Supplies, Video Cards, Hard Drives, Sound Cards and so on.

I bought all the parts for my latest build and had my tech friend assemble it for me for nothing. It works great. Great for recording, great for word processing, great for photo-editing.

And I certainly didn't go out and take great pains to pick only certain parts. I stuck with name brand high quality stuff and it works very well.

No reason it shouldn't.

This is a never ending story about standards and a question of philosophy...
I've been happy with my AMD stuff over the last 10 years and during this time i've heard many complaints about AMD and Intel too.
I use Blender, GIMP, OpenOffice, VirtualDub and a lot more.
And as i said, i'm happy with it.
And now after a few days struggleing i'm happy with Reaper again (and AMD and ASRock and SBLive).
And i'm happy with this non-standard-forum.Michael


Originally Posted by manning1...i'm just sick of typing this stuff over n over.

Sorry...maybe i misunderstood? (My native language is German, so that could be the reason)
Do you mean i shouldn't have asked at all?


Originally Posted by MichaJo, yesterdayAnd now tataaaa! It works!

So no need to...
Originally Posted by MichaJoDo you mean i shouldn't have asked at all?

Don't think that's what manning meant, in fact, I want to applaud the fact that you took the time to post your complete system spec in your opening post. Useful, necessary in fact, because there are hardware/software combination that are known not to work.

So often we don't even know if the guy is on a PC or a MAC, yet we, as forum member, are expected to help anyway. Glad you got your problem solved.

+1,111,111 on what bullshark said. quot;HALP!!1!!!ELEVEN111!! I'm getting buzz crackles and pops!!!1! RPR is so crap!!!!ONEMILLIONONEHUNDEREDELEVENTHOUSANDONEHUND  REDELEVEN!11!! ....sigh...


Originally Posted by 357magStick with Intel Processors and boards. Use name brand stuff all the way. The only other board I would perhaps consider is an Asus. Dump AMD processors.

That may work for you, but I would much rather have an AMD processor. I think there may be a few other AMD users around here that might agree.

jo.
of course you should have asked.

its just that i (and many others)
have typed tons of times why stutters n hiccups occur.
plus solutions.
its lots of retyping for me. thats all.
just search under my name over past couple of years.
i just dont know why there isnt a sticky covering the various reasons
why stutters occur n the solutions.

or mebe even a little small text document somewhere on these forums
explaing such or the quot;ultimate why stutters occur plus solutionsquot; thread.
a good example is..someone that posts ..
quot;i'm trying to play back lots of  88.2/32bit traks stuffed to the gills with plug ins on a celery pcquot;..lol
if the mods promise to do a sticky, then a bunch of us can pile
in with the details.

When I got a TonePort UX2 I was going to use that for recording plus use it as my default sound card. I had stutters, clicks, and pops. I tried many different tweaks to fix it. Although I reduced it, I couldn't totally eliminate the problem.

Then I bought the E-MU1212. The problem completely disappeared. The Line6 products work good for recording purposes, but not so good for sound cards.

Glad you're up and running again.