Audio Drivers Question

[txshonk]

Looking for some guidance from those who have tweaked and played with the audio drivers in SAC/SAW. I stumbeld accross SAC in prerelease and purchased it, but really havent commited the time to get to be an experienced user.

I am running an overclocked 2.4gHz Intel quad overclocked to 3.2gHz audio is through an RME HDSP 9652 with 2 Presonus Digimax FS's and a Firestudio running ADAT into the RME card.

I can run SAC with this setup at 32 buffers without a glitch in ASIO at about 35% CPU. The forums and literature with SAC had me two with the default ausio setting in SAC. In the little bit I toyed i got a click and drop out in audio at 32 buffers.

So my question is those of you you have been using SAW and SAC what would you reccomend for the audio driver setup?

dave

[Bob L]

Each setup is different... try a few setting combinations and see which works best for you.

I generally use 2 x 64 with my RME rigs and that has served very well.

32 sample buffer size is an extra strain on the system... there is a lot that has to happen in the audio loop in only 32 samples time... some systems can handle it... some can't... and the actual speed and power of the system are not necessarily the deciding factors.

Bob L

[Bruce Callaway]

FWIW, I use 3 x 64 with an RME system with no problem at all.

[Warren]

Each setup is different... try a few setting combinations and see which works best for you.

I generally use 2 x 64 with my RME rigs and that has served very well.

32 sample buffer size is an extra strain on the system... there is a lot that has to happen in the audio loop in only 32 samples time... some systems can handle it... some can't... and the actual speed and power of the system are not necessarily the deciding factors.

Bob L

In light of that Bob, I am setting up a church (approx 1500 per service) with a SAC system. It will have 48 i/o using ADA8000 6ea and RME HDSP9652 2 each Matrox P750 triple head video card.

What Motherboard , Ram. etc config would you recommend to keep SAC stable at 2 x 64 buffer settings when all In's and Outs are active and only Native plugs are used?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Warren

[Bob L]

I can't really give an answer to that question... motherboards are outdated every few weeks or months... there have been many typical discussions in many threads... what works for one person, the next tells horror stories about... you do have to explore and take your shot thru trial and error in many cases... and each time you build the next system, if one component is different the whole game can change.

In general... the idea is to build a clean and simple system... keep the Windows install clean with as many background items removed as possible... not that you have to eliminate every service you are not using... but keep things like virus checkers, internet watchdogs... firewalls... etc to a min... if your taskbar is full of icons... you may be asking for trouble when it comes to low latency stabilty.

Use stable and proven soundcards... like RME... like Sydek... etc... firewire can be tougher to stabilize for many systems... because Windows and Firewire can be a challange... so take that into consideration.

Bob L

[mycorn]

aside from the software consideration using firewire
and rack mount soundcards
extreem caution must be used with the cable

the pc end seems pretty rugged
but the connector on my presonus is decidedly not

loosing sync = loosing audio

rock solid strain relief is paramount

fwiw

[Naturally Digital]

What Motherboard , Ram. etc config would you recommend to keep SAC stable at 2 x 64 buffer settings when all In's and Outs are active and only Native plugs are used?Warren, it's a bit "old" by today's standards but I don't think you can go wrong with something that has an intel 975 chipset. This is in the Asus P5W-DH Deluxe mb and quite a few others. If you don't want to build the machine yourself, you can get some good deals on refurbished HP xw4400 machines... same chipset.