PC Build

HI Richard This build looks a lot like the new build I am putting together.

The i7 3770k and UP4 will support 1600Mhz Ram so you might want to look at PC3-12800 1600MHZ Ram

My choice for new build is Z77X-UP5-Th , i7 3770K , 32GB of 1600 Mhz

I am unsure what PSU I shall order so will be interested to see what you go for but I think I might go for another Noctua NH-D14 or something from the Zalman range.

The i7 3770k and UP4 will support 1600Mhz Ram so you might want to look at PC3-12800 1600MHZ Ram

Hi Richard,

I have the x58 UD5 in this build here and was a great pick so I am sure you will be happy with the Z77.

I know how you feel the one thing I would not be happy about doing my self is seating the CPU.
There is a few places in Glasgow that will do it for you on the day if you don't feel like doing it your self ?

What did you pick for your cooler ?

Awesome I know where Glenrothes is I have a friend who lives out in Fife I am based out in a Small village called Garelochhead just 8 miles west of Helensburgh and about 50min drive from Glasgow.

Well. Everything is now connected and powered up. Installing the processor went fine. I can see where it would be possible to run into problems but as long as you're careful all should be ok. I haven't installed Sonar yet as I'm just trying to get everything running smoothly before installing daw/plugins etc.
 
I am using Windows 7 Ultimate. On my other system I just couldn't move away from xp. I had a general drive with Windows 7 on it and then my music drive with xp. I have decided to be brave and make the full move to windows 7 this time. DPC shows an avaerage of around 90 which is fine but my last system (core2duo) always averaged around 13. I am also getting the occasional peak of around 146 which is still within acceptable. I have run into the following problems though:
 
1 my wireless keyboard mouse combo started to get sluggish for no reason and would then become unresponsive (works fine on old system) If I unnplugged the receiver from the back and then plugged it back in it would be ok for a time.
 
2 I also noticed that close too 5gb of my 8gb physical memory was being used. (this has now dropped to 1.2gb) I thought this would be tied in with the mouse problem but no.
 
 
 
I have no software other than windows 7 ultimate 64bit and the motherboard drivers installed. Strange.
 
I am a big fan of the search button here so will take all the usual steps to rectify these small problems.
 
Just thought I'd update in case anyones' interested.
 
 

Hi,
 
My build (which I am fine tuning as I speak) is very similar too. One word of caution -- the Fractal Design case gave me fits.
On the first delivery the front panel was smashed and was falling off. It seemed to me that it was shipped from the factory that way since there was no visible damage to the shipping box! I purchased it through Newegg and they very quickly sent a replacement.
 
When I got the replacement case, it looked fine, I did the entire build and had everything set to go and pushed the power on button - nothing. Traced it out to both wires on the switch were not connected to the switch (shrink tubing was holding  unstripped wires to the switch terminals - give me a break! For a $150 case, the actual main switch is pretty cheesy in my opinion now that I did some surgery on it.
 
Everything is working now, and the case is build like a brink sh*^%house, and very quite, however, there is no quality control as far as I see at Fractal Design, and they will be getting a nasty gram from me. Next build will not be with a Fractal Design one :-(
 
gs

Disable the LAN and measure everything again - you've GOT to get that DPC figure down

Using onboard graphics, LAN and internet active, firewire interface to A&H ZED_R16 active my DPC max is 106.

System is:
Antec P183 case w/Nexus 630w PS
Gigabyte GA-Z77X and Intel i7-3770K 3.5 GHz quad
Cooler Master TPC-812
16GB Corsair DDR3-1600MHz
1 Seagate 1TB SATA 6Gb/s
1 Seagate 500G SATA 6Gb/s
Windows 7 Pro 64
Sonar X2 Producer

Thanks for the replies guys. I have disabled onboard sound and both lan ports. I then left DPC running for 2 hours. My average was around the 50-90 mark with an occasional peak at 121. I then got one peak at 144. So that seems improved. I do not know if its important but my machine was idle and my soundcard wasn't installed.
 
Do you think there would be an improvement moving from Windows 7 Ultimate? Maybe there is some service or process relevant to this particular iteration causing problems?
 
Anyway, all seems a bit better. Will likely install sonar tonight and see how it goes.
 
Fireberd, during my searching before I bought the components, I came across your thread that mentioned easytune so I was sure not to install it. Unless it was sneaky and hopped on the back of the drivers install then it cant be there. No mention of it in my programs folder.
 
Was thinking of connecting a spare HDD, disconnecting my system drive with windows 7and installing xp pro 64 bit for comparison.  Would this be a problem?
 
Thanks again.

Hi all. Been a wee while but thought I'd post an update. Sonar has been installed and is running fine. No clicks or dropouts. Really been putting it through its paces. Been cloning tracks with multiband compressors and other cpu heavy effects and trying to find where things would turn to mush. Took some doing. So very happy thus far.
 
After a little more tweaking I'm getting a around 18 micro seconds on dpc with an avaerage peak of around 40 now and again. Seems solid. Done a lot of the usual tweaks alongside disabling core parking and turbo boost. I know a lot of people dont do these particular tweaks but they did make a difference.
 
Now this pc is plenty powerful but my interface seems to be the bottleneck with regard to audio latency. My readings are as follows:
 
Buffer size 96 samples, 2.2msec
Input 6.6
Output 6.2
Roundtrip 12.8
 
Now I know a lot of you guys would not be happy with 12.8 but I really cant notice it at all.
 
I am assuming that the quality of my a/d and d/a converters in my interface are making up the bulk of that latency?
 
Technically I can go a notch lower but i lose the stability and hardly gain anything latency wise. I should point out that there is no way to get to 10ms or under with this interface. No combination of settings would do it. Seems to be a limitation with this interface. With these settings I can run 'a lot' tracks, vsti's and effects with no problems.
 
 
Anyway, just thought I'd share the update, it may be of use to someone.
 
Cheers.
 
Richard
 
 

Thanks Jim. I remember reading about the hidden buffer a while back. The thing is if I move the slider in my interface asio panel down even a notch further I get  clicks and pops. What I would really like to know, are the pops a limitation of my pc or my interface? The pc is pretty high spec so I am assuming that this is the best I can get out of this interface.
 
For anyone that may be interested here are some pics of my settings:
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Using the following settings results in some clicks:
 


 
 
I guess I always assumed that a well specced pc would be able to let the audio interface run at its max performance. If my interface has the options in its' asio panel to run a bit faster, why can't it? Surely it's not my pc? What is the bottleneck? Also, if you look at my stable settings and then the settings that gave me clicks, all I did was drop the slider 2 notches. It didnt change the buffer size but it shaved 2 ms from the output latency. How so? Did it alter the safety buffer?
 
Also thanks for thre tip regarding increasing the sample rate, I had never heard that one before.
 
Richard

Thanks Jim. I remember reading about the hidden buffer a while back. The thing is if I move the slider in my interface asio panel down even a notch further I get clicks and pops. What I would really like to know, are the pops a limitation of my pc or my interface? The pc is pretty high spec so I am assuming that this is the best I can get out of this interface.

 
Hi Richard,
 
Low/consistent DPC latency is absolutely paramount if you wish to work at the smallest ASIO buffer sizes.
With your current setup, you *can* achieve better performance.

Thanks Jim. I don't doubt you, I am sure I can get better out of this system! And this DOES frustrate me. Lol. But I have to try and get over this. Also bear in mind that I am using a Boss BR800 as my interface. This is sold primarily as a recorder but I love that it can also be an AI and control surface. Perhaps a dedicated AI would yield better results.

Anyway, 12.8ms roundtrip aint great but it's not terrible. Im a decent musician with a decent set of ears and it gives me no real problems. Maybe I should just settle.

Cheers again.